The world’s oceans have long been thought to be a vast, plastic-free expanse. However, recent research has revealed a shocking truth – our seas are home to an estimated 27 million tons of tiny plastic particles, known as nanoplastics. This staggering amount is the result of a collaborative effort between ocean scientists and atmospheric researchers from Utrecht University.

The discovery was made possible by the work of Sophie ten Hietbrink, a master’s student who spent four weeks aboard the research vessel RV Pelagia, collecting water samples at 12 locations across the North Atlantic. Using mass spectrometry in the laboratory, she was able to detect and quantify the characteristic molecules of different types of plastics present in the ocean.

According to Helge Niemann, a researcher at NIOZ and professor of geochemistry at Utrecht University, this estimate is the first of its kind. “Until now, there were only a few publications that showed nanoplastics existed in the ocean water,” he said. “But we have never been able to estimate the amount until now.”

The consequences of this revelation are profound. Nanoplastics can penetrate deep into our bodies and have even been found in brain tissue. Now that their ubiquity in oceans has been confirmed, it’s likely they will contaminate every level of the ecosystem – from bacteria and microorganisms to fish and top predators like humans.

While cleaning up the existing nanoplastics is impossible, researchers emphasize that preventing further pollution with plastics is essential. Niemann emphasizes this crucial message: “We should at least prevent the further pollution of our environment with plastics.”

Future research will focus on understanding the different types of plastics present in nanoplastics and their distribution across other oceans. As we continue to explore the complexities of plastic pollution, it’s clear that a concerted effort is needed to protect our planet from these insidious invaders – even if they’re as small as a nanometer.

Unveiling 12,000 Years of European History: The Mont Blanc Ice Core Record

A team of researchers from the Desert Research Institute’s (DRI) Ice Core Lab has made a groundbreaking discovery by analyzing a 40-meter long ice core from the French Alps. This study, published in the June issue of PNAS Nexus, reveals an intact record of atmospheric aerosols and climate dating back at least 12,000 years.

The ice core, collected from Mont Blanc’s Dôme du Goûter, provides a unique insight into Europe’s local climate during different time periods. By using radiocarbon dating techniques, the research team established that the glacier offers an accurate record of past atmospheric aerosols and climate transitions.

Aerosols play a significant role in regional climate through their interactions with clouds and solar radiation. The insights offered by this ice core record can help inform accurate climate modeling for both the past and future.

One of the most striking aspects of this study is that it reveals a temperature difference of about 3 degrees Celsius between the last Ice Age and the current Holocene Epoch. Using pollen records embedded in the ice, reconstructions of summer temperatures during the last Ice Age were about 2 degrees Celsius cooler throughout western Europe, and about 3.5 degrees Celsius cooler in the Alps.

The phosphorous record also tells researchers the story of vegetation changes in the region over the last 12,000 years. Phosphorous concentrations in the ice were low during the last Ice Age, increased dramatically during the early to mid-Holocene, and then decreased steadily into the late Holocene.

Records of sea salt also helped researchers examine changes in historical wind patterns. The ice core revealed higher rates of sea salt deposition during the last Ice Age that may have resulted from stronger westerly winds offshore of western Europe.

The most dramatic story told by this study is the change in dust aerosols during the climatic shift. Dust serves as an important driver of climate by both absorbing and scattering incoming solar radiation and outgoing planetary radiation, and impacts cloud formation and precipitation by acting as cloud condensation nuclei.

During the last Ice Age, dust was found to be about 8-fold higher compared to the Holocene. This contradicts the mere doubling of dust aerosols between warm and cold climate stages in Europe simulated by prior climate models.

This study is only the beginning of the Mont Blanc ice record’s story, as researchers plan to continue analyzing it for indicators of human history. The first step in uncovering every ice core’s record is to use isotopes and radiocarbon dating to establish how old each layer of ice is. Now, with that information, scientists can take an even deeper look at what it can tell us about past human civilizations and their impact on the environment.

The Mont Blanc ice record has the potential to reveal more stories entombed in its layers, and researchers are eager to continue exploring this ancient history for a better understanding of our planet’s climate variability and human history.

The majority of the Earth’s plant species rely on animal pollinators to reproduce, and our modern agricultural industry is heavily reliant on honey bees. Feral honey bees, which are non-native and often escape human management, can perturb native ecosystems when they become abundant. A new study by University of California San Diego biologists is calling attention to the threat posed by these feral honey bees to native pollinators in Southern California.

The researchers found that honey bees remove about 80% of pollen during the first day a flower opens, leaving scant resources for native bees. If the pollen and nectar used to create honey bee biomass were instead converted to native bees, populations of native bees would be expected to be roughly 50 times larger than they are currently.

While public concern often focuses on the plight of the honey bee, researchers say that such a level of honey bee exploitation is not well documented. This can pose an additional and important threat to native bee populations in places where honey bees have become abundant.

The study used pollen-removal experiments to estimate the amount of pollen extracted by honey bees using three common native plants as targeted pollen sources. The researchers found that just two visits by honey bees removed more than 60% of available pollen from flowers of all three species.

One step to address this situation could be increased guidance on whether and where large-scale contract beekeepers are allowed to keep their hives on public lands after crops have bloomed, to limit opportunities for honey bees to outcompete native species for scarce resources provided by native vegetation.