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Daily briefing: Vast landscape of ancient stone structures discovered
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Researchers and journalists highlighted emerging evidence on microplastic health risks alongside a discovery of an ancient ritual landscape in Saudi Arabia, underscoring growing public and scientific concern about ubiquitous plastic pollution and its effects on human health.
Area in Saudi Arabia might be the oldest large-scale ritual landscape in the world. Plus, the health risks of microplastics and how undergraduates are coping with curtailed opportunities during the pandemic. Area in Saudi Arabia might be the oldest large-scale ritual landscape in the world. Plus, the health risks of microplastics and how undergraduates are coping with curtailed opportunities during the pandemic.
More Papers Like This
Daily briefing: Microplastics muddy the definition of the Anthropocene
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Researchers questioned whether microplastics are reliable markers for defining the Anthropocene geological epoch, noting that the inconsistent global distribution and variable preservation of microplastics in sedimentary records may undermine their utility as a universal stratigraphic signal compared to other proposed Anthropocene markers.
Annual activities 2016
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This is an annual report (not a health study) from JPI Oceans, a European research network focused on ocean health, summarizing their 2016 activities. Key highlights include research showing that deep-sea mining could threaten unique and fragile ocean life, and the kickoff of coordinated research projects studying microplastic pollution in our oceans, work that matters because these tiny plastic particles can enter the food chain and potentially affect the seafood we eat. The report also mentions efforts to standardize water quality testing across countries, helping ensure consistent environmental protections.
Daily briefing: Plastic tea bags make plastic tea
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A single plastic tea bag releases billions of microplastic particles directly into the beverage during steeping, meaning consumers may be ingesting microplastics with every cup. This finding adds to growing evidence that common household products are an underappreciated route of direct human microplastic exposure.
Far more microplastics floating in oceans than thought
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A new sampling method revealed that southern ocean microplastic concentrations are 37 times higher than previously estimated, suggesting that existing models have dramatically underestimated the scale of plastic pollution in Earth's most remote marine environments.
Are our rock-climbing shoes shedding plastics?
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Environmental scientist Anya Sherman's research highlighted that rock-climbing shoe rubber sheds microplastic particles that can be taken up by crops and people, adding athletic footwear to the growing list of overlooked everyday microplastic sources. The finding broadens awareness that virtually any rubber or synthetic product subject to mechanical wear contributes to environmental microplastic loads that ultimately enter the human food supply.
Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.