Microplastic (MP; plastic particles < 5 mm) pollution is pervasive in the marine environment, generating interest in their prevalence, fate, and associated environmental threats. The diversity of MPs poses complex analytical challenges in isolating these particles from their sample medium for data analysis. Here, we present an efficient methodology for isolating suspected MPs in sea ice at high sample volumes (liters) with res...

Antarctic and Southern Ocean ( ASO ) marine ecosystems have been changing for at least the last 30 years, including in response to increasing ocean temperatures and changes in the extent and seasonality of sea ice; the magnitude and direction of these changes differ between regions around Antarctica that could see populations of the same species changing differently in different regions. This article reviews current and expect...

Iron is the limiting micronutrient in the Southern Ocean and experiments have demonstrated that addition of soluble iron to surface waters results in phytoplankton blooms, particularly by large diatoms. Antarctic krill ( Euphausia superba ) eat diatoms and recycle iron in surface waters when feeding. Baleen whales eat krill, and, historically, defecation by baleen whales could have been a major mechanism for recycling iron, if...