August 15, 2019

Anna Murray 

A research article on atmospheric science, “White and wonderful? Microplastics prevail in snow from the Alps to the Arctic”, published on August 14 in the journal Science Advances. It alarms that atmospheric transport and deposition can be eminent pathways for microplastic particles to the Arctic. Microplastics (MPs) are defined as any type of plastic fragment/particle that is less than 5 mm in length/size according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

In March 2018, the German-Swiss team of researchers carefully collected surface snow samples from different locations on Svalbard Islands, located in the Arctic Ocean and halfway between Norway and the North Pole, with a pre-rinsed mug, a steel spoon, or a soup ladle and transferred into PVC, PE, or glass containers. For the purpose of verifying MPs concentrations in snow, sampling also assessed several locations near the urban area, where Bremen of Heligoland in the North Sea as well as Bavaria, Davos, and Tschuggen in the Alps for comparison.

In the laboratory at Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research in Germany, the lead scientist, Dr. Melanie Bergmann, discovered significant quantities of MPs in the Arctic at a mean of (1.76 ± 1.58) × 1,000 particles per liter. The scientists analyzed the material composition of all snow samples and concluded that acrylates/polyurethanes/varnish/lacquer were detected most, followed by nitrile rubber, polyethylene (PE), polyamide, and ethylene-propylene-diene rubber. By contrast, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polycarbonate, polylactic acid, and polyimide were detected in Arctic snow. In addition, other particles including animal fur, charcoal, chitin, coal, plant fibers, and sand were detected in snow.

The scientists have not sorted out the uncertainties in which the MPs contamination is coming from. But the results of high concentrations of MPs and microfibers in Arctic snow highlighted the importance of the atmosphere as a source of transporting MPs and microfibers, which indicated significant air pollution is worthy of further researches on human and animal health effects from airborne MPs.

Photo:Webshot.