The groups findings, released in Nature Communications on December 21, 2021, describe a brand-new stage in the microplastic life cycle and use an explanation for their existence at the poles, on Mount Everest, or in other remote regions of our world.
Recommendation: “Evidence of complimentary tropospheric and long-range transport of microplastic at Pic du Midi Observatory” by S. Allen, D. Allen, F. Baladima, V. R. Phoenix, J. L. Thomas, G. Le Roux and J. E. Sonke, 21 December 2021, Nature Communications.DOI: 10.1038/ s41467-021-27454-7.
Consumption for fine particle pump at Pic du Midi Observatory (French Pyrenees). Credit: Jeroen Sonke
Formerly spotted in rivers, oceans, and snow, microplastic has actually now been found in the high-altitude air surrounding the Pic du Midi (2,877 m)– by a worldwide research group including researchers from the CNRS, Université Grenoble Alpes, and the University of Strathclyde (Scotland).
After examining the composition of 10,000 m3 of air captured weekly by a pump set up at the Pic du Midi Observatory, the scientists report a microplastic concentration of roughly one particle per 4 m3. This plastic (e.g., polystyrene or polyethylene polymers) comes mainly from product packaging.
Consumption for great particle pump at Pic du Midi Observatory. Credit: Jeroen Sonke
While posturing no direct hazard, its existence far from sources of contamination is nonetheless unexpected. Mathematical designs of air mass trajectories utilized by the scientists indicate that the particles came from in Africa, North America, or the Atlantic Ocean, which indicates intercontinental atmospheric transportation of microplastic.