BLACKSBURG, Va., March 19 -- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University issued the following news release:
Tiny pieces of plastic, called microplastics, are showing up everywhere, even in the water in clouds, rain, and snow - and they may be affecting our weather and temperatures.
A new study published in Environmental Science & Technology and led by Hosein Foroutan, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, found that microbes living on microplastics dramatically boost their ability to trigger ice formation in clouds. In laboratory experiments, the microbial coating increased the temperature at which ice formed by about 6.5 degrees Celsius - a major shift in cloud physics.
"Microplastics are often thought of a...