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Airborne microplastics on the move: Urban Europe as a source to remote regions
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Researchers measured airborne microplastics at both urban and remote sites across Norway and found that tire wear particles dominated urban air pollution, with seasonal peaks during the switch to winter tires. Microplastics were also detected at remote locations far from cities, confirming that these particles undergo long-range atmospheric transport from urban source regions across Europe.
This study presents a comprehensive assessment of unique parallel measurements of surface airborne and deposited microplastics (AMPs) across urban and remote sites in Norway, employing pyrolysis-GC/MS for polymer-specific analysis. MPs were detected in nearly all samples, with significantly higher concentrations and fluxes observed in urban areas like Oslo, where tire wear particles (TWP) dominated (>90 % of AMP mass). Seasonal peaks in TWP coincided with the transition to winter tires, while remote sites showed consistent but lower AMP levels, indicating long-range transport (LRT) from European source regions. Parallel measurements of suspended and deposited AMPs revealed consistent polymer signatures, highlighting common sources and transport pathways. Although urban TWP contributions to PM2.5 were generally low, episodic events reached up to 30 %, raising concerns about human exposure. The dual dataset enabled a robust cross-validation of atmospheric loading estimates and facilitated integration into advanced transport models for remote sites. Our findings confirm AMPs as significant components of urban air pollution and subsequent carriers of chemical and biological contaminants to remote regions, emphasizing the need for targeted monitoring and mitigation strategies.
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Occurrence and backtracking of microplastic mass loads including tire wear particles in northern Atlantic air
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Scientists measured airborne microplastic concentrations, including tire wear particles, in the atmosphere over the Norwegian coast and Arctic waters using specialized air sampling devices. They detected microplastics even in remote Arctic locations, with tire wear particles being the most abundant type found. Atmospheric transport modeling suggested these particles enter the marine atmosphere from both land and sea sources, indicating that airborne transport is a significant pathway for microplastic pollution reaching remote ocean regions.
Comparison of Atmospheric Microplastic in remote and urban locations in Norway; occurrence, composition and sources
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Researchers deployed passive and active air samplers at two remote Norwegian monitoring stations — Ny-Alesund in Svalbard and Birkenes in mainland Norway — as well as three Norwegian cities in 2022 and 2023 to compare atmospheric microplastic occurrence, composition, and potential sources between urban and remote environments. They found rubber from car tires and nylon dominated most samples, with deposition samples yielding more than 10 times higher concentrations than active samples, and remote Arctic samples lower than urban sites, with styrene-butadiene rubber indicating the significant role of tire wear particles.
Occurrence and backtracking of microplastic mass loads including tire wear particles in northern Atlantic air
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Researchers used active air sampling devices during a research cruise along the Norwegian coast to the Arctic to measure microplastic mass loads in the marine atmosphere, including tire wear particles, analyzed by pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. They found microplastics were omnipresent even in remote Arctic sampling areas, with polyethylene terephthalate ubiquitous and tire wear particles reaching up to 35 ng/m3, and atmospheric transport models indicating both sea-based and land-based emission sources.
Atmospheric Microplastic in the Arctic and Mainland Norway; comparing urban and remote locations
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Researchers deployed passive and active air samplers at two remote stations, Ny Alesund in the High Norwegian Arctic and Birkenes on mainland Norway, to compare atmospheric microplastic concentrations, compositions, and deposition rates between urban and remote locations to evaluate the magnitude of long-range atmospheric MP transport to the Arctic.
Occurrence and backtracking of microplastic mass loads including tire wear particles in northern Atlantic air
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Researchers measured microplastic mass loads — including tire wear particles — in the marine atmosphere during a research cruise along the Norwegian coast to Bear Island, using both low-volume and high-volume active air samplers while applying rigorous contamination controls to quantify microplastic transport in the northern Atlantic air.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.