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Microplastics

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While in Alaska, our Fall 2023 Energy Afterlives 360 students conducted microplastic sampling.

When we returned, we processed and analyzed the samples under microscopes. The sediment samples from Sitka and near the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau have significantly fewer microplastics than we found in the Schuylkill River -- but far from zero!  The most common so far have been micro-fibers. These are mostly from fishing rope and synthetic clothing. Many of these are so small that they can be transported by wind or lofted into the air by popping ocean bubbles. From there, they can be precipitated out onto glaciers -- so even fresh glacial meltwater contains microplastics....

Contents of this tag:

  1. Microplastic Background
  2. Microplastic Sampling in Alaska
  3. Microplastic Sampling in Alaska