The purpose of this study was to quantify microplastic pollution in the Southern Ocean through the analysis of sea-ice cores from several distinct regions around the Antarctic continent. We analysed 19 sea-ice cores from 10 individual research expeditions across distinct Southern Ocean regions: The Antarctic Peninsula, the Bellinghausen Sea, the Weddell Sea, Queen Maud Land, Prydz Bay, Wilkes Land, Mawson Sea, the Ross Sea, and McMurdo Sound, and sampled between austral summers 2004-2022. The campaigns and drill dates are as follows: ISPOL (Dec 2004), SIMBA (Oct 2007), YROSIAE (Dec 2011 and Nov 2012), SIPEX II (Oct 2012), DAVIS (Nov 2015), AAV2 (Dec 2016), PIPERS (May 2017), AWECS (June 2017), REKT (Jan 2021), and DML (Jan 2022). Abundance, chemical composition and size data for microplastics was obtained from these ice-core samples by means of Fourier-transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). Sample analysis was conducted with OPUS 8.7 software (Bruker), and the collated OPUS data was exported as an ENVI file and particle analysis was conducted with Purency Microplastic Finder (PMF) an automated analysis software for μFTIR imaging. In the provided excel data set, the sheet labelled “total polymer counts” provides data directly from Purency Microplastic Finder software, including polymer type, pixel size, area, length and width and denoted individually for each ice-core drill site. The sheet labelled “MP concentrations” denotes the abundance of microplastic particles per core, the quantity of sea-ice meltwater filtered, and the integrated abundances of microplastics across drill seasons, sites, and ice textures. The R data tab in data collated from the previous sheets to perform statistical analyses in R to determine if there were significant differences in medians across ice types, pan-Antarctic regions, and seasons. See the downloadable dataset for more information.

This study was carried out to estimate the microplastics (i.e. plastics measuring less than 5mm, reported in unit of pieces/m^3) concentration in the Arctic Central basin. Microplastics data was collected from 2016-08-09 to 2016-09-16 aboard the Swedish icebreaker Oden. Ocean water was pumped onboard the vessel via the bow water system to collect microplastics samples. This dataset contains the results from all 58 sampling stations, in a spreadsheet format.

This dataset contains data collected during and after a series of ice deformation experiments. Seven of the experiments are controls, run at a constant temperature of either -2, -7 or -10 degrees celsius, and four involve a change in temperature partway through the experiment. Vertical displacement and temperature data were collected during the experiments, and microstructural data (fabric analyser thin sections) were collected at the conclusion of each experiment. The experimental methods and our interpretations are described thoroughly in Craw, et al. (in prep). In folder mechanical_data: - One .csv file for each experiment containing a header with information on experimental conditions, and columns of data corresponding to time (hours), vertical displacement (mm), and temperature (degrees celsius) throughout the experiment. This is raw data, there will be points recorded from before weights were added at the beginning of the experiment, and after the temperature was lowered at the end. in folder microstructural_data: - One .mat file for each experiment, containing microstructural data (spatially indexed Euler orientations) formatted to be read by the MTEX toolbox (https://mtex-toolbox.github.io/). There is also a file for an example of the starting material, "standard" laboratory ice. These data are converted from the .cis files which are generated by the G50 fabric analyser. - One .m script (plot_microstructural_data.m) containing commands for plotting spatial maps, histograms of grain size distribution and pole figures of c-axis orientation from the .mat files in this directory.

This study was carried out to estimate the microplastics (i.e. plastics measuring less than 5mm, reported in unit of pieces/m^3) concentration in four coastal areas of the Mediterranean Sea, namely, Saronikos Gulf, Ligurian Sea, Gulf of Lion, and Gabes Gulf. Microplastics data was collected from 2018-09-05 to 2019-11-20 using manta net. This dataset contains the results from all 71 surface net tows, in a spreadsheet format.

AM05 borehole drilled December 2009. Data being collected at annual re-visits to site. Consult Readme file for detail of data files and formats. A word document providing further information is also available as part of the download. All of the .dat files of data can be viewed with a text editor such as Wordpad. 2012-2013 data may be final data from the unit owing to battery failure. The original project for this dataset was ASAC 1164, but recent data fall under the auspices of project AAS 4096.

AM06 borehole drilled January 2010. Data being collected at annual re-visits to site. Consult Readme file for detail of data files and formats. A word document providing further information is also available as part of the download. All of the .dat files of data can be viewed with a text editor such as Wordpad. 2012-2013 data may be final data from the unit owing to battery failure. The original project for this dataset was ASAC 1164, but recent data fall under the auspices of project AAS 4096.

This study was carried out to estimate the microplastics (i.e. plastics measuring less than 5mm, reported in unit of pieces kg-1 d.w.) concentration in deep sea sediments in the northeast Atlantic Ocean margins. Microplastics data was collected from 2019-08-03 to 2019-08-19 using a remotely operated vehicle aboard RV Celtic Explorer. This dataset contains the results from all 40 sampling efforts, in a spreadsheet format.

This dataset quantifies the distribution, and abundance of microplastics in the northeastern Pacific. Data was collected aboard R/V New Horizon and NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer using neuston and manta nets and is in a spreadsheet format. This dataset includes the results from 235 tows, collected under different programs over 38 years. The ships traveled at about 18.5 km/hr, with tows spaced approximately 74-111 km apart. Mean concentration of microplastics for the dataset is 2.18 particles/m3.

AM03 borehole drilled December 2005. Data being collected at annual re-visits to site. Consult Readme file for detail of data files and formats. A word document providing further information is also available as part of the download. All of the .dat files of data can be viewed with a text editor such as Wordpad. 2011-2012 data may be final data from the unit owing to battery failure. The original project for this dataset was ASAC 1164, but recent data fall under the auspices of project AAS 4096.