Researchers have for the first time found microplastics in freshly fallen Antarctic snow. Scientists from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand collected samples from 19 sites in Antarctica and each contained tiny plastic fragments.
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET)
- Of the 13 different plastic types found, the most common was polyethylene terephthalate (PET).
- Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is a type of plastic used in everyday items such as clothes, plastic bottles, packaging etc. PET was found in 79 per cent of all samples.
What are Microplastics?
- Microplastics are tiny plastic debris that are smaller than 5 mm in length, tinier than even a grain of rice.
There are two types of microplastics.
- Primary microplastics: These are tiny particles that are purposely designed as such for commercial use, like in cosmetics, nurdles-plastic pellets used in industrial manufacturing and in fibres from synthetic textiles like nylon.
- Secondary microplastics: These are formed through the degradation of larger plastic items like bottles, fishing nets and plastic bags. This occurs through exposure to the environment, like radiation from the sun, wind and ocean waves.
Sources of microplastics in Antarctic
- The most likely source of these airborne microplastics is local scientific research stations due to the clothing worn by staff, broken fragments of plastic equipment and mismanaged waste.
- There was a much larger concentration of microplastics (nearly 3 times higher) in the samples next to local base camps, such as Scott Base and McMurdo Station in Ross Island, as compared to those from more remote sites.
- However, modelling shows their origin could have been up to 6,000km (3,700 miles) away. These particles, due to their light weight and low density, might have travelled through air from more than 6,000 km away.
Microplastic impacts
- Distinctive ecosystem: The presence of these particles can pose a huge threat to Antarctica’s distinctive ecosystem.
- Microplastics are not biodegradable and once they are found in the environment, they begin to accumulate. They can be toxic for plants and animals.
- Ingestion of microplastics by various life forms in the region, from microorganisms like zooplankton to larger predators like king penguins can disrupt their usual biological processes and negatively impact the entire Antarctic food chain.
- Climate change: The presence of microplastics in Antarctica can also worsen the impact of climate change.
- Ice sheets and glaciers are already rapidly melting. The microplastics deposited in ice and snow can accelerate the melting of the cryosphere — regions where water is in solid form.
- Dark-coloured microplastics are even more harmful than lighter colours, as they are better at absorbing sunlight and retain more heat.
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