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Fate, transport, and source of microplastics in the headwaters of the Yangtze River on the Tibetan Plateau
Summary
Researchers studied microplastic pollution in the headwaters of the Yangtze River on the remote Tibetan Plateau. They found microplastics present even in this isolated region, with higher concentrations in tributaries than the main river channel. The findings suggest that microplastic contamination has reached some of the most remote freshwater sources on Earth.
Microplastics (MPs) in the Yangtze River have been drawn increasing attention recently with most merely concentrating on the plain area. This research focuses on the source area of the Yangtze River on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP), revealing the occurrence, drivers, sources, and exposure risks of riverine MPs in the Jinsha River (JSR) basin. The results showed that average MP abundances determined were higher in the tributaries than in the of mainstreams. According to the correlation analysis, MP abundance was consistently negatively related to pH and altitude both in water and sediment. However, MPs in two media showed a contrary relationship with river width, which could be explained by the special terrain of plateau rivers and hydrological conditions. After the tributary river flow into the mainstream, the concentration of MPs in the mainstream near the tributary side were significantly lower than that before confluence temporarily. Based on the conditional fragmentation-based model, the cumulative λ value of fibers in surface water along the river divided the JSR into three stages (upstream, midstream, and downstream). Under certain assumptions, the proportions of MPs sourced from three stages were eventually revealed, respectively. This is conducive to better understanding the plateau environmental impacts of MP distribution in the large river.
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