Microplastics in a tropical Andean Glacier: A transportation process across the Amazon basin?

• Published in: The Science of the total environment Vol. 805; p. 150334
• Main Authors: Cabrera, Marcela, Moulatlet, Gabriel M., Valencia, Bryan G., Maisincho, Luis, Rodríguez-Barroso, Rocío, Albendín, Gemma, Sakali, Ayda, Lucas-Solis, Oscar, Conicelli, Bruno, Capparelli, Mariana V.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 20.01.2022
• Subjects: Antisana; Atmospheric transport; Contaminants; Ecuador; Isotopes; Surface snow deposition; Wind direction; Ecuador; Wind direction; Atmospheric transport; Contaminants; Antisana; Surface snow deposition; Isotopes
• ISSN: 0048-9697; 1879-1026
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150334

Microplastic (MPs) contamination is ubiquitous in most terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Recently MPs have been reported at high altitudes which indicates that air masses can transport and deposit MPs in the surface snow of high mountain ecosystems, however, whether MPs typification and abundance can be influenced by direction and origin of air masses still remains an open question. Here we present the first report of MPs above 5000 m a.s.l from surface snow of a glacier in the tropical Andes. We collected surface snow along an elevational gradient, from 5000 to 5400 m a.s.l., in the Antisana Glacier, in the northern Andes cordillera of Ecuador to analyze MPs abundance and polymeric identification with the Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) and also to hypothesized the possible MPs sources in this remote area by comparing the oxygen and hydrogen stable isotopic ratio composition of the snow samples and by analyzing the wind direction. We observed an average of 131 ± 24 MPs L−1 in our samples. Fibers corresponded to 70% of all MP shapes; FTIR results showed that MPs composition mainly included polyurethane, polyethylene, polyamide, polyester, and high-density polyethylene in surface snow. There were no statistically significant differences of MPs abundance among sampled elevations, and the isotopic ratio composition did not differ among locations. Our results suggest that MP that accumulated in the glacier may be transported from the east, across the Amazonia, by the prevalent eastward air flow. The absence of industrial cities at least 2000 km further east from Antisana, indicates that the remote Andean glaciers could constitute important depositional zones for long-distance transported contaminants. [Display omitted] •Microplastic (MP) contamination was found in a tropical glacier at the Andes Mountains (above 5000 m).•Polyurethane was the prevalent polymer type, which discard the possibility of MP origin from climbing clothing and equipment.•Isotopic ratio composition and wind direction analysis indicate that air masses that travel over the Amazon.•MP at the Antisana glacier are more likely to be transported over the Amazon than from Andean cities.