News
Microplastics In Antarctica Snow - IAS Academy In Coimbatore
Microplastics In Antarctica Snow - IAS Academy In Coimbatore
Scientists have identified for the first time in fresh Antarctic snow microplastics plastic fragments smaller than a grain of rice that can affect the climate by accelerating the melting of ice.
Previous research has found that microplastics have negative effects on environmental health, limiting the growth, reproduction and general biological function of organisms, and negatively impacting humans.
The discovery of microplastics in fresh Antarctic snow highlights the extent of plastic pollution, even in the world's most remote regions.
Microplastic pollution in humans:
For the first time, researchers have found microplastics deep in the lungs of living people. The authors of the study from the University of Canterbury, Antarctica's findings are particularly shocking because the icy continent is at the southern tip of the world and there is little human activity outside of scientific research.
Note in New Zealand. "It's incredible, but the discovery of microplastics in fresh Antarctic snow highlights the extent of plastic pollution, even in the world's most The same goes for remote areas." Aves also noted that she and her colleagues collected snow samples from 19 sites in the Ross Island region of Antarctica.
They found microplastics in all of them -- an average of 29 particles per liter of melted snow. "In retrospect, I'm not at all surprised," said Laura Revell, an associate professor at the University of Canterbury and one of the authors of the study. "From research published over the past few years, we know that wherever we look for microplastics in the air, we can find them."
Freshly Fallen Antarctic Snow:
For the first time, microplastics have been found in fresh snowfall in Antarctica, which could accelerate melting and pose a threat to the health of the continent's unique ecosystem. The tiny plastic smaller than a grain of rice has been found in Antarctic sea ice and surface water before, but this is the first time it has been found in fresh snowfall, the researchers said.
The research, conducted by UC PhD student Alex Aves and supervised by Dr Laura Revell, has been published in the scientific journal The Cryosphere. Microplastics now pollute the entire planet, from Mount Everest to the deepest oceans.
Aves collected snow samples from the Ross Ice Shelf in late 2019 to determine whether microplastics had been transferred from the atmosphere into the snow. Until then, there had been very little research on this in Antarctica.
Antarctica For The First Time:
In recent years, scientists have found microplastic pollution near Mount Everest and the Mariana Trench — the deepest parts of the ocean.
Now, icy continents at the southern tip of the world (mostly visited by scientists) have joined remote regions of the planet, where researchers have documented the existence of these tiny polymers.
The researchers collected snow samples from 19 different locations in the Ross Island region of Antarctica and found an average of 29 particles in each sample. Most of the particles come from a type of plastic found in clothing and water bottles.
Minuscule Pieces of Plastic:
After finding microplastics in bottled water, high in the Alps, and even in human blood, researchers have now found the contaminant in fresh Antarctic snow. They report their findings -- based on samples collected in 2019 -- in a paper published Wednesday in the peer-reviewed journal The Cryosphere.
"It's incredible, but the discovery of microplastics in fresh Antarctic snow highlights the level of plastic pollution in even the most remote parts of the world," said environmental scientist Alex Aves, one of the co-authors of the new study. The discovery provides further evidence that tiny plastic particles have reached even the most remote places on Earth.
Read more:
