First detection of microplastics in the freshwater of an Antarctic Specially Protected Area

• Published in: Marine Pollution Bulletin
• Main Authors: González-Pleiter, Miguel, Edo, Carlos, Velázquez, David, Casero, María Cristina, Leganés, Francisco, Quesada, Antonio, Fernández-Piñas, Francisca, Rosal, Roberto
• Other Authors: Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (España), Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (España)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: Elsevier 2020
• Subjects: Antarctica; Byers Peninsula; Freshwater; Microplastics; Antarctic specially protected area; Antarctic; Byers; Byers peninsula; Livingston Island; Antarc*
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10261/237603; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111811; https://doi.org/10.13039/501100004837; https://doi.org/10.13039/501100003329

Microplastics have been found in all environmental compartments investigated so far, even reaching remote areas. However, their presence in Antarctic freshwaters has not been yet reported. Here, we investigated the occurrence of microplastics in a stream from an Antarctic Specially Protected Area (Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island - ASPA No. 126), which is subject to stringent environmental protection measures as a result of which it is considered a pristine international reference site for inland waters research. Our results showed the presence of three types of microplastics in a freshwater seasonal stream, namely four polyester fibers, one black and three transparent; two acrylic fibers, one transparent and one red; and two transparent polytetrafluoroethylene films. The length and width of these fibers and films were in the 400–3546 μm (average 1118 μm), and 10–1026 μm (average 199 μm) ranges respectively. The concentration of MP was 0.95 items/1000 m with estimated variability in the 0.47–1.43 items/1000 m range. This is the first report of the presence of microplastics in Antarctic freshwater with the uniqueness that it is an Antarctic Specially Protected Area, meaning that plastic pollution reached even the most remote and pristine environments in the planet. This research was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (CTM2016-74927-C2-1/2-R, CTM2016-79741R, AGL2014- 53771-R and AGL2017-87591-R); CLIMARCTIC (PCIN2016-001) funded by the Spanish State Research Agency in the frame of the 2015–2016 BiodivERsA COFUND call for research proposals. We thank all members of the EnviroPlaNet Network Thematic Network of Micro- and Nanoplastics in the Environment (RED2018-102345-T; Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities).