Researchers found microplastics in freshly fallen Antarctica snow for the first time, according to a new study.
The study, published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal The Cryosphere on Tuesday, underlines growing concerns about the threats of microplastic pollution on the environment and life worldwide – even in some of the most remote corners of the globe.
Microplastics can now be found anywhere from the top of Mount Everest to the deepest oceans. These tiny particles of waste – consisting of any type of plastic less than five millimeters long – also enter the body through the food, drink and the air we breathe. Recent research has detected microplastics in human blood and in the lungs of living people.
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The Antarctica findings are particularly jarring because of the icy continent’s isolation at the southern tip of the world and little human activity outside of scientific research, the study’s authors from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand note.
“It’s incredibly sad but finding microplastics in fresh Antarctic snow highlights the extent of plastic pollution into even the most remote regions of the world,” Alex Aves, a lead author of the study, said in a university news release.
Aves also notes that she and her colleagues collected snow samples from 19 sites across the Ross Island region of Antarctica. They found microplastics in all of them – with an average of 29 particles in each liter of melted snow.
“Looking back now, I’m not at all surprised,” Laura Revell, an associate professor at the University of Canterbury who is also one of the study’s authors, stated. “From the studies published in the last few years we’ve learned that everywhere we look for airborne microplastics, we find them.”
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Microplastics have previously been found in the South Ocean and there’s been evidence of microplastics in Antarctica in the past, but Tuesday’s study marks the first confirmation of this kind of pollution in the continent’s snow. The researchers found a total of 13 different types of microplastics. The most common microplastic was PET, which is often used to make plastic bottles and caps.
On the other side of the world, a 2019 study found “enormous concentrations” of microplastics around Earth’s North Pole, in snow across the Arctic.
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Previous research suggests health and climate consequences of microplastic pollution – including links to human cell damage, oxidative stress and reproductive harm. The University of Canterbury also notes that microplastics’ presence in the air has the potential to speed up the melting of snow and ice.
Scientists underlined the need for further research.
“Our results highlight the importance of further monitoring – both in Antarctica and in surrounding waters – to develop our understanding of the microplastic footprint in Antarctica and the threat it may pose to the Antarctic environment,” the Tuesday study reads.
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism