According to the study, plastic waste enters the Arctic from all over the world.

Plastic waste, which is scattered throughout the Arctic, enters the region from all over the world, and in large part from the most prosperous and industrialized countries, as demonstrated by a group of scientists based on evidence collected by numerous tourists.

Researchers from the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) of the German Center for Marine and Polar Research. Helmholtz analyzed the origin of this waste as a result of a “citizen science” project involving numerous tourists who arrived in the area on cruise ships. collected samples plastic in the Svalbard archipelago.

These wrecks were later analyzed at the Alfred Wegener Institute, where scientists confirmed that a third of the remains, which retain traces of labels that allow their origin to be established, came from European countries, and most of them came from Germany itself.

The results of this work, published in the journal Frontiers, showed that even the most industrialized and prosperous countries make a very significant contribution to the pollution of remote ecosystems, such as Arctic.

“In 2016, we started working with citizens to study the composition of waste. plastics on the shore Arctic”, noted researcher Melanie Bergmann of AWI, who developed this citizen science project with tour guide and author Birgit Lutz.

So they launched a project in collaboration with companies that offer trips to Arcticand the tourists involved in the collection of garbage plastics on the coast of the Norwegian archipelago between 2016 and 2021.

Most of the waste that was found came from fishing, although their origin could not be determined, the researchers noted, who specified that in cases where it was possible to establish the origin, it was found that most of them came from Russia and Norway.

Scientists have proven that pollution plastic comes from both local and remote sources; in some places they enter the ocean from ships and from communities in Arctic with imperfect waste management systems.

Challenge to the Arctic Ecosystem

For more distant sources, waste plastics and microplastics are transferred to the ocean Arctic from the Atlantic, North Sea, and North Pacific by various rivers and ocean currents, and researchers have found remains from as far away as Brazil, China, or the United States.

these debris plastics create additional problems for ecosystems Arcticbecause they are already overwhelmed by climate change, according to scientists who have warned that the Arctic is warming four times faster than the global average.

The results concluded that even prosperous industrialized countries that can afford better waste management contribute significantly to the pollution of remote ecosystems such as Arcticand therefore stress the importance of improving local waste management, especially from boats and fisheries.

The scientists also stressed the importance of reducing global plastic production, especially in industrialized countries in Europe, North America and Asia, as approximately 11 percent of global plastic production ends up in waterways.

(As reported by EFE)

OUR PODCASTS

Espacio Vital: Dr. José Suárez Reyes, neurologist and head of the department of neurodegenerative diseases at the National Institute of Neurological Sciences, said involuntary movements are considered rare and may be neurological in origin or secondary to another type of disease. He explained that neurological movements include tremors, dystonia (sprains), and myoclonus (hiccough-like shaking). A specialist in involuntary movements pointed out that they distinguish between a resting tremor when a person does not make any movements, and an intentional tremor when moving.

Fernando Carvallo selects information and shares his vision of national and international news. subscribe to our Las cosas newsletter, as they should be reading your daily columns.