Policy Solutions for Closing the Arctic Marine Plastics Budget

Abstract:

Using the structure of an inflow-outflow budget for the Arctic Ocean, we identify gateways through which plastic enters and exits the marine system. These gateways are both naturally-occurring and anthropogenic: In addition to estimating the flux of plastic through sea ice and ocean from existing measurements, we quantify reservoirs of marine plastic pollution according to human activity. Providing estimates of plastic fluxes and concentrations in each reservoir, we discuss how this system might evolve in an ice-diminished Arctic. This exercise demonstrates where more monitoring is necessary to estimate Arctic Ocean plastic concentrations, and how a suite of proposed policy interventions would quantitatively change those concentrations.