Characteristics of Fog and Fog Collection with Passive Collector at Mt. Oyama in Japan

Microplastic pollution is occurring in most ecosystem, yet their presence in high altitude clouds and their influence on cloud formation and climate change are poorly known. Here we analyzed microplastics in cloud water sampled at the summits of Japan mountains at 1300–3776 m altitude by attenuated total reflection imaging and micro-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. We observed nine microplastics including polyethylene, polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polymethyl methacrylate, polyamide 6, polycarbonate, ethylene–propylene copolymer or polyethylene–polypropylene alloy, polyurethane, and epoxy resin. Microplastic were fragmented, with mean concentrations ranging from 6.7 to 13.9 pieces per liter, and with Feret diameters ranging from 7.1 to 94.6 μm. Microplastics bearing hydrophilic groups such as carbonyl and/or hydroxyl groups were abundant, suggesting that they might have acted as condensation nuclei of cloud ice and water. Overall, our finding suggest that high-altitude microplastics cloud influence cloud formation and, in turn, might modify the climate.

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Airborne hydrophilic microplastics in cloud water at high altitudes and their role in cloud formation

Wang

Okochi

Hayami

et al. 2023

Environ Chem Lett

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Recent Characteristics of Fog Water Chemistry at Mt. Tateyama, Central Japan: Recovery from High Sulfate and Acidity

Watanabe

Harada

et al. 2022

Water Air Soil Pollut

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Fog Water, Throughfall, and Bulk Precipitation Chemistry and a Newly Developed Methodology for the Estimation of Fog Water Deposition

Abe

Oniwa

Okochi

et al. 2022

Water Air Soil Pollut

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Characteristics of Fog and Fog Collection with Passive Collector at Mt. Oyama in Japan

Cited by 8 publications

References 44 publications

Airborne hydrophilic microplastics in cloud water at high altitudes and their role in cloud formation

Airborne hydrophilic microplastics in cloud water at high altitudes and their role in cloud formation

Recent Characteristics of Fog Water Chemistry at Mt. Tateyama, Central Japan: Recovery from High Sulfate and Acidity

Fog Water, Throughfall, and Bulk Precipitation Chemistry and a Newly Developed Methodology for the Estimation of Fog Water Deposition

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