Occurrence and backtracking of microplastic mass loads including tire wear particles in northern Atlantic air

Isabel Goßmann; Dorte Herzke; Andreas Held; Janina Schulz; Vladimir Nikiforov; Christoph Georgi; Nikolaos Evangeliou; Sabine Eckhardt; Gunnar Gerdts; Oliver Wurl; Barbara M Scholz-Böttcher

doi:10.1038/s41467-023-39340-5

Occurrence and backtracking of microplastic mass loads including tire wear particles in northern Atlantic air

Nat Commun. 2023 Jun 22;14(1):3707. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-39340-5.

Authors

Isabel Goßmann^{1

2}, Dorte Herzke^{3

4}, Andreas Held⁵, Janina Schulz¹, Vladimir Nikiforov³, Christoph Georgi⁵, Nikolaos Evangeliou⁶, Sabine Eckhardt⁶, Gunnar Gerdts⁷, Oliver Wurl^{1

2}, Barbara M Scholz-Böttcher⁸

Affiliations

¹ Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM), Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, P.O. Box 2503, 26111, Oldenburg, Germany.
² Center for Marine Sensors, Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM), Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, 26382, Wilhelmshaven, Germany.
³ NILU - Norwegian Institute for Air Research, The FRAM Centre, P.O. Box 6606, Langnes, 9296, Tromsø, Norway.
⁴ NIPH - Norwegian Institute for Public Health, P.O.Box 222 Skøyen,, 0213, Oslo, Norway.
⁵ Chair of Environmental Chemistry and Air Research, Technische Universität Berlin, 10623, Berlin, Germany.
⁶ NILU - Norwegian Institute for Air Research, Instituttveien 18, 2007, Kjeller, Norway.
⁷ Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research, 27483, Heligoland, Germany.
⁸ Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM), Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, P.O. Box 2503, 26111, Oldenburg, Germany. bsb@icbm.de.

Abstract

Few studies report the occurrence of microplastics (MP), including tire wear particles (TWP) in the marine atmosphere, and little data is available regarding their size or sources. Here we present active air sampling devices (low- and high-volume samplers) for the evaluation of composition and MP mass loads in the marine atmosphere. Air was sampled during a research cruise along the Norwegian coast up to Bear Island. Samples were analyzed with pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, generating a mass-based data set for MP in the marine atmosphere. Here we show the ubiquity of MP, even in remote Arctic areas with concentrations up to 37.5 ng m^-3. Cluster of polyethylene terephthalate (max. 1.5 ng m^-3) were universally present. TWP (max. 35 ng m^-3) and cluster of polystyrene, polypropylene, and polyurethane (max. 1.1 ng m^-3) were also detected. Atmospheric transport and dispersion models, suggested the introduction of MP into the marine atmosphere equally from sea- and land-based emissions, transforming the ocean from a sink into a source for MP.

MeSH terms

Environmental Monitoring
Microplastics*
Plastics / chemistry
Polypropylenes
Water Pollutants, Chemical* / analysis

Substances

Microplastics
Plastics
Water Pollutants, Chemical
Polypropylenes

Abstract

MeSH terms

Substances

Grants and funding