Following another year of stark climate impacts in the Arctic, scientists warned Tuesday of a new scourge hitting the region: marine trash. With the region warming twice as fast as the rest of the world, sea ice that has long blanketed the Arctic Ocean is disappearing, opening new routes to shipping.

Residents across the Bering Strait have continued to report unusual amounts of foreign trash washing up on their beaches. After months of working on the models, NOAA has been able to pin the source of the debris as likely somewhere southwest of St. Lawrence Island in the Gulf of Anadyr.

The Bering Sea has noted an abundance of foreign debris washing up on our shores. Communities like Unalakleet, Gambell, Savoonga and Nome have all reported and documented hoards of this debris.

Unusual debris found on beach