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epa07774596 An undated handout photo made available by the Alfred Wegener Institut (AWI), Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, on 15 August 2019 shows flasks containing snow as AWI scientists use a board helicopter from the German icebreaking research vessel Polarstern in efforts to collect snow samples from the Arctic. Scientists at Germany's Alfred Wegener Institute announced on 14 Augsut 2019 that even in remote regions such as the Arctic and the Alps the snow is polluted with microplastics (MPs); with varnish, rubber, polyethylene, and polyamide particles dominating overall, indicating significant contamination of the atmosphere. Experts believe that microplastic, defined as particles below 5mm in size, is blown about by winds and transported long distances through the atmosphere and snow to the Arctic sea. Researchers collected snow samples from the Arctic (Svalbard) and in populated (Heligoland, Bremen and Bavaria in Germany) and remote (Tschuggen and Davos in Switzerland) European sites. EPA/KAJETAN DEJA/ALFRED WEGENER INSTITUT HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES