Environment Japanese scientists find microplastics present in clouds

thomas · 28 Sep 2023

Researchers in Japan have confirmed microplastics are present in clouds, where they are likely affecting the climate in ways that aren't yet fully understood. In a study published in Environmental Chemistry Letters, scientists climbed Mount Fuji and Mount Oyama to collect water from the mists that shroud their peaks. Then, they applied advanced imaging techniques to the samples to determine their physical and chemical properties.

The team identified nine different types of polymers and one type of rubber in the airborne microplastics -- ranging in size from 7.1 to 94.6 micrometers. Each liter of cloud water contained between 6.7 to 13.9 pieces of the plastics. What's more, "hydrophilic" or water-loving polymers were abundant, suggesting the particles play a significant role in rapid cloud formation and thus climate systems. "If the issue of 'plastic air pollution' is not addressed proactively, climate change and ecological risks may become a reality, causing irreversible and serious environmental damage in the future," lead author Hiroshi Okochi of Waseda University warned in a statement Wednesday. When microplastics reach the upper atmosphere and are exposed to ultraviolet radiation from sunlight, they degrade, contributing to greenhouse gasses, added Okochi.

Japanese scientists find microplastics are present in clouds

Researchers in Japan have confirmed microplastics are present in clouds, where they are likely affecting the climate in ways that aren't yet fully understood. But the mechanisms of their transport have remained unclear, with research on airborne microplastic transport in particular limited.

news.yahoo.com

Little is known so far about the effects the particles might have, but those could include an impact on the climate. Microplastics could become some of the "seeds" around which cloud droplets condense into raindrops, thereby increasing how much rain clouds release and the total amount of rainfall. Cloud microplastics that fall to the ground as rainwater could then enter the human body via farm products and livestock, negatively impacting human health, the researchers say.

Paywall alert:

Japan researchers find microplastics in clouds for first time

Airborne particles could harm climate, human body: Waseda University-led group

asia.nikkei.com

Environment Japanese scientists find microplastics present in clouds

thomas

Unswerving cyclist

Japanese scientists find microplastics are present in clouds

Japan researchers find microplastics in clouds for first time

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