Slovenian scientists are the first in the world to find microplastics in hailstones. According to the researchers, the microplastics may also have contributed to the formation of large ice spheres or lumps.
The area of the Kolpa River in southeastern Slovenia was hit by a violent hailstorm in June 2019. The hailstones were up to 13 centimeters in size. The huge hailstones formed 11 kilometers above the earth’s surface in the troposphere, the lowest layer of the atmosphere.
Researchers from the University of Ljubljana, among others, analyzed the hailstones. In addition to the bacteria and sedimentary particles of the desert sand, they also found various microparticles.
Microplastics are small pieces of plastic less than 5 millimeters in size that end up in the environment. This shows that fibrous particles can travel thousands of kilometers above the Earth’s surface and high in the troposphere, the study says.
“We are delighted to be the first in the world to demonstrate that microplastics are present in the troposphere. Previous studies have only been conducted a few meters above the ground and no results have been released before on the troposphere,” said researcher Manca Kovač Viršek of l ‘Slovenian Water Institute during a press conference.
Researchers can’t say for sure that microplastic was the only factor that contributed to the formation of giant hailstones three years ago. This requires further research.
