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volume 5 issue 8

White and wonderful? Microplastics prevail in snow from the Alps to the Arctic

Publication typeJournal Article
Publication date2019-08-02
scimago Q1
wos Q1
SJR4.324
CiteScore19.6
Impact factor12.5
ISSN23752548
Multidisciplinary
Abstract
We detect microplastics in European and Arctic snow, highlighting the importance of atmospheric transport as a pathway. Microplastics (MPs) are ubiquitous, and considerable quantities prevail even in the Arctic; however, there are large knowledge gaps regarding pathways to the North. To assess whether atmospheric transport plays a role, we analyzed snow samples from ice floes in Fram Strait. For comparison, we investigated snow samples from remote (Swiss Alps) and populated (Bremen, Bavaria) European sites. MPs were identified by Fourier transform infrared imaging in 20 of 21 samples. The MP concentration of Arctic snow was significantly lower (0 to 14.4 × 103 N liter−1) than European snow (0.19 × 103 to 154 × 103 N liter−1) but still substantial. Polymer composition varied strongly, but varnish, rubber, polyethylene, and polyamide dominated overall. Most particles were in the smallest size range indicating large numbers of particles below the detection limit of 11 μm. Our data highlight that atmospheric transport and deposition can be notable pathways for MPs meriting more research.
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GOST |
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GOST Copy
Bergmann M. et al. White and wonderful? Microplastics prevail in snow from the Alps to the Arctic // Science advances. 2019. Vol. 5. No. 8.
GOST all authors (up to 50) Copy
Bergmann M., Mützel S., Primpke S., Tekman M. B., Trachsel J. C., Gerdts G. White and wonderful? Microplastics prevail in snow from the Alps to the Arctic // Science advances. 2019. Vol. 5. No. 8.
RIS |
Cite this
RIS Copy
TY - JOUR
DO - 10.1126/sciadv.aax1157
UR - https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aax1157
TI - White and wonderful? Microplastics prevail in snow from the Alps to the Arctic
T2 - Science advances
AU - Bergmann, M
AU - Mützel, Sophia
AU - Primpke, Sebastian
AU - Tekman, Mine B
AU - Trachsel, Jürg C.
AU - Gerdts, Gunnar
PY - 2019
DA - 2019/08/02
PB - American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
IS - 8
VL - 5
PMID - 31453336
SN - 2375-2548
ER -
BibTex
Cite this
BibTex (up to 50 authors) Copy
@article{2019_Bergmann,
author = {M Bergmann and Sophia Mützel and Sebastian Primpke and Mine B Tekman and Jürg C. Trachsel and Gunnar Gerdts},
title = {White and wonderful? Microplastics prevail in snow from the Alps to the Arctic},
journal = {Science advances},
year = {2019},
volume = {5},
publisher = {American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)},
month = {aug},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aax1157},
number = {8},
doi = {10.1126/sciadv.aax1157}
}