This project provide knowledge of occurrence and composition of marine litter washed ashore on some selected reference coasts in West Greenland, where litter from open sea and not from nearby local sources (e.g. dumps) are the main contributor. The studies will be performed in 2016 in areas outside Nuuk, Sisimiut and Uummannaq and follow international guidelines developed by OSPAR. The systematic analyses of litter amounts and composition will provide the first Greenlandic baseline information useful for assessments of the most important sources including the potential long-range transport of marine litter in the Arctic region.

In addition, environmental samples for microplastic analyses will also be collected in the respective areas. Analyses of contents and composition of microplastic will be performed within the frame of a DANCEA project, if funded. If not, samples will be stored for other project opportunities.

Field Site: Nuuk, Sisimiut and Uumannaq

PI: Jakob Strand

Link to Isaaffik website