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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 11, 2026

Protocol for Microplastics Sampling on the Sea Surface and Sample Analysis

Protocol for Microplastics Sampling on the Sea Surface and Sample Analysis

Published on: December 16, 2016

Macroplastics at sea around Antarctica.

David K A Barnes¹, Adam Walters, Leandra Gonçalves

¹British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK. dkab@bas.ac.uk

Marine Environmental Research

|July 13, 2010

Summary

Plastic pollution has reached Antarctica's most remote seas, with floating debris observed in East and West Antarctica. While the seabed remains largely plastic-free, surface waters show increasing contamination, highlighting a growing environmental concern.

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Sampling, Sorting, and Characterizing Microplastics in Aquatic Environments with High Suspended Sediment Loads and Large Floating Debris

Sampling, Sorting, and Characterizing Microplastics in Aquatic Environments with High Suspended Sediment Loads and Large Floating Debris

Published on: July 28, 2018

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Last Updated: Jun 11, 2026

Protocol for Microplastics Sampling on the Sea Surface and Sample Analysis

Protocol for Microplastics Sampling on the Sea Surface and Sample Analysis

Published on: December 16, 2016

Sampling, Sorting, and Characterizing Microplastics in Aquatic Environments with High Suspended Sediment Loads and Large Floating Debris

Sampling, Sorting, and Characterizing Microplastics in Aquatic Environments with High Suspended Sediment Loads and Large Floating Debris

Published on: July 28, 2018

Area of Science:

Marine Biology
Environmental Science
Oceanography

Background:

Growing global concern over plastic pollution in marine environments.
Limited data on plastic debris in remote polar regions like Antarctica.

Purpose of the Study:

To conduct the first coordinated marine debris survey in Antarctic waters.
To assess the extent of macroplastic and microplastic contamination in remote Antarctic seas.

Main Methods:

Joint marine debris surveys conducted by Greenpeace and British Antarctic Survey ships (MV Esperanza and RRS James Clark Ross).
Visual observations of floating macroplastics from ships, including the ice patrol vessel HMS Endurance.
Collection of seabed samples using Agassiz trawls and epibenthic sledges.

Main Results:

Floating macroplastics, including a plastic cup, fishing buoys, and plastic packaging, were observed in various Antarctic seas.
No sunken plastic pieces were found in Agassiz trawl samples from the Amundsen and south Bellingshausen seabeds.
Microplastics were not detected in epibenthic sledge samples from the Amundsen seabed.

Conclusions:

Antarctic seabeds are among the last environments yet to be reached by plastic pollution.
The presence of floating plastics in the Amundsen Sea indicates that contamination is likely to increase.
This study represents the widest survey for plastics ever undertaken around Antarctica, expanding knowledge of global plastic pollution.