Environmental Science
The Environmental Impact of Microplastics in Remote Polar Regions
Quick fact
Researchers found microplastics in ice cores from both the Arctic and Antarctic, with some particles so small they can be carried by wind across thousands of kilometres. A 2020 study discovered over 300 microplastic particles per litre of melted Arctic snow.
Why this is interesting
You're on a pristine Arctic glacier, the air so clean it stings—yet hidden in the snow are millions of microscopic plastic shards. How did they get here, and what are they doing to this frozen world?