Jim Patterson on The Arctic Plastic Ocean

October 17, 2019 

Russian Cultural Center

Washington DC

We attended a lecture by Dr. Katya Uryupova, Ph D., marine biologist/oceanographer, photographer and polar guide. Dr. Uryupova spent most of her life in Siberia. She has PhD is marine biology from Moscow State University and earned a master's degree in science communications from University of Salford, UK. She has worked in the Arctic and Antarctic since 2000. Her research projects focus on polar marine ecosystems. Her interests range from general biology to the human impact on the environment to multidisciplinary research. She has focused on marine-protected areas, fisheries management, climate change and environmental monitoring programs. 

Dr. Uryupova participated in a number of research expeditions at different bases in Antarctica. A member of the Russian Geographical Society and the German Society of Polar Research, she is also an Association of Polar Early Career Scientists Council member. She also completed an internship at the Secretariat of the Antarctic Treaty in Argentina, and worked for the Smithsonian Institution.  Dr. Uryupova lectured on marine plastic litter, one of the greatest threats to ocean health globally. She said, plastic pollution is present throughout various Arctic realms from the water column to deep sea fauna. The Arctic Ocean is no longer pristine, she said,"as big pieces of plastic, as well as microplastics, travel the cold ocean." Litter circulates around gyres and makes it easy for sea creatures to digest these toxic materials.   Dr. Ekaterina Uryupova has collected data from various locations, especially near Svalbard and Franz Josef Land. Svalbard is a Norwegian archipelago between mainland Norway and the North Pole. It is one of the world’s northernmost inhabited areas, it's known for rugged, remote terrain of glaciers and frozen tundra sheltering polar bears, Svalbard reindeer and Arctic foxes. Franz Joseph Land, a Russian archipelago, is inhabited only by military personnel. It is the northernmost part of Arkhangelsk Oblast. After Dr. Uryupova's hour-long lecture she presented and discussed twenty of her strikingly original photographs which illustrated the beauty and challenges of conducting scientific research in the Arctic. She answered questions: 1) Is there evidence marine life is changing due to the presence of plastics in the Arctic? She mentioned several interesting ways such as plastic blocking sun from growing kelp which lowered oxygen and reduced/relocated fish populations.  2) She said there is evidence microplastics pass from the water to sea life and, when consumed, into humans. She said microplastics were in the air and found in snowflakes. She said such microplastics were likely due to incineration of plastics which have heavy metals and may, she suggested, be a source of lung cancer in nonsmokers.  Dr. Uryupova, fluent in English, presented an excellent scientific program which lasted more than two-hours.  -30- James Patterson is a former U.S. diplomat and life member of the American Foreign Service Association. JEPDiplpmat@gmail.com