Microplastics are small plastic pieces less than five millimeters long and typically far smaller than that. They come from a variety of sources, often from larger plastic debris that degrades into smaller and smaller pieces. There are also microbeads, which are tiny pieces of manufactured polyethylene plastic that are added to various health and beauty products. Tiny bits of plastic easily pass through filtration systems and end up in the ocean and other bodies of water.
Microplastics are a pervasive problem for which nowhere on Earth is truly untouched. Despite stringent regulations on materials entering Antarctica, scientists have discovered microplastics in the snow near some of the deep field camps there.
A study by the British Antarctic Survey made use of a new and advanced technique that can detect microplastics as small as 11 microns – about the size of a red blood cell.
The research team found microplastics at concentrations ranging from 73 to 3,099 particles per liter of snow.
Snow samples from three different sites identified polyamide (used in textiles), polyethylene terephthalate (found in bottles and packaging), polyethylene, and synthetic rubber. The results suggest that at least the polyamide, which accounted for half the microplastics found, came from local sources.
Additional research is needed to fully understand the sources of microplastic pollution in Antarctica and to understand the broader implications of microplastics in that frozen wilderness. Microplastics have already been detected in several penguin, seal, and fish species.
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Microplastics discovered in Antarctica
Photo, posted February 3, 2015, courtesy of Christian Stangl via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio