First evidence of microplastic deposition in snow from Turkey

Year 2023, Volume: 8 Issue: 1, 95 - 102, 31.03.2023

Nebil Yücel , Ersin Tutsak , Ece Kılıç

https://doi.org/10.35229/jaes.1233006

Cited By: 3

Abstract

Microplastic pollution in snow was investigated in top of the Amanos Mountain in Hatay region, southern Turkey. Snow samples were collected from four stations located in different heights and fronts of the mountain. Abundance of microplastic ranged from 10.5 to 16 MP per liter and a total of 519 microplastic particles (MPs) were identified in snow samples. The majority of identified microplastic were fiber (>99%), black in color and 0.5 – 2.5 mm (62%) size class and polyester (35%). This is the first study examining the microplastic pollution in snow from Turkey. Local wind and trajectory analyses revealed that MPs appeared in the sampling region originated from closely located Amik Plain and/or were transported from remote areas with northwesterly and southerly airflows.

Keywords

Microplastics, Snow, Atmospheric transport, Amanos Mountain, Pollution

Thanks

We acknowledge the use of imagery from the NASA Worldview application (https://worldview.earthdata.nasa.gov), part of the NASA Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS)

Türkiye'den karda mikroplastik birikimine dair ilk kanıt

Abstract

Bu çalışmada Türkiye’nin Hatay ilinde bulunan Amonas Dağından alan kar numunelerinde mikroplastik varlığı araştırılmıştır. Kar örneklerin dağın 4 farklı yükseklikteki yamacından alınmıştır. Örneklerdeki mikroplastik bolluğu litre başına 10.5 ile 16 mikroplastik parçası (MP) arasında değişim göstermiş olup toplamda 519 adet MP tespit edilmiştir. Tespit edilen makalelerin büyük kısmı fiber şeklinde (>99%), siyah renkli, 0.5-2.5 mm (62%) boyut aralığına sahiptir ve en yaygın tespit edilen polimer polyester (35%) olarak bulunmuştur. Bu, Türkiye'den kardaki mikroplastik kirliliğini inceleyen ilk çalışmadır. Yerel rüzgar ve yörünge analizleri, MP'lerin örnekleme bölgesinde ortaya çıktığını ve yakın konumdaki Amik Ovası'ndan kaynaklandığını ve/veya kuzeybatı ve güney hava akımları ile uzak bölgelerden taşındığını ortaya çıkarmıştır.

Keywords

Microplastics, Snow, Atmospheric transport, Amanos Mountain

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