MOVEMENT OF MICROPLASTICS IN THE WASTEWATER DISCHARGED FROM THE ANTARCTIC RESEARCH STATION

Abstract

As a large number of microplastics (MPs) have been found around the Antarctic research stations, the wastewater from the station is presumed to be a local source of MPs pollution (Waller et al., 2017). In addition, more than half of stations in Antarctica have no adequate sewage treatment systems (Gröndahl et al., 2009). The present study collected MPs in Marian Cove, West Antarctica. In this bay, the King Sejong Station, which is a Korea station, is located, and other research stations are located around. And, we actually found a significant amount of MPs in the seawater and wastewater of the station. So, we assumed that this research station can be a local source in this cove. To investigate how the MPs discharged from the stations are transported and accumulated, it is necessary to understand the movement of MPs. This study investigated the movement of MPs discharged from the research station through numerical simulation to elucidate the transport mechanism of MPs. And, the Lagrangian particle tracking method was coupled with the numerical simulation to track the trajectories of MPs. The present study finally suggested an optimal wastewater discharge method by simulating MPs according to waves, tidal cycles, and discharge locations.