The researchers who took part in the expedition, which was organized under the auspices of the Presidency, under the responsibility of the Ministry of Industry and Technology and under the coordination of the TÜBİTAK MAM Polar Research Institute, completed their projects by exploring the seas and lakes in and around they sampled Horseshoe Island.
Scientists assessed multiple anthropogenic pressures on aquatic ecosystems by examining the physicochemical characterization of the marine ecosystem in the region.
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University, Faculty of Fisheries, Department of Marine Biology, Lecturer and Expedition Member Prof. DR. In her statement, Ülgen Aytan pointed out that plastic pollution is not just visible and said, “Especially the part that we chronically in daily life “Produce that has decreased below 5 millimeters has become a rapidly growing threat to our planet,” said.
Prof. Dr. Aytan pointed out that it is possible to encounter microplastics in water, sediments, glaciers and living creatures in the Antarctic ecosystem, which is thousands of kilometers away from human influence, and continued:
“Our aim with this TÜBİTAK-supported project is to study the presence of micro-, meso- and macro-sized plastics in freshwater resources, glacial lakes and the sea on Horseshoe Island, where the Turkish Scientific Research Camp is located, to identify their sources and.” to assess the environmental risk they pose to that ecosystem.”
Explaining that they collected samples from the sea, lake surface water and sediments on Horseshoe Island for plastic analysis, Aytan said they will complete the environmental risk assessment by determining the types, sizes, colors and polymer contents of plastics with the analyzes they conducted at the Microplastics Research Laboratory at Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University in Turkey. told.
Prof. Dr. Aytan emphasized that “plastic” is a very general term and explained that this term includes plastics with different polymer structures and therefore chemical contents.
Aytan explained that with the analysis they will conduct, they will be able to assess the extent to which the plastics they find pose a risk to this ecosystem based on their environmental hazard assessments.
Aytan pointed out that there are predominantly single-use plastics in the marine and freshwater environment: “We mainly encounter polymers such as polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate and polypropylene, but in our preliminary study in Antarctica we also encountered microplastics, such as.” .Polyacrinonitriles, which are formed particularly when using and washing synthetic textiles and can be carried to the poles with the atmosphere. he said.
Following her work in the region, Prof. Dr. Aytan discussed the importance of improving these polymers, particularly those used in synthetic textiles, and continued:
“Additional additive chemicals used in the plastics industry need to be improved. With the results we obtain, we aim to provide decision-makers and industry with guidance data on the actions that need to be taken to reduce plastics in the marine and freshwater environment, a very special ecosystem like Antarctica.”
“We want to deepen our studies on marine phytoplankton a little more”
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University, Faculty of Fisheries, Marine Biology Department, lecturer and expedition member Prof. DR. Ertuğrul Ağırbaş also explained that the most important evidence of climate change is the increasing atmospheric air temperatures and the resulting anomalies in sea water.
Regarding their work on Horseshoe Island, Ağırbaş said: “Our aim is to further deepen the studies on marine phytoplankton, a topic that has been little researched in the region, and to provide a basis for future studies in this context.” has given his assessment .
Prof. DR. Ertuğrul Ağırbaş said: “Phytoplanktonic organisms are the first living groups that directly respond to the changes that occur due to changing climate conditions, and their monitoring will allow us to be prepared for possible climate change scenarios that may occur in the future He stated that it was a project in which they examined the nutrient salt dynamics of the region with the “phytoplankton functional group ratios”, “pigment composition”, “microscopic cell number” and the “hydrographic measurement studies” that they researched as part of the project.
Pointing out that they are located in an important region that will have the greatest impact on the world's climate and regulate the climate, Ağırbaş said, “We believe that the studies contribute to the sustainable management of the Antarctic ecosystem and in this context will contribute to the Future of the world.” said.
“We carried out our marine samples at around 25 stations”
Faculty member of the Faculty of Environmental Engineering at Istanbul-Cerrahpaşa University and expedition member Prof. Dr. Nüket Sivri also took seawater samples at many places during the expedition.
With her project “Determination of critical raw material concentrations (CHM) in the polar regions and adaptation of the potential ecological risk index to the polar regions”, Prof. DR. Sivri asked the question: “How do critical raw materials that are important for industrial production function?” Economy, impact the health of Antarctica's aquatic ecosystem? Related to critical raw materials “Are possible toxic effects and anthropogenic pollution observed in both polar regions? How might the Potential Ecological Risk Index (PERI) adjusted for Antarctica differ from the index established for the Arctic?” Looking for answers to these questions, he completed the White Continent portion of his project.
Expedition member Dr., Researcher at TÜBİTAK MAM Vice President of Climate Change and Sustainability. As part of her project, Mehtap Dursun also conducted studies on setting up the infrastructure for environmental investigation of micropollutants in Antarctica.
Explaining that they can generally define micropollutants as micro- and nano-level pollutants that harm living creatures in the aquatic environment, Dr. Mehtap Dursun said: “We are particularly studying the presence of polyaromatic hydrocarbons in the environment, which are formed by incomplete combustion, and pesticides used for agricultural purposes.” on the Antarctic continent. he said.
Dursun explained that as part of his study he sampled the lakes and snow water on Horseshoe Island and continued as follows:
“We conducted our marine sampling at around 25 stations. Since analyzing micropollutants in the current environment requires large amounts of water, we will obtain the results by analyzing our pre-processed samples on the ship in our research laboratory in Turkey, without transporting water to the laboratory using our method.”
Noting that their goal is to create an environmental monitoring infrastructure in Antarctica, Dursun said: “If our method is later successful, with the data we obtained as a result of this research, we will monitor the continuity and change of this Observe environmental monitoring” over time in the future. gave the information.
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