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Effects of Microplastics in the Cryosphere
Summary
Microplastics have been detected at surprisingly high concentrations in the cryosphere — glaciers, sea ice, and polar snow — with melting ice acting as a release mechanism that redistributes accumulated plastics into freshwater and marine systems. This finding means climate change and plastic pollution are compounding threats, as warming accelerates the release of long-stored microplastic reservoirs into ecosystems.
Microplastics have been found in most parts of the world including the cryosphere, the part of the Earth’s surface characterized by frozen water. Surprisingly, high concentration of microplastics has been observed in some cryosphere areas. Shrinking of the...