Identification, Quantification, and Distribution Mapping Of Lake Champlain Microplastics and Their Potential to Bioaccumulate Up the Food Chain
Timeline
February 1, 2016 to January 31, 2018Description
Microplastics, can be found all around us. They are derived from plastic products such as water bottles, sandblasting materials, and polypropylene clothes. Microbeads are a common form of microplastics. These are generally found in personal hygiene products and are an emerging issue in freshwater systems. Current wastewater treatment facilities do not filter for these tiny colorful particles, causing them to be discharged with treated water.
This project examines the type and distribution of microplastics in Lake Champlain, focusing on their abundance, distribution, and presence in the food chain. The 24-month study will focus on the city of Plattsburgh’s wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) post-treatment effluent for microplastic particulates, quantify and map areas of high microplastic distributions in zooplankton as well as the thermal layers of the lake they are appearing and categorize plastic polymer types found in collected microplastic debris.
Resulting publications:
Ashline E, Garneau D. 2018. . Poster.
Bullis K, Stewart J, Walrath J, et al. 2018. . Poster.
Hafar, S-MN, Austin, L, Garneau D, Allen E. 2017. . Poster.
Lake Champlain Sea Grant. 2017. Microplastics. Brochure.
Le Tarte L, McCauley N, Moriarty M. et al. 2019. . Poster.
Malchoff M. 2019. Microplastics in Lake Champlain. Mountail Lake PBS Interview.
Mason SA, Garneau D, Suotton, R, et al. 2016. . Environmental Pollution. 218:2045-54
Masterson, RS, Stewart J, Garneau D, Myers L. 2018. . Poster.
Stewart J, Walrath J, Putnam A, et al. 2018. . Poster.