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Atmospheric supply of microplastics in the south of Western Siberia according to microscopic analysis of snow cover samples
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This study assessed atmospheric microplastic deposition in western Siberia by analyzing snow cover samples that accumulate airborne particles during winter. Using scanning electron microscopy, researchers detected plastic particles in snow, demonstrating long-range atmospheric transport of microplastics to this remote region.
To assess the possibility of atmospheric supply of microplastics in the south of Western Siberia, integrated snow cover samples at two test sites were taken. In this study, snow cover was considered as an accumulator of atmospheric precipitation during the cold period. The use of Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM S-3400N Hitachi Science Systems Ltd, Japan) allowed to visually detect particles and fibers in the obtained samples that were previously identified as microplastics. To confirm that the detected particles are microplastics, the elemental composition of the same samples was analyzed using energy-dispersive spectrometry for the scanning electron microscope (XFlash 4010, Bruker AXS Microanalysis GmbH, Germany). This method also showed that the detected particles and fibers are microplastics.
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