Some of the most remote parts of the world's least populated continent have become plastic free.
Researchers from the University of Canterbury were shocked to discover that every sample of snow they collected from 19 locations around the South Pole was covered in plastic.
Alex Aves, co-author of a new paper published this week in the journal Cryosphere, said, "It's incredibly sad, but finding microplastics in freshAntarctic snow highlights the extent of plastic pollution in even the most remote regions of the world."
13 different types of plastic were found in the tests, but the most abundant was PET.
The researchers were hopeful that some samples would be plastic free.
Aves was asked to source some of the ice from areas closer to human activity so that she would have at least some microplastics to study.
Those hopes were dashed very soon. The South Pole snow has more microplastic per liter than the ocean and frozen ice.
Airborne microplastics can travel thousands of miles before they settle.
"From the studies published in the last few years, we have learned that everywhere we look for airborne microplastics, we find them," he said.
Some issues may be being compounded by microplastics. As a result of the tiny, airborne plastic shards, the South Pole might now face additional atmospheric shifts.
The researchers point out that penguins, orcas, and the amazingAntarctic moss forests could be adversely affected by limited growth, negative effects on reproduction, and impaired biological functions as a result.
Earth's southern tip is the latest addition to a list of seemingly impossible places for fossil fuel to show up, and humans have yet to make any meaningful moves to address the issue.
It's the fact that penguins are cute that makes people agree on anything. Think of the penguins.
Microplastics were found in the snow of the South Pole.
The famous environmentalist says that pollution is Shrinking human penises.
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