Microplastics is tiny plastic fragments less than 5 mm in diameter, are now being detected in clouds, and scientists believe this could be affecting weather and climate. New research from Penn State University, published in Environmental Science and Technology: Air, suggests that microplastics may encourage cloud formation, potentially altering atmospheric behavior.
In their study, researchers observed that microplastics could serve as “ice-nucleating particles” tiny materials around which ice crystals form, allowing clouds to develop even when typical atmospheric conditions would not support them. To explore this, scientists suspended four types of microplastics in water droplets, then cooled them gradually.
They found that droplets containing microplastics froze at temperatures 5-10 degrees warmer than usual, suggesting these plastics facilitate ice formation. Specifically, droplets with microplastics began freezing around -22°C, compared to the typical freezing point of -38°C for pure water droplets.
According to Miriam Freedman, professor of chemistry at Penn State and senior author of the study, “Cloud formation can be triggered by microplastics,” underscoring the need to understand how these particles interact with climate systems. Clouds can either cool the Earth by reflecting sunlight or, at certain altitudes, warm it by trapping heat. Freedman noted that microplastics influencing cloud formation could impact climate, though the full effect is difficult to model at this time.
Microplastic pollution, now found in environments from the Mariana Trench to Mount Everest, poses a grave concern globally. These particles have been detected in human bodies and marine life, sparking calls from scientists to declare a global emergency over their impact on health and ecosystems.
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