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Southern Ocean Cloud, Aerosol and Microplastic Data from the 2023 Ross Sea Antarctic Voyage
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Scientists sailed from New Zealand to Antarctica to measure air pollution, tiny plastic particles, and clouds over one of the most remote, "pristine" stretches of ocean on Earth. They found that even this far-flung region isn't free of airborne microplastics — a reminder that plastic pollution has spread nearly everywhere, including places far from cities and factories. This data will also help scientists build better climate models, since clouds over the Southern Ocean have been notoriously hard to predict, which matters for understanding future climate change.
The Southern Ocean is one of the most pristine regions in the world. Climate models have difficulty simulating clouds and aerosol in this region leading to large radiative biases and errors in climate change projections. Here we report novel measurements of aerosol, airborne microplastics and clouds made on the TAN2302 voyage of RV Tangaroa from Wellington, New Zealand to the northwestern Ross Sea, Antarctica in austral summer 2023. The voyage was carried out from 16 January to 23 February 2023. The complied data set includes measurements from a range of instruments including 1) meteorological conditions, 2) aerosol number, size and chemical composition, 3) airborne microplastic concentration and composition, and 4) remotely sensed observations of clouds. The data sets reported here provide useful information for climate model evaluation and development, and a benchmark of atmospheric microplastic pollution over the Southern Ocean.
More Papers Like This
Southern Ocean Cloud, Aerosol and Microplastic Data from the 2023 Ross Sea Antarctic Voyage
AI summary Read the abstract
Scientists sailed from New Zealand to Antarctica to measure air pollution, tiny plastic particles, and clouds over one of the most untouched parts of our planet—the Southern Ocean. They found microplastics floating in the air even in this remote region, showing that plastic pollution has spread nearly everywhere on Earth, including places far from cities and factories. This data will also help improve climate models, which currently struggle to accurately predict how clouds behave in this region—an issue that affects how well scientists can forecast future climate change.
Airborne and marine microplastics in the Southern Ocean environment
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Researchers collected atmospheric deposition and seawater samples during a voyage from New Zealand to the Ross Sea, Antarctica, and detected microplastics throughout the Southern Ocean, contributing rare data from one of the world's most remote regions to understanding atmospheric and marine plastic transport.
Airborne microplastics in Antarctica and New Zealand.
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Researchers detected airborne microplastics at two remote sites in Antarctica and New Zealand, including in previously pristine regions far from human habitation. The presence of microplastics in Antarctic air demonstrates that atmospheric transport can carry plastic particles to even the most remote corners of the planet.
First evidence of microplastics in Antarctic snow
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Researchers collected snow samples from 19 sites across Antarctica's Ross Island region and found microplastics in every sample, confirming that synthetic polymer particles have reached even this most remote environment. The findings show that atmospheric transport has delivered microplastics to pristine Antarctic snow far from any plastic sources.
Aerosol mass concentrations and dry/wet deposition of atmospheric microplastics at a remote coastal location in New Zealand
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Researchers quantified airborne microplastic concentrations at a remote coastal site in southern New Zealand using both active and passive sampling methods. They found plastics comprised at least 0.14% of total suspended particulate mass, with air trajectory analysis suggesting the Southern Ocean as a source. The study indicates that counting microplastics by number alone may significantly underestimate true atmospheric plastic pollution, since the smallest and most abundant particles escape microscopic detection.
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