Microplastics discovered in sediments untouched by modern humans

Scientists have long used layers of ash or ice to study past events on Earth, leading to the question of whether microplastics can serve as a reliable chronological marker of the Anthropocene (i.e., the period since 1950).
It is now clear that it can’t.

Even Antarctica, the most remote region of our planet, is not immune to polymer waste. Microplastics brought in by the wind settle in the local snow.