PhD Studentship: The Third (Plastic) Pole – Microplastic Accumulation and Release Within Remote, Snow-Dominated Environments

Environmental plastic pollution is now ubiquitous globally, with high concentrations detected in indoor and outdoor environments that are of increasing concern for human and environmental health. Most research on plastic pollution sources to date have been biased towards densely populated urban areas, but dramatic knowledge gaps in understanding how plastic pollution is transported across terrestrial and aquatic environments still remain – particularly for remote areas. Microplastic particles (4.We need to understand the mechanisms that control their dispersal and accumulation in order to determine exposure risk in sparsely populated, but highly remote environments.  

This interdisciplinary project is going to deploy advanced field and laboratory analytical sampling techniques to sample, identify and characterise microplastic particle accumulation in the build-up of snow cover and its release during snow melt. This research will take place in international experimental catchments in the North of Sweden and the Himalayas. Quantification of melt-derived microplastic particle contributions and stream discharge will, for the first time, allow assessment of the role of long-range microplastic transport into remote regions absent of local microplastic sources. This will also provide an understanding on how climate change and vegetation induced shifts in snow-pack accumulation and melting behaviour control particle release and downstream accumulation across stream networks in cold regions. The findings of this project will help to identify the magnitude of microplastic pollution risks to different types of remote cold environments and predict changes in particle release from snow melt due to globally changing climate patterns. 

For further information on this project and details of how to apply to it please click on the above 'Apply' button

Further information on how to apply for a CENTA studentship can be found on the CENTA website: https://centa.ac.uk/

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