#ARCTIC. #SIBERIA. THIS IS TAIMYR. Scientists from the Arctic Floating University have proven that in the high-latitude Arctic, unlike other parts of the world’s oceans, garbage is carried by the currents to the islands’ coasts, and does not mass on the water surface. The research was carried out by specialists from the Northern (Arctic) Federal University (NAFU), as well as from the Russian State Hydrometeorological University.
For the first time, scientists have determined how garbage flocks in the region. Currents bring it to the Western Arctic and make the territory a dead end for waste, reports the Northern (Arctic) Federal University’s press service.
As expedition leader Alexander Saburov said, this primarily concerns the Novaya Zemlya and Franz Josef Land archipelagos. Scientists have estimated the rate of waste accumulation on the coast of Novaya Zemlya over three years. It turned out that after the complete cleaning of the landfill in 2021, there is now 70–80 percent more new garbage.
Most often, waste is small in size – up to 50 centimeters, but the sea also throws out large objects: buoys, boxes, fishing nets, and so on. The most common material is plastic, but glass and metal waste are increasingly common.
Let us remind you that the unique experience of the Arctic Floating University was included in the hundred main achievements of Russia. For the first time, scientists explored cape Sopochnaya Karga in Taimyr.
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Text: Angelika Stepanova, Photo: Denis Kozhevnikov
