Turkish researchers from one of the leading universities in the country are set to examine the role of commercial ships in macro and microplastic pollution in the oceans with samples taken from the North Pole, according to a report on Sunday.
Accordingly, among 13 projects that have been selected to be supported by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TÜBITAK) is the project presented by Istanbul Technical University (ITU).
According to the information obtained by Anadolu Agency (AA), the project titled "Detection and Analysis of Micro and Macro Plastic Distribution in Polar Regions via Ship Ballast Water and Sediment Route" is one of the projects supported within the scope of the "POLAR-1001" call.
Associate professor Tanzer Satır, a faculty member of Istanbul Technical University Maritime Faculty and the project leader, highlighted the existence of microplastics in the oceans and the fact they were conducting studies on this subject.
Pointing to the rapid development of maritime trade, Satır noted that 90% of long-distance freight transportation in the world is done by ships.
Explaining that they would conduct studies on the proportion of plastic in ocean water through a project supported by TÜBITAK, Satır evaluated the main framework of their research.
"What is the role of ships in the transportation of microplastics? Our main goal is to determine the rate of plastic and the role of ships in it in the sensitive polar regions of the world, not in all oceans," he told AA.
"In this context, we chose the North Pole region. The commercial ship traffic is denser here compared to the South Pole region. We will go there to take samples or have them taken and analyze them," said Satır.
"Our project is about to start," he further said, reiterating the goal of investigating ocean pollution, including sensitive polar regions, and the preventive methods that can be taken in this context.
Plastics' types, sizes to be examined
Satır also said that macro and microplastics have invaded the marine habitat due to the widespread use of plastics in the last 50 years.
He also indicated that many factors such as food, food waste, fishing activities, air emissions, plastic waste entering the sea, wastewater treatment plants, river and stream flows, marine organisms, birds and microorganisms play an important role in micro and macro plastic pollution in oceans and seas.
"In the study to be conducted within the scope of our project proposal, the presence of micro and macro plastics originating from ship ballast water and sediment (sludge) will be investigated in the North Pole region," he said.
Additionally, Satır said that seawater samples would be taken from the ballast water tanks of ships navigating in the region and from port areas and that quantitative calculations of water and sediment sources and determination of micro and macro plastic types such as particles, fibers and films would be made.
"The color of ship-originated plastics will be determined and the types of plastics will be examined. The average size and distribution of plastics (nano-micro-macro) will also be calculated," he concluded.