For The First Time Researchers Find Microplastic In Antarctic Snow

The University of Canterbury in New Zealand found evidence of microplastics in the Ross Ice Shelf and nearby regions during an expedition to Antarctica.

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The microplastics were found surprisingly in freshly fallen snow.

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The results were published in the Cryo-sphere journal by Phd student Alex Aves as part of her University’s Gateway Antarctica.

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Professors at the university did not expect to find microplastics in the Ross Shelf.

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Laura Revell, an associate professor, said that since it was such a pristine and remote location, she did not expect to find the presence of any microplastics.

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Alex Aves found an average of 29 microplastic particles per litre, higher than previous marine levels observed in the Ross Sea and Antarctic sea ice.

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Per expectations, microplastics were roughly three times higher at Ross Island, Scott Base, and McMurdo Facility.

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Using the process of atmospheric modelling, they found that the microplastics had probably travelled from thousands of kilometres away.

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However, the researchers said that microplastics could be due to a newly established footprint.

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