Sampling and Quantification of Microplastic Pollution on Vatnajökull Glacier

Microplastics (MP) have infiltrated the most pristine environments on Earth, including Vatnajökull, Europe’s largest glacier by volume. Although Stefánsson et al. (2021) confirmed MP presence on Vatnajökull, limited sampling locations prevent a comprehensive assessment of MP pollution burden on the glacier. In addition, no standardized protocols exist for collecting and analyzing ice cores for MP contamination. Our work focuses on creating a universal protocol of ice core sampling for MP analysis in glaciers and expanding our sampling locations on Vatnajökull glacier. A 2024 expedition to Vatnajökull focused on assessing MP levels in ice cores collected with standard cold-weather gear containing plastic polymers (e.g., polyester, a polymer with a significant pollution burden in remote areas (Fox et al., 2024)). These results were compared to ice cores collected with fully plastic-free outer layers. Our results demonstrate the importance of wearing plastic-free outer layers to reduce sample contamination when taking ice cores in pristine glacial environments. These results will be implemented in future expeditions to Vatnajökull where a holistic profile of MP contamination around the glacier will be constructed.