ANTARTICA MICROPLASTICS FOUND IN AN ISLAND
Composed: ABHIPSA SARKAR
Positioned asymmetrically around the South Pole and largely south of the Antarctic Circle (one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the world), Antarctica is surrounded by the Southern Ocean. It is divided into West Antarctica and East Antarctica by the Transantarctic Mountains, which stretch from Victoria Land to the Ross Sea. The vast majority of Antarctica is covered by the Antarctic ice sheet, which averages 1.9 km (1.2 mi) in thickness. The ice sheet extends to all but a few oases, which, with the exception of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, located in coastal areas. Several Antarctic ice streams flow to one of the many Antarctic ice shelves, a process described by ice-sheet dynamics.
There is evidence of a large number of volcanoes under the ice, which could pose a risk to the ice sheet if activity levels were to rise. The ice dome known as Dome Argus in East Antarctica, the highest Antarctic ice feature, at 4,091 metres (13,422 ft). It is one of the world's coldest and driest place temperatures there may reach as low as −90 °C(−130 °F), and the annual precipitation is 1 to 3 cm.
Antarctica was a part of the supercontinent Gondwana from the end of Neoproterozoic era. For a large area, it is covered by forests of the Phanerozoic era, had a tropical and temperate climate.The geology of Antarctica, largely obscured by the continental ice sheet being revealed by techniques such as remote sensing, ground-penetrating radar and satellite imagery. There is some evidence that surface warming in Antarctica is due to human greenhouse gas emissions but it is difficult to determine due to internal variability. A main component of climate variability in Antarctica is the Southern Annular Mode, showed strengthened winds around Antarctica in the summer of the later decades of the 20th century, associated with cooler temperatures over the continent. The trend was at a scale unprecedented over the last 600 years, the mode of variability is likely the depletion of ozone above the continent.
The melting of the ice shelves does not contribute much to sea level rise, as the floating ice displaces its own mass of water, but the ice shelves stabilizes the land ice. They are vulnerable to warming water causing large ice shelves to collapse into the ocean. The continent is losing mass due to increased flow of its glaciers towards the ocean which is from Antarctica's ice sheets is partially offset by additional snow falling back onto it. Further ice loss depend on the speed of climate change mitigation which is very uncertain. When a certain limit warming is reached at 2-3 degree Celsius leading to full collapse at a faster rate. If average temperatures were begin to fall, the ice would not be reserved back.
A large area of ozone concentration has been found in this continent, covering almost half of it which is thus caused by the emissions of chloroflurocarbons and halons. This depletion caused a cooling of around 6 degree Celsius in the stratosphere level. Many scientists have suggested that ozone depletion can also account for the increasing ice sea level but since then the ice sea has decreased rapidly.
Being a cold continent, it is also a home of home of many species like penguins, petrels, gulls, cormorants, blue whales, squids and fur seals. The emperor penguin is the only penguin that breeds during the winter in Antarctica. There exists a balance of animals, plants, fungi and other types of animals.
Despite these, the biodiversity in Antarctica is still at risk from human activities. Specially protected areas cover less than 2% of the area, provide better protection for animals with popular appeal than for less visible animals. There are more terrestrial protected areas than marine protected areas. Ecosystems are impacted by local and global threats, notably pollution, the invasion of non-native species, and the various effects of climate change.
Coming to economic activity and research, Antarctica is a home to many minerals like coal, hydrocarbons, iron ore, copper, platinum, nickel, gold and other minerals deposits. Tourism is also marked by the presence of a self regulatory body (IAATO).
There are 70 permanent and seasonal research stations with Argentina, Australia, Chile and Russia having the largest significant presence there. It provides a unique environment for the study of meteorites, older than a million years have been found at the dry polar desert. They are relatively easy to find, as the dark stone meteorites stand out in a landscape of ice and snow in certain areas. Geologists primarily studied plate tectonics, meteorites, and the breakup of Gondwana. Glaciologists study the history and dynamics of floating ice, seasonal snow, glaciers, and ice sheets. Biologists researching the wildlife in how low temperatures and the presence of humans affect adaptation and survival strategies in organisms. Biomedical scientists have made discoveries concerning the spreading of viruses and the body's response to extreme seasonal temperatures.
Over the years of research, New Zealand scientists identified some tiny plastics over the continent which could be a great threat to the unique ecosystems. The Cryosphere journal made us to know that there are microplastics all over the snow area of Antarctica for the first time leading to the acceleration snow and ice melting.
All of us have a question that “WHAT ARE MICROPLASTICS?”, these are actually tiny plastics smaller than a grain of rice. The university of Canterbury have found on an average of 29 microplastics particles per litre of melted snow which is higher than the marine concentration, higher than previously reported from Ross Sea shelf.
The most common variants of the microplastics are the Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) common in some plastics bottles and clothings and garments. Though these have been previously identified in the sea ice and fresh water but Antarctica is the exception with the fresh snow leading to the airborne diseases, often transported by dusts, wind and ocean currents.
Atmospheric modelling suggested microplastics may have travelled thousands of kilometres through the air. In 2020, researchers found microplastics near the summit of Mount Everest. They have also been found in deep oceans.
Multidimentional in nature, microplastics cause pollution as when algea or any heavy metal gets attached to any radiating substance can mix invisibly anywhere, which in turn consumed by humans. Consuming of this by humans in otherwise can cause cell death, reproductive dysfuntion, growth issues and several allergic reactions. Added to it, that the dark coloured microplastics along with black carbon causing the glaciers to melt faster as it absorbs light.
Rapid glaciers melt leads to many natural disasters like Avalanches, disrupting the political and personal hamlet, Glacier lake outbrusts. Currently at about 100 million tonnes of plastics waste are found in the environment which is thus expected to get doubled by 2060.
So we all need to limit our plastics intake and reduce its impact on environment to prevent it from getting destroyed. Otherwise it could lead to a lack of predation and overgrowth of only a single species, disbalance in the natural ecosystems. We the human beings needed to be a little aware about the usage and turn towards eco friendly aspects of live to save our world and earth from depletion.
