Title
Microplastics in a tropical Andean Glacier: A transportation process across the Amazon basin?
Date Issued
20 January 2022
Access level
metadata only access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Cabrera M.
Moulatlet G.M.
Maisincho L.
Rodríguez-Barroso R.
Albendín G.
Sakali A.
Lucas-Solis O.
Conicelli B.
Capparelli M.V.
Universidad Regional Amazónica Ikiam
Publisher(s)
Elsevier B.V.
Abstract
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.
Volume
805
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Investigación climática Ingeniería ambiental y geológica
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85115024598
PubMed ID
Source
Science of the Total Environment
ISSN of the container
00489697
Sponsor(s)
The authors are thankful to the crew of mountain climbers Carlos Alberto Paez, Luis Felipe Gualco, Orlando Vinicio Gutierres, Gustavo Adolfo Valarezo, Wilmer Guachamin Acero, Luis Maisincho Guagrilla, Evelyn Michelle Yambay, Miltón Perez, Gladys Cabascango, Juan Carvajal, Washington Chamorro (+), Yaryvic Coronel and the Ikiam driver Pablo Neris “Don Tito” Paz Andrade. This project was funded by European Union through the consortium AECID - Universidad Regional Amazónica Ikiam ( CTC-004-2019 , grant to BGV). We also acknowledge funding from the International Joint Laboratory GREAT-ICE, an initiative of the French Institute of Research for Development-IRD (leaders: Thomas Condom, IRD-France and Marcos Villacis, EPN, Quito Ecuador), French Glaciers Observatory Service-GLACIOCLIM (leader: Antoine Rabatel, Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS-INSU, IRD, France) and INAMHI-Glacier Service (leader: Bolivar Caceres, INAMHI, Ecuador).
Sources of information: Directorio de Producción Científica Scopus