Journal
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
Volume 869, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
ELSEVIER
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.161847
Keywords
Microplastics; Remote areas; Arctic; Antarctica; Third Pole; Freshwaters
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Microplastic (MP) pollution, which poses a significant environmental threat, is present in both marine and freshwater environments of the Earth's poles. This review examines the current knowledge of MP pollution in the Arctic, Antarctica, and Third Pole, highlighting its presence in lakes, rivers, snow, and glaciers. The ecological implications of MP pollution include ingestion by animals, damage to digestive tracts, escalation of trophic levels, alteration of microbial communities, and enhancement of ice melting.
Microplastic (MP) pollution is of great environmental concern. MPs have been found all over the Earth, including in the poles, which is indicative for the important threat they constitute. Yet, while the ocean is object of major interest, the data available in the literature about MP pollution in the freshwaters of the Earth's poles are still limited. Here, we re-view the current knowledge of MP pollution in the freshwaters of the Arctic, Antarctica and Third Pole, and we assess its ecological implications. This review highlights the presence of MPs in the lakes, rivers, snow, and glaciers of the in-vestigated sites, questions the transport patterns through which MPs reach these remote areas, and illustrates that MP pollution is a real problem not only in marine systems, but also in the freshwater environments of the Earth's poles. MPs can indeed be ingested by animals and can physically damage their digestive tracts, as well as escalate the trophic levels. MPs can also alter microbial communities by serving as surfaces onto which microbes can grow and develop, and can enhance ice melting when trapped in glaciers. Hence, considered the limited data available, we encourage more research on the theme.
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