Two University of Rhode Island researchers estimate that the top 5 centimeters (2 inches) of the floor of Narragansett Bay now contain more than 1,000 tons of microplastics, and that buildup has occurred in just the last 10 to 20 years.
This news is likely to stun generations of Rhode Islanders who have gotten their first taste of ocean life at the shoreline. From Oakland Beach to Salty Brine Beach, a Rhode Island child's introduction to the ocean often happens first at the water's edge, with a pail and a shovel, digging at the tide line.It's a pretty picture, but what are they digging up?
Doctoral student Victoria Fulfer and J.P. Walsh, director of URI's Coastal Resources Center, recently published a study analyzing the percentage of microplastics in Narragansett Bay. Their study represents the first such study of the bay, offering a baseline look at impact on Narragansett Bay. Fulfer and Walsh say that the level of plastics being stored in the Bay is dramatic and startling. They recently published their results in"The amount there is really shocking," Fulfer says.
As a new student at URI, Fulfer pictured herself drawing blood someday, not water samples. She had her sights set on medical school after college. A summer job at the Graduate School of Oceanography let her experience ocean research, performing DNA extraction of bacteria living in the seafloor to hone her molecular skills for medical school. In her senior year at URI, she got the chance to go out on the research vessel Endeavor.
Now her study with Walsh presents the first assessment of microplastic storage in Narragansett Bay, and indicates that plastic storage is extensive in the bay, especially in its upper parts near Providence.
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