Microplastics in a Remote Lake Basin of the Tibetan Plateau: Impacts of Atmospheric Transport and Glacial Melting

Abstract

Plastic pollution is fast becoming one of the most pressing global issues that we currently face. Remote areas, such as the polar regions and the Tibetan Plateau, are now also exposed to microplastic contamination. However, with the impact of global warming, the transport of microplastics within the glacier-lake basins in such regions remains unclear. In this work, the Nam Co Basin in the Tibetan Plateau was selected to study the characteristics of microplastics in the rain fallout, lake water, glacial runoff, and non-glacial runoff. Fiber and films were the most common microplastic morphologies in all water samples; a higher proportion (37%) of light-weighing polypropylene and small-size (50−300 μm, ∼30%) microplastics were found in the glacial runoff. Air mass trajectory analysis showed that microplastics could be transported through the atmosphere over a distance of up to 800 km. For microplastic loading in lakes, the atmospheric fallout was estimated to be 3.3 tons during the monsoon season, whereas the contributions of glacial runoff (∼41 kg) and non-glacial runoff (∼522 kg) were relatively low. For the microplastic loading in glaciers, the atmospheric deposition was ∼500 kg/yr, and the output caused by glacial melting only accounted 8% of the total atmospheric input. All these results suggested that the dominant pathway through which microplastics enter remote mountainous lake basins is atmospheric deposition, and once deposited on glaciers, microplastics will be stored for a long time. This work provides quantitative evidence elucidating the fate of microplastics in alpine lake environments.

Effect of Dry Soil Aggregate Size on Microplastic Distribution and Its Implications for Microplastic Emissions Induced by Wind Erosion

“…On average, 0.8 ± 0.96 fibers were observed in the five blank air groups (Table S3). This level of pollution was generally consistent with that reported by previous studies. ,, …”

“…This level of pollution was generally consistent with that reported by previous studies. 15,38,39 ■ RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Microplastic Characteristics in the Different Aggregate Size Fractions. The MPs were primarily identified by color as transparent, black, blue, and other (Figure S3A).…”

Gross Negligence: Impacts of Microplastics and Plastic Leachates on Phytoplankton Community and Ecosystem Dynamics

“…The studies show that in the absence of this freshwater keystone species (due to inhibitory MP effects) invasive species may benefit. ,, This predilection for invasive species is often facilitated by the much longer exposure times of plastic fragments to microorganisms than of natural substrates which are more rapidly removed from the water column. The higher durability and buoyancy of MP enable their long-distance transport and long-term persistence which increase MP exposure to different microbial communities in time and space and thus promote MP colonization by invasive species. ,, MP and their associated chemicals and microorganisms are proven to disperse via aerosols and thus can also reach the most remote aquatic ecosystems. − These remote ecosystems can be severely impacted by MP affecting ecosystem resistance and resilience to changing environmental factors such as climate. , In fact, MP are known to impact habitat-forming corals by directly affecting primary productivity and consequently the supply of fixed organic carbon from the photoautotrophs to their coral hosts. ,, MP- and PL-induced risks to these habitats have massive impacts on biodiversity, trophic levels, and biogeochemical cycling and may gradually change these ecosystems into a different system state with pronounced effects on climate and oceanic productivity even at the global level …”

Processing Poly (ethylene terephthalate) Waste into Functional Carbon Materials by Mechanochemical Extrusion

“…However, most plastics are thrown away after being used only once, which could do harm to the environment and human health [1] . As far as we know, very few plastics have been recycled, and most of them will end up in landfills and in the ocean [1b,2] . The state‐of‐art plastics recycling strategies could be summarized and classified into three processes: (1) mechanical recycling (reprocessing of plastic waste via mechanical or thermal means), (2) energy recovery (generating heat by burning plastic waste), and (3) chemical recycling (converting plastics into corresponding monomers, fine chemicals, and functional materials through glycolysis, pyrolysis, catalysis) [3] .…”