• Ar
  • Es
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Feature
  • Videos
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Feature
Videos
Infographs
In Pictures
  1. Home
  2. News
  3. Environment
  4. Microplastics found in fresh Antarctic snow
Environment

Microplastics found in fresh Antarctic snow

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 10 Jun 2022 12:29

In a shocking discovery, scientists find microplastics in freshly fallen Antarctic snow.

  • Microplastics found in fresh Antarctic snow
    Researchers discovered 29 particles per liter of melted Antarctic snow on average.

Microplastics have been discovered for the first time in freshly fallen Antarctic snow by scientists.

Researchers from New Zealand's University of Canterbury collected samples from 19 locations in Antarctica, each of which included small plastic particles.

Microplastics, which are smaller than a grain of rice and sometimes imperceptible to the human eye, are formed by the erosion of plastic materials. The researchers discovered 29 particles per liter of melted snow on average.

They discovered 13 new forms of plastics, with polyethylene terephthalate (PET) being the most popular. PET is commonly used in soft drink bottles and apparel. This was discovered in 79% of the samples.

Where did they come from?

"The most likely source of these airborne microplastics is local scientific research stations," researcher Alex Aves wrote in the Cryosphere journal. "However, modelling shows their origin could have been up to 6,000km (3,700 miles) away."

Microplastic contamination had previously been discovered in Antarctic sea ice and surface water, but this is the first time it has been seen in fresh snow.

Read next: The ugly face of plastic production

 

Microplastics are spiraling throughout the globe, according to a large study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences last year. Microplastics are commonly transported by dust, wind, and ocean currents.

Researchers discovered microplastics at the summit of Mount Everest in 2020. They've also been discovered in the deepest parts of the ocean.

Why is the new find worrying?

This form of pollution can have both local and wider effects.

"Microplastics can have harmful substances stuck onto their surfaces such as heavy metals, algae," says Laura Revell, associate professor at Canterbury University, who was also involved in the research.

Microplastics are also inhaled and ingested by humans through the air, water, and food, according to experts.

Read next: Nowhere is clean: Study finds plastic in supposedly 'clean' air

 

Little research has been done on their impacts on human health, a study published last year by Hull York Medical School and the University of Hull discovered that high amounts of ingested microplastics in the human body might induce detrimental consequences such as cell death and allergic reactions.

Clean snowpacks, icefields, and glaciers may reflect a lot of sunlight, but other polluting particles like black carbon have been identified on Himalayan icefields and glaciers, and experts believe they speed up melting.

Also, fast-melting glaciers on mountain ranges around the world are becoming increasingly dangerous, producing landslides and avalanches, as well as causing glacial lakes to burst their banks.

Glacier retreat and thinning pose a hazard to water resources and agriculture in mountainous areas around the world.

Read next: Scientists detect microplastics in human blood

  • Environment
  • Microplastics
  • Antarctica

Trending Now

All
This year’s Ozone layer hole is bigger than the Antarctica

This Year’s Ozone Layer Hole ‘Larger than Usual’

Most Read

Indonesian president Joko Widodo during an interview in Jakarta in 2016 (Reuters)

Widodo urges Indonesia to abandon Visa, MasterCard to be 'independent'

  • Asia
  • 16 Mar
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen listens to opening remarks before testifying before the Senate Finance Committee about the President's proposed budget request for the fiscal year 2024, Thursday, March 16, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP)

US Debt ceiling ‘must be raised’ ahead of default: Treasury Secretary

  • US & Canada
  • 16 Mar
Rallies held in Washington DC to protest US militarism

Peace rallies held in Washington DC to protest US militarism

  • US & Canada
  • 18 Mar
Poland

Poland may end up 'joining' Ukraine war: Polish Ambassador to France

  • Europe
  • 20 Mar

Read this

All
US dollar may lose status as global reserve currency: Yellen
US & Canada

US dollar may lose status as global reserve currency: Yellen

  • 22 Mar
US military reports recruitment problem from Generation Z
US & Canada

US military reports recruitment problem from Gen Z

  • 22 Mar
.
US & Canada

Peace protesters hold up Senate hearing as Blinken delivers testimony

  • Today
US -Israeli relations in crisis: Axios
Politics

US-Israeli relations in crisis: Axios

  • 22 Mar
Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS