Abstract：
Antarctica and the Southern Ocean are the most remote regions on Earth, and their quite pristine environmental conditions are increasingly threatened by local scientific, tourism and fishing activities and long-range transport of persistent anthropogenic contaminants from lower latitudes. Plastic debris has become one of the most pervasive and ubiquitous synthetic wastes in the global environment, and even at some coastal Antarctic sites it is the most common and enduring evidence of past and recent human activities. Despite the growing scientific interest in the occurrence of microplastics (MPs) in the Antarctic environment, the lack of standardized methodologies for the collection, analysis and assessment of sample contamination in the field and in the lab does not allow us to establish their bioavailability and potential impact. Overall, most of the Southern Ocean appears to be little-affected by plastic contamination, with the exception of some coastal marine ecosystems impacted by wastewater from scientific stations and tourist vessels or by local fishing activities. Microplastics have been detected in sediments, benthic organisms, Antarctic krill and fish, but there is no clear evidence of their transfer to seabirds and marine mammals. Therefore, we suggest directing future research towards standardization of methodologies, focusing attention on nanoplastics (which probably represent the greatest biological risks) and considering the interactions of MPs with macro- and microalgae (especially sea-ice algae) and the formation of epiplastic communities. In coastal ecosystems directly impacted by human activities, the combined exposure to paint chips, metals, persistent organic pollutants (POPs), contaminants of emerging interest (CEI) and pathogenic microorganisms represents a potential danger for marine organisms. Moreover, the Southern Ocean is very sensitive to water acidification and has shown a remarkable decrease in sea-ice formation in recent years. These climate-related stresses could reduce the resilience of Antarctic marine organisms, increasing the impact of anthropogenic contaminants and pathogenic microorganisms.
摘要：
南极洲和南大洋是地球上最偏远的地区,他们相当原始的环境条件越来越受到当地科学的威胁，旅游和捕鱼活动以及来自低纬度的持续人为污染物的远距离运输。塑料碎片已成为全球环境中最普遍和无处不在的合成废物之一，甚至在一些南极沿海地点，它也是过去和最近人类活动的最常见和最持久的证据。尽管人们对南极环境中微塑料（MPs）的出现越来越感兴趣，缺乏标准化的收集方法，在现场和实验室对样品污染的分析和评估不允许我们确定它们的生物利用度和潜在影响。总的来说,大部分南大洋似乎几乎没有受到塑料污染的影响，除了一些沿海海洋生态系统受到科学站和旅游船只的废水或当地捕鱼活动的影响。已经在沉积物中检测到微塑料，底栖生物,南极磷虾和鱼类，但是没有明确的证据表明它们可以转移到海鸟和海洋哺乳动物身上。因此,我们建议将未来的研究引向方法论的标准化，将注意力集中在纳米塑料（可能代表最大的生物风险）上，并考虑MP与大型和微型藻类（尤其是海冰藻类）的相互作用以及表塑性群落的形成。在受人类活动直接影响的沿海生态系统中，对油漆碎片的联合暴露，金属，持久性有机污染物(POPs)，新兴目标污染物（CEI）和病原微生物对海洋生物构成潜在危险。此外，南大洋对水酸化非常敏感，近年来海冰形成显着减少。这些与气候有关的压力可能会降低南极海洋生物的复原力，增加人为污染物和病原微生物的影响。
