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Environmental fate of microplastics in high-altitude basins: the insights into the Yarlung Tsangpo River Basin
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Researchers mapped microplastic pollution across the Yarlung Tsangpo River Basin in Tibet, finding contamination in water, sediment, and soil even in remote high-altitude areas. Below 4,000 meters, human activity was the main source, while above 4,500 meters, microplastics arrived through the atmosphere. The study shows that microplastic pollution has reached some of Earth's most remote regions, meaning no freshwater source is truly free from contamination.
Microplastics (MPs) have been found in remote high-altitude areas, but the main source and migration process remained unclear. This work explored the characteristics and potential sources of MPs in the Yarlung Tsangpo River Basin. The average abundances of MPs in water, sediment, and soil samples were 728.26 ± 100.53 items/m, 43.16 ± 5.82 items/kg, and 61.92 ± 4.29 items/kg, respectively, with polypropylene and polyethylene as the main polymers. The conditional fragmentation model revealed that the major source of MPs lower than 4000 m was human activities, while that of higher than 4500 m was atmospheric deposition. Community analysis was further conducted to explore the migration process and key points of MPs among different compartments in the basin. It was found that Lhasa (3600 m) and Shigatse (4100 m) were vital sources of MPs inputs in the midstream and downstream, respectively. This work would provide new insights into the fate of MPs in high-altitude areas.
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