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Microplastics in Antarctica - A plastic legacy in the Antarctic snow?
Summary
Microplastics were found in snow from some of the most remote places on Earth, including Union Glacier and the South Pole in Antarctica. Using advanced detection methods capable of identifying particles as small as 11 micrometers, researchers found that 95% of the microplastics were smaller than 50 micrometers, suggesting previous studies in Antarctica likely underestimated contamination levels. The dominant plastic types -- polyamide, PET, and polyethylene -- point to a global atmospheric transport of plastic pollution.
Microplastic pollution in remote inland Antarctica is largely unknown. This study explored the plastic footprint of snow from remote Antarctic camps: Union Glacier, Schanz Glacier and the South Pole. Refined automated FTIR techniques enabled interrogation of microplastics (including fibres) to a lower detection limit of 11 μm in Antarctic snow for the first time. Microplastics were pervasive (73-3099 MP L). The majority (95 %) measured <50 μm, indicating that previous microplastic reports in Antarctica may be underestimated, due to analytical restrictions. Plastic polymer composition and concentration did not vary significantly between sites, with dominant polymers being polyamide (PA), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene (PE) and synthetic rubber. Results indicate that even in the earth's most remote regions, humans are leaving a plastic legacy in the snow, illustrating the importance of remote, cryospheric regions as critical study sites for determining temporal fluxes in microplastic pollution.
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