Microplastics in Antarctica - a Plastic Legacy in the Antarctic Snow?

Abstract Microplastic pollution in remote inland Antarctica is largely unknown. This study explored the plastic footprint of snow from remote Antarctic camps; Union Glacier, Schanz Glacier and the South Pole. Refined automated FTIR techniques enabled interrogation of <25 µm microplastics and fibres in Antarctic snow for the first time. Microplastics were pervasive (73 - 3,099 MP L-1). The majority (95%) measured <50 µm, indicating that previous microplastic reports in Antarctica may be underestimated, due to analytical restrictions. Polymer composition and concentration did not vary significantly between sites, with dominant polymers being polyamide (PA), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene (PE) and synthetic rubbers, likely from both local (clothing, ropes, flags) and long-range (aerially deposited) sources. Results indicate that even in the most remote regions of earth, humans are leaving a plastic legacy in the snow, and illustrate the importance of remote, cryospheric regions as critical study sites for determining temporal fluxes in microplastic pollution.