In September 2021, Hurricane Larry pelted Newfoundland, in Canada, with strong winds and torrential rain. It also rained down microplastics 鈥� up to five times as many particles fell on days during the storm as those before or after.
A hurricane鈥檚 impacts on microplastic deposition hadn鈥檛 been studied before, says at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada. She and her colleagues took advantage of the approaching storm to make the measurements. 鈥淲e didn鈥檛 have a lot of warning,鈥� she says. The team put out large vessels to catch the microplastics from two days before to two days after Hurricane Larry.
Although this area of Newfoundland is rural and doesn鈥檛 have many industrial sites that would generate microplastic pollution, the number of particles that fell with the hurricane were relatively high 鈥� around four times greater than the amount other researchers had measured during a different storm. This may be because the storm travelled over the North Atlantic garbage patch before it made landfall.
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鈥淲e normally think of the ocean as like the ultimate sink for plastics,鈥� says Ryan. This work suggests that hurricanes can grab some of that plastic and dump it in places that may otherwise experience relatively low levels of microplastic pollution. From there, it could be sent aloft and transported elsewhere, says Ryan.
鈥淭here鈥檚 still a lot of questions as far as the full extent of microplastic impacts,鈥� says Ryan. But researchers have found that these particles can pick up heavy metals or viruses and carry them to other places. Microplastics can also leach toxic chemicals into the environment and may harm humans or animals that inhale or ingest them.
Studies like this reinforce the need to reduce plastic use and prevent microplastics from getting into the environment, says Ryan. 鈥淏ecause once they鈥檙e out there, they鈥檙e moving all over the place and you really can鈥檛 stop them.鈥�
Communications Earth & Environment
