Researchers have made the grim discovery of microplastics in Antarctic snow. 

In a world first, a NZ study has confirmed microplastics are present in Antarctica's Ross Island region. 

Researchers analysed fresh snow from 19 sites in the region, finding an average concentration of 29 microplastic particles per litre of melted snow. 

These microplastics most likely come from plastic products used at local scientific research stations, however, this team's modelling also suggests their origin could have been up to 6,000 km away. 

University of Canterbury PhD student Alex Aves collected snow samples from the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica in late 2019.

“When Alex travelled to Antarctica in 2019, we were optimistic that she wouldn’t find any microplastics in such a pristine and remote location,” Associate Professor in Environmental Physics, Dr Laura Revell says. 

In addition to more remote sites, “we asked her to collect snow off the Scott Base and McMurdo Station roadways, so she’d have at least some microplastics to study”.

Once back in the lab, it quickly became obvious there were plastic particles in every sample from the remote sites on the Ross Ice Shelf too, and that the findings would be of global significance.

Researcher Alex Aves, who recently graduated with a Master of Antarctic Studies degree with Distinction, says she was shocked by her findings.

“It’s incredibly sad but finding microplastics in fresh Antarctic snow highlights the extent of plastic pollution into even the most remote regions of the world,” she said. 

“We collected snow samples from 19 sites across the Ross Island region of Antarctica and found microplastics in all of these.”

“Looking back now, I’m not at all surprised,” Associate Professor Revell says. 

“From the studies published in the last few years we’ve learned that everywhere we look for airborne microplastics, we find them.”

The researchers analysed snow samples using a chemical analysis technique (micro-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy) to identify the type of plastic particles present. 

The plastic particles were also looked at under a microscope to identify their colour, size and shape – all important observational information for future work.

Atmospheric modelling suggested microplastics may have travelled thousands of kilometres through the air, however it is equally likely the presence of humans in Antarctica has established a microplastic ‘footprint’, the researchers say.

The study is accessible here.