Issued on: 20/11/2020 -
Kathmandu (AFP)
Traces of microplastics have been found close to the top of Mount Everest, a study showed Friday, likely originating from equipment used by the hundreds of climbers who summit the world's highest peak every year.
Fluorescent tents, discarded climbing equipment, empty gas canisters and even frozen excrement have long littered the well-trodden route to the 8,848-metre (29,029-feet) high summit, earning it the name of "the highest dumpster in the world".
But in the first study of microplastics on Everest, by a research team part of the 2019 National Geographic and Rolex Perpetual Planet Everest Expedition, the tiny pollutants were found as high as 8,440 metres above sea level, although concentration levels were higher at the mountain's base camp.
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The findings, which reveal the potential threat to Everest posed by plastic pollutants, were published in the environmental journal One Earth on Friday.
"The samples showed significant quantities of polyester, acrylic, nylon, and polypropylene fibres," author Imogen Napper, a National Geographic explorer and scientist based at the University of Plymouth in Britain, said in a statement.
"It really surprised me to find microplastics in every single snow sample I analysed. Mount Everest is somewhere I have always considered remote and pristine. To know we are polluting near the top of the tallest mountain (in the world) is a real eye-opener."
- Environmental scourge -
A majority of outdoor clothing worn by trekkers and climbers on Everest is made of synthetic fabrics. Tents, climbing ropes and other gear also use the materials.
"We highly suspect that these types of items are the major source of pollution rather than things like food and drink containers," Napper said, referring to the trash accumulation on the peak after decades of commercial mountaineering.
Last year, a 14-member team spent six weeks scouring for litter at Everest base camp and at Camp 4 -- nearly 8,000 metres up.
They cleared the mountain of four bodies and more than 10 tonnes of plastic bottles, cans and climbing equipment.
The study also suggests it is possible that microplastics found on Everest are blown there from elsewhere in the strong Himalayan winds.
Researchers also found microplastics in streams below the famous Himalayan peak, but the concentration was lower than in snow.
Last year, scientists reported tiny particles of plastic settled every day on each square metre of an uninhabited, high-altitude area in the Pyrenees straddling France and Spain.
Plastic litter, and the tiny particles that it breaks down into, has emerged in the last few years as a major environmental scourge.
Up to 12 million tonnes of plastics are thought to enter the world's oceans every year, and millions more clog inland waterways and landfills.
Scientists are only now beginning to measure the damage to wildlife and potential impacts on human health.
© 2020 AFP
There are microplastics near the top of Mount Everest too
IMAGE: THIS IMAGE SHOWS A VIEW OF THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC AND ROLEX PERPETUAL PLANET EVEREST EXPEDITION CLIMBERS' TENTS, MADE FROM WATERPROOF ACRYLIC MATERIAL, AT CAMP IV/SOUTH COL. IN THE BACKGROUND, CLIMBERS... view more
CREDIT: MARIUSZ POTOCKI/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
Researchers analyzing snow and stream samples from the National Geographic and Rolex Perpetual Planet Everest Expedition have found evidence of microplastic pollution on Mount Everest. While the highest concentrations of microplastics were around Base Camp where hikers and trekkers spend the most time, the team also found microplastics as high up as 8,440 meters above sea level, just below the summit. The findings appear November 20 in the journal One Earth.
"Mount Everest has been described as 'the world's highest junkyard,'" says first author Imogen Napper (@Imogennapper), a National Geographic Explorer and scientist based at the University of Plymouth who is described by her colleagues as a "plastic detective." "Microplastics haven't been studied on the mountain before, but they're generally just as persistent and typically more difficult to remove than larger items of debris."
Microplastics--tiny particles of plastic that come from the slow breakdown of larger litter--pose a huge ecological threat because they are easily consumed by animals and are so small that they are difficult to clean up. Microplastics are common in the ocean, but are not as carefully studied on land, especially remote mountaintops.
"I didn't know what to expect in terms of results, but it really surprised me to find microplastics in every single snow sample I analyzed. Mount Everest is somewhere I have always considered remote and pristine. To know we are polluting near the top of the tallest mountain is a real eye-opener."
While some members of the research team climbed the mountain collecting samples during the Everest expedition in the spring of 2019, much of the work was done in a lab many miles away, where Napper and her team analyzed the samples. "The closest I got to Mount Everest was in my lab at University of Plymouth in the UK," Napper jokes. She wanted to determine not only whether there was plastic on the mountain, but what type of plastic was there. This is an important step in figuring out where the pollution originated.
"The samples showed significant quantities of polyester, acrylic, nylon, and polypropylene fibers," says Napper. "Those materials are increasingly being used to make the high-performance outdoor clothing climbers use as well as tents and climbing ropes, so we highly suspect that these types of items are the major source of pollution rather than things like food and drink containers."
While this study clearly demonstrated the presence of microplastics on Mount Everest, the best way to clean this pollution remains to be seen.
"Currently, environmental efforts tend to focus on reducing, reusing, and recycling larger items of waste. This is important, but we also need to start focusing on deeper technological solutions that focus on microplastics, like changing fabric design and incorporating natural fibers instead of plastic when possible," she says.
The researchers also hope that their work will help clarify the extent to which plastic pollution jeopardizes all environments, not just the ocean.
"These are the highest microplastics discovered so far," says Napper. "While it sounds exciting, it means that microplastics have been discovered from the depths of the ocean all the way to the highest mountain on Earth. With microplastics so ubiquitous in our environment, it's time to focus on informing appropriate environmental solutions. We need to protect and care for our planet."
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This image high-elevation expedition climbers and Sherpa wear 'Himalayan suits' made of waterproof acrylic fibers at the Balcony (~8,440 m.a.s.l.), the highest from which microplastics were collected during the National Geographic and Rolex Perpetual Planet Everest Expedition. Behind them rest disused metal oxygen canisters and other waste which is a regular sight at this common resting point. www.NatGeo.com/Everest
This work was supported by the National Geographic Society and Rolex. To learn more about the 2019 Everest Expedition, please visit: https:/
One Earth, Napper et al.: "Reaching new heights in plastic pollution - preliminary findings of microplastics on Mount Everest" https://www.cell.com/one-earth/fulltext/S2590-3322(20)30550-9
One Earth (@OneEarth_CP), published by Cell Press, is a monthly journal that features papers from the fields of natural, social, and applied sciences. One Earth is the home for high-quality research that seeks to understand and address today's environmental Grand Challenges, publishing across the spectrum of environmental change and sustainability science. A sister journal to Cell, Chem, and Joule, One Earth aspires to break down barriers between disciplines and stimulate the cross-pollination of ideas with a platform that unites communities, fosters dialogue, and encourages transformative research. Visit http://www.
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This image shows a selection of microfibers found in snow samples from Mt. Everest Balcony (8,440 m), collected during the National Geographic and Rolex Perpetual Planet Everest Expedition, which are consistent with fibers from outdoor clothing. www.NatGeo.com/Everest
Microplastics in the death zone
Scientists find plastic fibres in snow samples from Mount Everest
IMAGE: HIGH-ELEVATION CLIMBERS AND SHERPA AT THE BALCONY DURING THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC AND ROLEX PERPETUAL PLANET EVEREST EXPEDITION view more
CREDIT: BAKER PERRY, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
Scientists have identified the highest recorded microplastics ever found on Earth - at an altitude of more than 8,000metres, close to the summit of Mount Everest.
Samples collected on the mountain and in the valley below it revealed substantial quantities of polyester, acrylic, nylon, and polypropylene fibres.
The materials are increasingly being used to make the high performance outdoor clothing commonly used by climbers, as well as the tents and climbing ropes used in attempts to climb the mountain.
As a result, researchers have suggested the fibres - the highest of which were found in samples from the Balcony of Mount Everest, 8,440 metres above sea level - could have fragmented from larger items during expeditions to reach the summit.
However, they have also surmised the plastics could have been transported from lower altitudes by the extreme winds which regularly impact the mountain's higher slopes.
The research, published in One Earth, was led by researchers from the University of Plymouth's International Marine Litter Research Unit, working with colleagues from the UK, USA and Nepal. It was supported by the National Geographic Society and Rolex.
Research Fellow and National Geographic Explorer Dr Imogen Napper, the study's lead author, said: "Microplastics are generated by a range of sources and many aspects of our daily lives can lead to microplastics entering the environment. Over the past few years, we have found microplastics in samples collected all over the planet - from the Arctic to our rivers and the deep seas. With that in mind, finding microplastics near the summit of Mount Everest is timely reminder that we need to do more to protect our environment."
The samples were collected in April and May 2019, as part of National Geographic and Rolex's Perpetual Planet Everest Expedition, and then analysed in specialist facilities in Plymouth.
Of 19 high elevation samples collected from the Mount Everest region for microplastic analysis, 11 were snow and eight stream water. This included streams along the trekking routes close to the Khumbu Glacier, in the snow at Everest Base Camp, and high into the Death Zone near the mountain's summit.
The highest quantities (79 microplastic fibres per litre of snow) were found at Base Camp, where summit expeditions are based for periods of up to 40 days. However, evidence was also found at Camps 1 and 2 on the climbing route, with 12 microplastic fibres per litre of snow recorded from the Balcony.
There were lower quantities in streams leading down from the mountain to the Sagarmatha National Park, with scientists saying this could be due to the continuous flow of water created by the region's glaciers.
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Samples are collected near Everest Base Camp during the National Geographic and Rolex Perpetual Planet Everest Expedition
CREDIT
Brittany Mumma, National Geographic
The first confirmed summiting of Mount Everest in 1953 coincided with the global rise to prominence of plastics and their use in society.
From a time in the 1950s when it had very few visitors, the Sagarmatha National Park (which includes the mountain) welcomed more than 45,000 visitors in 2016, while in 2019, climbing permits for Everest were issued in Nepal.
Over the same period, the versatility of plastic materials has resulted in a substantial increase in their use from five million tonnes globally in the 1950s to over 330 million tonnes in 2020.
Professor Richard Thompson OBE FRS, Head of the International Marine Litter Research Unit, said: "Since the 1950s, plastics have been increasingly used in all kinds of products because of their practicality and durability. However, it is those qualities which are, in large part, creating the global environmental crisis we are seeing today. There is now global recognition of the need to take action, with Nepal itself imposing regulations on climbing expeditions to try and curb the environmental problems created by waste. This study and our continued research only emphasises the importance of designing materials that have the benefits of plastics without the lasting and harmful legacy."
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Dr Imogen Napper working in the laboratories at the University of Plymouth
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University of Plymouth
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