The study shows – now microplastics are falling over Antarctica

Microplastics find their way into our watercourses and travel further out to sea, but the 1 nm to 5 mm particles are also airborne. The ecosystem is affected down to the smallest organisms, and in the end the plastic ends up in us. Studies indicate that it can, among other things, affect human reproduction.

Land areas where few people move have also been affected by the volatile plastic, and now bad news is coming from the most untouched continent. In 2019, researchers collected 19 samples of freshly fallen snow in Antarctica – now a study shows that all of them contained microplastics. It writes Interesting Engineering.

“Find microplastics wherever we look”

13 samples were taken in areas exposed to very little human activity, while the remaining material was collected near several research stations. On average, one liter of melted snow contained 29 particles, but in the samples taken near the stations, the levels were three times as high.

The study has been published in the scientific journal The Cryosphere on Wednesday. One of the co-authors states that she is not surprised by the discovery.

– From the studies that have been published in recent years, we have learned that we find airborne microplastics wherever we look for it. And despite serious warnings from heavyweights on climate change and pollution, the growth of human industry continues – and thus microplastics in Antarctica are just the latest predicted, horrific discovery, says Laura Revell, a researcher at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand.