24 Environmental Laboratory
NORWEGIAN INSTITUTE FOR WATER RESEARCH (NIVA) Q&A CUSTOMER STORY
INTRODUCTION: The challenges of microplastics pollution in the environment continues to generate global interest. Many studies are underway to better understand the impact that plastics can have on human and environmental health as well as the scope of the problem. Micro- and nanoplastics have been found across the globe from deep under the seas to the tops of mountains to the most remote areas of Antarctica.
P
erkinElmer is supporting these efforts with our microplastics analysis solutions including the Spectrum Two™ and Spotlight™ 400 FT-IR. We recently sat down with representatives from the Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA) to discuss their work in this area. The team is collaborating with colleagues from Russia to investigate the presence of microplastics in the Arctic Ocean. This pristine environment is particularly sensitive to environmental pollution and pressures because it has very short food chains where impacts to any one species will quickly spread. In a region highly reliant on the health of its fi sheries, the is signifi cant concern on maintaining a healthy environment. The investigations underway are focused on understanding the amount of microplastics which might be present and the sources of the pollution. This information can be used in the future to make informed decisions for regulating and monitoring microplastics.
NIVA Representatives:
Professor Bert van Bavel, Chief Scientist – an analytical chemist and expert on QA/QC with over 30 years of experience in the analyses of priority and emerging pollutants, Dr. van Bavel has been leading United Nations Environment Program’s capacity building program for the Stockholm Convention. He is part of the EU project Clean Sea, which is focused on developing technology to measure microplastics in the aquatic environment and harmonizing microplastics measurement methods.
Dr. Evgeny Yakushev, Senior Research Scientist – a chemical oceanographer, Dr. Yakushev has extensively studied nutrient cycling in seawater and is involved with mathematical modeling of ecological systems. He is focused regionally on the Artic and scientifi c collaborations with
Russia including several projects between the Norwegian Ministry of Environment and the Russian Ministry of Environment focused on studying environmental pollution, including microplastics.
Dr. Svetlana Pakhomova, Engineer – Dr. Pakhomova has been with NIVA for the last 5 years and her work includes a focused on the evaluation of technologies for the measurement and identifi cation of microplastics.
Science on a ship: samples are numbered, measured and photographed.
Q: Please tell us about your work studying microplastics in the Barents and Arctic Seas and why it was conducted?
A:
van Bavel: If you look at the area of microplastics research, there is very little information about this particular region. These joint expeditions between NIVA and our Russian counterparts provided us with a good opportunity to obtain more knowledge. There is a lot of discussion about microplastics possibly entering this pristine area, so we wanted to obtain more information.
Yakushev: There were several research questions which we wanted to answer. Before we conducted our studies, it wasn’t clear whether this area was polluted with microplastics or not, so we wanted to confi rm the presents of microplastics. And once we found microplastics, we wanted to understand how microplastics came to be found in this region – is it currents from the Atlantic which brings polluted water or is it rivers in the region which fl ow into the Barents Sea? Around the world rivers are a main source of microplastic introduction into ocean so we wanted to examine that dynamic in this region as well.
We found that the concentration of microplastics in river waters was less than that at sea because these rivers fl ow through unpopulated areas. So, we really wanted to fi nd the sources of microplastics so that we could have data that we can then examine and extrapolate with mathematical models. If we can identify sources of microplastics, we can inform decision makers who can then take action to prevent this pollution.
Russia conducts several scientifi c expeditions to the Arctic every year and NIVA’s participation allowed for the application of more modern methods and technologies for the detection of microplastics that are not available in Russia. The data that we were able to generate can be used to help both Russia and Western nations in combating plastics pollution.
van Bavel: With our expertise in the instrumentation including the PerkinElmer Spectrum Two which was on board, we have the technology to measure the pollution. Our Russian colleagues have the access to areas of interest with their expeditions. Coming together we can lend our expertise and help harmonize methods for measuring microplastics.
There are also some big questions related to microplastics. Is there an accumulation zone in the Barents Sea? If so, where do these plastics come from? Those were the main questions we tried to focus on for this project.
Q: Could you explain what the environment is like in this region and what impact pollution could have on the ecosystems there?
A:
Van Bavel: While the area is very pristine it is also very biologically active. The food webs are very abundant from plankton to whales. If you disturb this area which is already under pressure from climate change, what will be the impact – that is what we are trying to investigate and understand.
Yakushev: Its ecosystem isn’t as diverse as some other areas, but it is being impacted by pollution. The Arctic is an important are for fi sheries. We found microplastic fi bers inside fi sh, so it is there an effect on organisms. How dangerous is it? We still don’t know; we need to study more.
Van Bavel: From the NIVA perspective, we do a lot of work in the Arctic area, and this is another pressure on a pristine area and its short food chains. These food chains are important for a lot of species which are unique to the arctic area. We see that there are a lot of plastics accumulating in ice and if the ice melts, that would be another source for the release of microplastics into this environment. So, we are looking at this multi-pressure environment to try and protect the Arctic as much as possible.
Q: When you speak about the collaboration between NIVA and Russia, can you tell us what institutes were involved?
A:
Yakushev: There were several institutes that were involved in the expeditions that we have referenced. These include Institute of Oceanography which is situated in Moscow and the Pacifi c Oceanographic Institute from Vladivostok. They were studying the methane cycle, CO2 levels and climate related phenomena but were kind enough to give us ship time and invite us on the expedition to study plastics.
IET MARCH / APRIL 2023
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