Microplastic particles can be found in the most remote ocean regions on earth. In Antarctica, pollution levels are even higher than previously assumed.
It's not the first study on microplastics in Antarctica that researchers from the University of Basel and the Alfred-Wegener Institute have conducted. But analysis of the data from an expedition in spring 2021 shows that environmental pollution from these tiny plastic particles is a bigger problem in the remote Weddell Sea than was previously known.
The results of the new study indicate that 98.3 percent of the plastic particles present in the water were smaller than 300 micrometers, meaning that they were not collected in previous samples."Pollution in the Antarctic Ocean goes far beyond what was reported in past studies," Leistenschneider notes. The study appears in the journalThe individual samples were polluted to different extents.
With the increase in tourism in the Antarctic Ocean, pollution may increase even more in the future, further impacting the environment and the food chain.
Engineering Energy Technology Nanotechnology Oceanography Water Geography Global Warming
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Tiny orchid flowers pollinated by tiny fliesResearchers Yuta Sunakawa, Ko Mochizuki, and Atsushi Kawakita of the University of Tokyo have discovered the first orchid species pollinated by gall midges, a tiny fly species. This is the first documented case of an orchid species found to be pollinated by gall midges, and it makes the orchids the eleventh such plant family.
Read more »
Scientists uncover evidence that microplastics are contaminating archaeological remainsResearchers have for the first time discovered evidence of microplastic contamination in archaeological soil samples.
Read more »
Bravo Fashion Roundup: Microplastic HellPAPER's weekly roundup of the outfits seen on Bravo's 'Real Housewives' series and more! This week: microplastic hell on Vanderpump Rules and Summer House.
Read more »
Level of microplastic in seabed creatures depends on location and how they feed, finds studyThe 'burden' of plastic within animal species recovered from the seafloor has given scientists a new insight into the environmental risk associated with plastic.
Read more »
Detergent Pods Are Just the Start of Clothing’s Microplastic Pollution ProblemA New York City bill to ban laundry pods is one of many proposed solutions to an environmental disaster.
Read more »
Detergent pods are only the start of clothing’s microplastic pollution problemA New York City bill to ban laundry pods is just one of many proposed solutions.
Read more »