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  • RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

Microplastics sully Antarctic snow — and science might be to blame

Plastic contamination probably came from clothing and other gear used at Antarctic research stations.
Four researchers in winter gear set up a Scott Tent on the Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica, in high winds.

Microscopic fragments of plastic found in fresh snow on Antarctica (pictured) are similar to those shed by synthetic clothing. Credit: Cavan Images/Alamy

Snow that fell on a remote Antarctic island in 2019 contained tiny pieces of plastic — probably pollution from nearby research bases1.

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Nature 606, 626 (2022)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-01643-w

References

  1. Aves, A. R. et al. Cryosphere 16, 2127–2145 (2022).

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