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Microplastic Particles Contain Ice Nucleation Sites That Can Be Inhibited by Atmospheric Aging
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Scientists discovered that some microplastic particles can trigger ice crystal formation in clouds, a process that influences weather patterns and rainfall. However, when the plastics were exposed to UV light and ozone (simulating atmospheric aging), their ice-forming ability decreased, suggesting that weathered microplastics in the atmosphere may behave differently from fresh particles.
Recent research has shown that microplastics are widespread in the atmosphere. However, we know little about their ability to nucleate ice and their impact on ice formation in clouds. Ice nucleation by microplastics could also limit their long-range transport and global distribution. The present study explores the heterogeneous ice-nucleating ability of seven microplastic samples in immersion freezing mode. Two polypropylene samples and one polyethylene terephthalate sample froze heterogeneously with median freezing temperatures of -20.9, -23.2, and -21.9 °C, respectively. The number of ice nucleation sites per surface area, ns(T), ranged from 10-1 to 104 cm-2 in a temperature interval of -15 to -25 °C, which is comparable to that of volcanic ash and fungal spores. After exposure to ozone or a combination of UV light and ozone, simulating atmospheric aging, the ice nucleation activity decreased in some cases and remained unchanged in others. Our freezing data suggest that microplastics may promote ice formation in cloud droplets. In addition, based on a comparison of our freezing results and previous simulations using a global transport model, ice nucleation by microplastics will impact their long-range transport to faraway locations and global distribution.
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Laboratory experiments showed that microplastics made from four common plastics — polyethylene, polypropylene, PVC, and PET — can act as ice nuclei in the atmosphere, and that environmental aging (UV exposure, ozone, acid) changes their ice-nucleating ability. As microplastics are found throughout the atmosphere and even in clouds, this finding suggests they could potentially influence precipitation and cloud formation, with implications for regional weather and climate.
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Researchers tested whether microplastics can act as ice-nucleating particles in the atmosphere and found that all four polymer types studied could trigger ice formation through immersion freezing. Environmental aging processes such as UV exposure and ozone treatment generally decreased ice-nucleating activity for most plastics, though PVC showed increased activity after aging. The findings suggest that airborne microplastics may play a previously unrecognized role in atmospheric ice formation and cloud processes.
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