Mentor(s)

Lillian Jeznach, Engineering, Roger Williams University

Project Location

Roger Williams University

Project Description

Microplastics pollution is a growing pollution concern for the state of Rhode Island, especially given the high urban land cover and importance of the surrounding marine environment to the local economy. Several local studies have focused on quantifying and characterizing microplastic pollution and its impacts to wildlife in the Narragansett Bay, however, there is little data from inland freshwater and atmospheric inputs to the bay. Knowledge of the extent of microplastic pollution in rivers and streams is important, since microplastics are transported through inland river systems to the bay. Atmospheric deposition of microplastics is also a growing area of interest, especially in urban areas, however there is very limited data on this globally and none in New England. The main objective of this project is to continue sampling efforts across a range of locations in Rhode Island to help estimate freshwater and atmospheric microplastic loading to the bay. Various river sample locations have previously been identified in collaboration with local stakeholders. An atmospheric microplastic fallout collector was previously designed, built, and installed on Roger Williams campus to collect atmospheric dry deposition samples. Sample analysis for the project currently includes sample digestion, Nile Red staining, FTIR/Raman analysis and visual microscopic enumeration based on plastic shape and size.

The SURF student researcher and the research team over the summer will be focusing on data collection along both urban and rural sections of Rhode Island rivers to estimate the urban effects on microplastic concentrations. The students will sample from two to four different locations along a river throughout the summer, analyze the samples, and analyze the data collected to determine differences in plastic concentrations and types in urban and rural locations along the same river. Students will also collect periodic air samples of microplastics from the campus microplastic atmospheric collector. Microplastics in these atmospheric samples will also be analyzed to contribute to a dataset of microplastic deposition collected throughout the year.

Specific tasks that the SURF student will be involved in include field sampling, sample processing, visual microscopic sample analysis, chemical sample analysis using FTIR/Raman, data visualization, and documentation of methods and reporting.

This project involves field, lab and computational work

Required/Preferred skills

Required: Knowledge of Microsoft Word/Excel and basic laboratory skills from intro chemistry courses

Preferred: Experience with chemical analyses (FTIR/Raman)

Will the project require transportation to field sites? No

Is this project open to Surf Flex? Yes

In which core facilities might student conduct research? None

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