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Abstract
Tibetan Plateau is known as the world's third pole, which is characterized by a low
population density with very limited human activities. Tibetan Plateau possesses the
greatest numbers of high-altitude inland lakes in the world. However, no information
is currently available on the characteristic of microplastic pollution in those lakes
within this remote area. In this work, lakeshore sediments from four lakes within
the Siling Co basin in northern Tibet were sampled and examined for microplastics
(<5 mm). Microplastics were detected in six out of seven sampling sites with abundances
ranging from 8 ± 14 to 563 ± 1219 items/m2. Riverine input might have contributed
to the high abundance of microplastics observed in this remote area. Morphological
features suggest that microplastics are derived from the breakdown of daily used plastic
products. Polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyethylene terephthalate, and
polyvinyl chloride were identified from the microplastic samples using laser Raman
spectroscopy, and oxidative and mechanical weathering textures were observed on the
surface of microplastics using scanning electron microscope. These results demonstrate
the presence of microplastics even for inland lakes in remote areas under very low
human impact, and microplastic pollution can be a global issue.