I was looking around for some article ideas, when I stumbled upon something that I found interesting, yet also concerning- and thought others should know about this situation about how not only water, but clouds in our atmosphere is collecting microplastics as we speak.
Microplastic pollution is in our oceans and mountains, our food, and even our bodies. And now, according to a new study found recently microplastics have been discovered in clouds — and they might be affecting our weather.
What exactly are microplastics?
Well- Microplastics are tiny particles of plastic that come from the slow breakdown of larger trash, such as clothing, packaging and car tires. They consist of any type of plastic less than five millimeters long. Unfortunately, Microplastics are in the air we breathe, they’re in our drinking water, they’re in our bodies.
“Plastics are a pervasive pollutant … everywhere we look, we find them,” said Christopher Reddy Senior scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
What exactly did the researchers find?
The Scientists led by “Yan Wang of Shandong University” collected 28 samples of liquid from clouds at the top of Mount Tai in eastern China. In the samples, they found:
Low-altitude and denser clouds contained greater amounts of microplastics. Particles were made of common polymers.
The microplastics tended to be smaller than 100 micrometers in length, although some were as long as 1,500 micrometers. (A micrometer is 1000 times smaller than a millimeter.)
Older, rougher particles had more lead, mercury and oxygen attached to their surfaces, which the researchers say could spur on the development of clouds.
The researchers then used computer models to determine how the microplastics could have gotten there, and tested how the particles could have/and been impacted by the clouds.
These findings are truly terrifying. Microplastics can affect the formation of clouds, which means they have the potential to impact temperature, rainfall, and even climate change.
Yet another red flag showing that climate change is real and shaping our earth as we speak.
-credits to the following:
–Clouds are filled with microplastics, perplexing and concerning scientists (msn.com)
