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Microplastic particles contain ice nucleation sites that can be deactivated by atmospheric aging
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Researchers found that microplastics can act as ice nucleation sites that trigger cloud glaciation, but that atmospheric aging processes such as UV exposure and chemical weathering can deactivate these ice nucleation properties, with implications for cloud formation and climate.
Recent research has shown that microplastics are widespread in the atmosphere. However, we know little about their ability to nucleate ice and impact cloud glaciation. Ice nucleation by microplastics could also limit their long-range transport and global distributions. The present study explores the heterogeneous ice nucleation activity of seven microplastic samples in the immersion-freezing mode. Two polypropylene and one polyethylene terephthalate sample froze heterogeneously with median freezing temperatures of -20.9°C, -23.2°C and -21.9°C, respectively. The number of ice nucleation sites per surface area, n_s (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. An initial assessment using microplastic concentrations reported in the literature and our freezing data suggest that microplastics may influence cloud glaciation in some situations, but more studies are needed to confirm this initial assessment. Ice nucleation by microplastics may also impact their long-range transport and global distribution of microplastics based on a comparison of our freezing results and those of fungal spores.
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Microplastic particles contain ice nucleation sites that can be inhibited by atmospheric aging
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Researchers found that microplastic particles contain ice nucleation sites that promote atmospheric ice formation and that atmospheric organic molecules can inhibit this nucleation activity, with implications for cloud formation and climate effects.
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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.
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Researchers discovered that microplastics can influence ice formation in the atmosphere, a process important for cloud behavior and weather patterns. They found that polyethylene microplastics could trigger ice crystal formation at temperatures relevant to mixed-phase clouds, and that environmental weathering altered this capability. The study reveals a previously unknown way that atmospheric microplastic pollution could potentially influence weather and climate processes.
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Researchers demonstrated that as microplastics degrade in the environment they become smaller and more porous, dramatically enhancing their ice-nucleating activity. Global airborne microplastic data integrated with climate modelling suggested that this progressive degradation could alter precipitation patterns and atmospheric chemistry at a meaningful scale.
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Researchers tested whether microplastic particles can act as ice-nucleating agents and influence cloud ice formation through heterogeneous ice nucleation in laboratory experiments. Multiple polymer types triggered ice nucleation at temperatures relevant to cloud formation, suggesting that airborne microplastics could influence precipitation processes and atmospheric chemistry.
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