In the fight against
pollution, we frequently focus on the obvious offenders: industrial pollutants,
landfills, and the plastic debris that is littered throughout our landscapes. A
rising number of people are worried that the most pernicious type of pollution
may be present just above our heads, undetectable to the unaided sight but
potentially more harmful than we can conceive. We are referring to airborne
microplastic pollution, a problem that is closely related to our oceans. This
blog will explore the intriguing yet alarming realm of airborne microplastic
contamination, its marine origins
Even in the most isolated
regions of the earth, microplastic particles are found in the marine
atmosphere. A study conducted by a group of German and Norwegian researchers
lead by Dr. Barbara Scholz-Böttcher of the University of Oldenburg has revealed
that these minute particles originate from terrestrial sources but are also
re-emitted into the atmosphere from the sea. The researchers examined air
samples collected from several locations along the Norwegian coast and as far
north as the Arctic. The outcomes were just released in the scholarly journal
Nature Communications.
First author of the
publication and PhD student at the University of Oldenburg's Institute for
Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM) Isabel Goßmann remarked,
"With our study, we present data on the mass load of various forms of plastic
in the marine atmosphere for the first time. The samples were gathered by the
study team in 2021 while on a trip with the study Vessel Heincke. The most
southern island of the Svalbard archipelago, Bear Island, which is located
halfway between the mainland and the archipelago's largest island, Spitsbergen,
was the destination with the greatest latitude. To gather air samples, the
researchers employed two distinct instruments. The apparatuses, which actively
pushed air in, were twelve meters high and situated on the research vessel's
bow.
The researchers used
pyrolysis, gas chromatography, and mass spectrometry to analyze the air
samples. Through heat deterioration and careful research, they were able to
identify and count the many kinds of plastics present in the atmosphere using
this technique. The sources and distribution paths of the tiny particles, which
are each a few thousandths of a millimeter in size, were then recreated using
model calculations.
The study showed that
polyester particles were everywhere. Particles of polyethylene terephthalate,
likely textile fibers that penetrated the environment, were found in all
samples.
There were also other
kinds of plastic, such as polypropylene, polycarbonate, and polystyrene.
Another significant source of microplastics has been identified as tire wear
particles, which are the microscopic fragments of debris that tires abrade
while moving and particularly when stopping. Microplastics concentrations in
the air reached up to 37.5 nanograms (one nanogram is one billionth of a gram),
according to the researchers' measurements. These toxins are all around us.
Even in the most isolated arctic locations, we discover them, Goßmann
emphasized.
Rivers are one method
that microplastics enter the ocean, but they can also enter the atmosphere
through the rain, for example. Ship traffic is another potential source. In a
previous study, a group led by Scholz-Böttcher showed that the largest source
of microplastics in the open North Sea is paint and coatings used on ships.
Polyurethanes and epoxy resins, which are frequently found in paints and
coatings for ships, were also discovered in the air samples utilized in the
current investigation.
The research team
included scientists from the ICBM as well as the Alfred Wegener Institute,
Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) in Bremerhaven, Technische
Universität Berlin, the Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU), and the
Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH).
Source:
Isabel Goßmann et al:
“Occurrence and backtracking of microplastic mass loads including tire wear
particles in northern Atlantic air”, Nature Communications 14, 3707 (2023).
https://idw-online.de/en/news819192