Laboratory of Biodiversity and Environment on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, Ministry of Education, School of Ecology and Environment, Tibet University, Lhasa, 850000, China.
Environ Geochem Health. 2024 Jul 29;46(9):347. doi: 10.1007/s10653-024-02125-w.
Atmospheric microplastics are important contributors to environmental contamination in aquatic and terrestrial systems and pose potential ecological risks. However, studies on atmospheric microplastics are still limited in urban regions of the Tibetan Plateau, a sentinel region for climate and environmental change under a warming climate. In this study, the occurrence and potential ecological risk of atmospheric microplastics were investigated in samples of suspended atmospheric microplastics collected in Lhasa city during the Tibetan New Year in February 2023. The results show that the average abundance of atmospheric microplastics in Lhasa was 7.15 ± 2.46 MPs m. The sizes of the detected microplastics ranged from 20.34 to 297.18 μm, approximately 87% of which were smaller than 100 μm. Fragmented microplastics (95.76%) were the dominant shape, followed by fibres (3.75%) and pellets (0.49%). The primary polymer chemical components identified were polyamide (68.73%) and polystyrene (16.61%). The analysis of meteorological data and the backwards trajectory model indicated the air mass in Lhasa mainly controlled by westwards, and the atmospheric microplastics mainly originated from long-distance atmospheric transport. The potential ecological risk index assessment revealed that the atmospheric microplastic pollution in Lhasa was relatively low. This study provides valuable insights and a scientific foundation for future research on the prevention and control of atmospheric microplastic pollution in Lhasa and other ecologically sensitive cities.
大气中的微塑料是水生和陆地系统环境污染的重要贡献者，并构成潜在的生态风险。然而，在青藏高原这个气候和环境变化的敏感地区的城市地区，大气微塑料的研究仍然有限。在本研究中，于 2023 年藏历新年期间在拉萨市采集悬浮大气微塑料样本，调查了大气微塑料的发生情况及其潜在的生态风险。结果表明，拉萨大气微塑料的平均丰度为 7.15±2.46 MPs m -3 。检测到的微塑料尺寸范围为 20.34 至 297.18 μm，大约 87%的微塑料小于 100 μm。碎片状微塑料（95.76%）是主要的形态，其次是纤维状微塑料（3.75%）和颗粒状微塑料（0.49%）。鉴定出的主要聚合物化学成分为聚酰胺（68.73%）和聚苯乙烯（16.61%）。气象数据分析和后向轨迹模型表明，拉萨的空气团主要受西风控制，大气微塑料主要来源于远距离大气传输。潜在生态风险指数评估显示，拉萨大气微塑料污染相对较低。本研究为未来拉萨和其他生态敏感城市大气微塑料污染的预防和控制提供了有价值的见解和科学依据。
