Characteristics, sources and potential ecological risk of atmospheric microplastics in Lhasa city

Abstract

Atmospheric microplastics are important contributors to environmental contamination in aquatic and terrestrial systems and pose potential ecological risks. However, studies on atmospheric microplastics are still limited in urban regions of the Tibetan Plateau, a sentinel region for climate and environmental change under a warming climate. In this study, the occurrence and potential ecological risk of atmospheric microplastics were investigated in samples of suspended atmospheric microplastics collected in Lhasa city during the Tibetan New Year in February 2023. The results show that the average abundance of atmospheric microplastics in Lhasa was 7.15 ± 2.46 MPs m−3. The sizes of the detected microplastics ranged from 20.34 to 297.18 μm, approximately 87% of which were smaller than 100 μm. Fragmented microplastics (95.76%) were the dominant shape, followed by fibres (3.75%) and pellets (0.49%). The primary polymer chemical components identified were polyamide (68.73%) and polystyrene (16.61%). The analysis of meteorological data and the backwards trajectory model indicated the air mass in Lhasa mainly controlled by westwards, and the atmospheric microplastics mainly originated from long-distance atmospheric transport. The potential ecological risk index assessment revealed that the atmospheric microplastic pollution in Lhasa was relatively low. This study provides valuable insights and a scientific foundation for future research on the prevention and control of atmospheric microplastic pollution in Lhasa and other ecologically sensitive cities.