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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Adsorption-Driven Cloud Droplet Activation of Fresh and Aged Polypropylene Particles
ClearWeathering influences the ice nucleation activity of microplastics
Researchers discovered that microplastics can influence ice formation in the atmosphere, a process important for cloud behavior and weather patterns. They found that polyethylene microplastics could trigger ice crystal formation at temperatures relevant to mixed-phase clouds, and that environmental weathering altered this capability. The study reveals a previously unknown way that atmospheric microplastic pollution could potentially influence weather and climate processes.
Airborne hydrophilic microplastics in cloud water at high altitudes and their role in cloud formation
Researchers collected cloud water from mountain summits in Japan at altitudes up to 3,776 meters and found microplastics in every sample, including common types like polyethylene and polypropylene. Many of the particles showed signs of degradation and contained water-attracting chemical groups, suggesting they could influence cloud formation by acting as condensation nuclei. The study raises the possibility that airborne microplastics may be affecting weather patterns and climate at a global scale.
Microplastic Particles Contain Ice Nucleation Sites That Can Be Inhibited by Atmospheric Aging
Scientists discovered that some microplastic particles can trigger ice crystal formation in clouds, a process that influences weather patterns and rainfall. However, when the plastics were exposed to UV light and ozone (simulating atmospheric aging), their ice-forming ability decreased, suggesting that weathered microplastics in the atmosphere may behave differently from fresh particles.
Potential impacts of atmospheric microplastics and nanoplastics on cloud formation processes
Researchers investigated how atmospheric microplastics and nanoplastics could act as cloud condensation nuclei or ice nucleating particles, potentially affecting cloud formation, precipitation patterns, and Earth's radiation balance at sufficient concentrations.
Microplastic particles contain ice nucleation sites that can be deactivated by atmospheric aging
Researchers found that microplastics can act as ice nucleation sites that trigger cloud glaciation, but that atmospheric aging processes such as UV exposure and chemical weathering can deactivate these ice nucleation properties, with implications for cloud formation and climate.
Snowballing Impact of Spontaneously Degrading Microplastics on Atmospheric Ice Nucleation
Researchers demonstrated that as microplastics degrade in the environment, they become increasingly effective at promoting ice formation in the atmosphere, which could alter precipitation patterns. The degradation process creates smaller particles with surface features that significantly boost ice-nucleating activity. The study suggests that the growing presence of degrading microplastics in the atmosphere may have underappreciated effects on weather and climate.
Characterization of Microplastics in Clouds over Eastern China
Researchers collected cloud water samples from a mountain in eastern China and found an average of 463 microplastic particles per liter, with 60% smaller than 100 micrometers. The study found that surface roughening from photochemical aging likely increased the microplastics' ability to adsorb toxic metals such as lead and mercury. Evidence indicates that airborne microplastics may influence atmospheric metal cycles and cloud formation processes.
Pristine and Aged Microplastics Can Nucleate Ice Through Immersion Freezing
Laboratory experiments showed that microplastics made from four common plastics — polyethylene, polypropylene, PVC, and PET — can act as ice nuclei in the atmosphere, and that environmental aging (UV exposure, ozone, acid) changes their ice-nucleating ability. As microplastics are found throughout the atmosphere and even in clouds, this finding suggests they could potentially influence precipitation and cloud formation, with implications for regional weather and climate.
Colonization of Microplastics by Different Strains of Pseudomonas Syringae Increases Ice-Nucleation Activity
Scientists found that tiny plastic particles floating in our atmosphere can help form ice crystals in clouds, especially when bacteria grow on their surfaces. When certain bacteria colonize these microplastics, they become much better at creating ice, which could change how clouds form and behave in our atmosphere. This matters because microplastics are everywhere in our environment, and this research shows they might be affecting weather patterns in ways we didn't know about before.
Researchers find microplastics in clouds
Scientists found microplastics in cloud water collected from two Japanese mountains, identifying nine types of plastic particles at concentrations of 7-14 pieces per liter. This discovery suggests microplastics may travel long distances through the atmosphere via clouds, potentially spreading pollution far from its original sources.
Quick analysis of the influence of the monsoon on the concentration of microplastics in the air
Researchers analysed how monsoon rainfall affected atmospheric microplastic concentrations, finding that precipitation events redistributed plastic particles and temporarily increased concentrations of certain polymer types in air samples. The study identifies rainwater as both a carrier and a concentrating medium for atmospheric microplastics.
Snowballing Impactof Spontaneously Degrading Microplasticson Atmospheric Ice Nucleation
Researchers demonstrated that as microplastics degrade in the environment they become smaller and more porous, dramatically enhancing their ice-nucleating activity. Global airborne microplastic data integrated with climate modelling suggested that this progressive degradation could alter precipitation patterns and atmospheric chemistry at a meaningful scale.
Direct radiative effects of airborne microplastics
Researchers calculated for the first time how airborne microplastics might affect Earth's climate by absorbing and scattering sunlight, similar to dust particles. At current levels, the climate effect is small compared to other air pollutants, but plastic production has been growing rapidly for decades. As more microplastics accumulate in the atmosphere, their influence on climate could become more significant over time.
Characterizing Atmospheric Oxidation and Cloud Condensation Nuclei Activity of Polystyrene Nanoplastic Particles
Scientists measured for the first time how quickly polystyrene nanoplastics break down in the atmosphere when exposed to hydroxyl radicals, finding they can last from a few hours to about 80 days depending on particle size. The oxidized nanoplastics became better at forming cloud droplets, meaning they could influence weather and climate patterns. This research shows that airborne nanoplastics are not just a pollution problem but could also affect atmospheric processes and the air we breathe.
Microplastic particles contain ice nucleation sites that can be inhibited by atmospheric aging
Researchers found that microplastic particles contain ice nucleation sites that promote atmospheric ice formation and that atmospheric organic molecules can inhibit this nucleation activity, with implications for cloud formation and climate effects.
Potential Influence of Microplastics on Cloud Formation through Heterogeneous Ice Nucleation
Researchers tested whether microplastic particles can act as ice-nucleating agents and influence cloud ice formation through heterogeneous ice nucleation in laboratory experiments. Multiple polymer types triggered ice nucleation at temperatures relevant to cloud formation, suggesting that airborne microplastics could influence precipitation processes and atmospheric chemistry.
Heterogeneous Nucleation of Supersaturated Water Vapor onto Sub-10 nm Nanoplastic Particles
Researchers conducted the first experiments on heterogeneous nucleation of water vapor onto sub-10 nm PET nanoplastic seeds, finding that nanoplastics activate water droplet formation at lower supersaturation than silver particles, with strong effects from plastic additives and temperature — suggesting atmospheric nanoplastics may influence cloud formation.
The Influence of Atmospheric Microplastics on Global Climate Dynamics: An Interdisciplinary Review
This interdisciplinary review examines how atmospheric microplastics — because of their unique physical and chemical properties — interact with aerosol processes differently from natural particles such as dust and sea spray, with implications for cloud formation, radiative forcing, and global circulation patterns. The authors synthesize current understanding of how microplastic aerosols may influence climate dynamics and call for their integration into climate modeling frameworks.
Characterizing the Atmospheric Concentration, Transformation, and Cloud Condensation Nuclei Activity of Nanoplastic Particles
Scientists found tiny plastic particles floating in the air around Houston, with concentrations varying greatly across different locations. These nanoplastics can change chemically when exposed to sunlight and air pollution, potentially allowing them to travel long distances around the globe through the atmosphere. This matters because we're still learning how breathing in these microscopic plastic particles might affect human health, and this study shows they're more widespread in our air than previously understood.
Characterizing AtmosphericOxidation and Cloud CondensationNuclei Activity of Polystyrene Nanoplastic Particles
Researchers characterized how polystyrene nanoplastic particles undergo atmospheric oxidation and assessed their cloud condensation nuclei activity, finding that oxidative weathering alters nanoplastic surface chemistry in ways that influence their atmospheric lifetime and potential to seed cloud formation.
Microplastic aging and adsorption in the atmosphere, and their associated impacts on various spheres of the earth: A review
This review examines how microplastics travel through the atmosphere and change during transport due to sunlight, wind, and interactions with other air pollutants. These aging processes alter the surface chemistry of microplastics, affecting which toxic chemicals they can absorb and carry to new locations. The atmospheric pathway is a major route for spreading microplastic contamination globally, including into remote areas and into the air people breathe.
Do Microplastics Contribute to the Total Number Concentration of Ice Nucleating Particles?
Researchers modeled road-traffic-related microplastic emissions and estimated their potential contribution to ice-forming particles in clouds. In tropical regions and remote areas like East Antarctica, where other ice-nucleating particles are scarce, microplastics could account for up to 40% of the total ice-nucleating particle concentration. The study suggests that airborne microplastics may be influencing cloud formation and precipitation patterns in ways not previously considered.
Heterogeneous Ice Nucleation of Microplastics before and after Oxidation
Researchers investigated heterogeneous ice nucleation induced by seven morphologies of polypropylene, polyethylene, and polyethylene terephthalate microplastics in immersion freezing mode, and examined how atmospheric oxidation affects their ice-nucleating efficiency and potential influence on cloud formation.
Degradation of Microplastics and Nanoplastics: An Underexplored Pathway Contributing to Atmospheric Pollutants
Researchers reviewed how microplastics and nanoplastics degrade in the atmosphere through mechanical, photochemical, and microbial processes, releasing gaseous byproducts and serving as carriers for toxic substances. The study found that atmospheric degradation increases the particles' ability to interact with pollutants like heavy metals and persistent organic chemicals, amplifying health risks. Evidence indicates that airborne microplastics may also influence climate by affecting cloud formation and releasing greenhouse gases during photodegradation.