Microplastic pollution found “pervasive” in Antarctic snow
By Douglas Main
New research has found significant levels of tiny microplastics within Antarctic snow from multiple locations across the world’s most remote wilderness, findings that reinforce concerns that no part of the planet is safe from plastic pollution.
The paper, published this month in Science of the Total Environment, provides evidence that earlier studies have underestimated the extent of microplastic contamination in the region.
The first such study on the subject, published in 2022, found an average of 29 particles per liter of snow sampled. The new study, which used techniques that allow for greater detection of tiny materials, found that “microplastics were pervasive” at more than 3,000 particles per liter, with an average of around 800 particles. About 95% of these bits were under 50 microns, slightly smaller than the average width of a human hair.
Researchers now know that microplastics are essentially everywhere — the remote Amazon, inside human brains, plant roots, clouds — but to find them in such levels in the world’s most remote wilderness still came as a shock.
“It was surprising to see such high concentrations of microplastics in areas with a limited human footprint,” said study co-author Emily Rowlands, a researcher with the British Antarctic Survey.