Microplastics in Possession Sound
Plastic debris has been found in the marine environment around the world. In recent years, microplastics, which are synthetic polymers that are less than 5 mm, have been increasing in the water column. Emerging research is being conducted on the distribution of microplastic threads. Research has bee...
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ftwestwashington:oai:cedar.wwu.edu:ssec-1781 2023-05-15T17:53:58+02:00 Microplastics in Possession Sound Aitoro, Elisa 2016-01-01T08:00:00Z https://cedar.wwu.edu/ssec/2016ssec/fate_and_effects_of_pollutants/12 English eng Western CEDAR https://cedar.wwu.edu/ssec/2016ssec/fate_and_effects_of_pollutants/12 This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University. Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference text 2016 ftwestwashington 2022-09-14T05:59:01Z Plastic debris has been found in the marine environment around the world. In recent years, microplastics, which are synthetic polymers that are less than 5 mm, have been increasing in the water column. Emerging research is being conducted on the distribution of microplastic threads. Research has been conducted over the past five years in the Possession Sound estuarine system, a section of Puget Sound west of the Everett metropolitan area, by students from Ocean Research College Academy (ORCA), a dual enrollment running start program through Everett Community College. This research includes collection and analysis of plankton tows, including a vertical tow from 10-50 m with a 335 micron net and a horizontal plankton tow collected at the halocline with a 20 micron net. Archived plankton photographs show that microplastic threads have appeared in at least five out of twenty cruises. Two of the five threads were found in vertical tows, one at Mount Baker Terminal (MBT), which is near the Mukilteo site. The other three were found in horizontal tows, one was at MBT and the other was at Buoy, a site in between Jetty and Hat Island. The Snohomish River, Mukilteo, Whidbey Island, and Hat Island research sites were analyzed to determine how the influence of the river and the ferry terminal affect the microplastic fragments found in the surface layer. The working hypothesis is that there will be a spatial difference in the location of the microplastic fibers within the water column, where the sites near the mouth of the river and ferry terminal will have a lower concentration of microplastics on the surface compared to the sites on the east side of Hat and Whidbey Island. Text Orca Western Washington University: CEDAR (Contributing to Education through Digital Access to Research) Mount Baker ENVELOPE(169.250,169.250,-72.767,-72.767) |
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Western Washington University: CEDAR (Contributing to Education through Digital Access to Research) |
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ftwestwashington |
language |
English |
description |
Plastic debris has been found in the marine environment around the world. In recent years, microplastics, which are synthetic polymers that are less than 5 mm, have been increasing in the water column. Emerging research is being conducted on the distribution of microplastic threads. Research has been conducted over the past five years in the Possession Sound estuarine system, a section of Puget Sound west of the Everett metropolitan area, by students from Ocean Research College Academy (ORCA), a dual enrollment running start program through Everett Community College. This research includes collection and analysis of plankton tows, including a vertical tow from 10-50 m with a 335 micron net and a horizontal plankton tow collected at the halocline with a 20 micron net. Archived plankton photographs show that microplastic threads have appeared in at least five out of twenty cruises. Two of the five threads were found in vertical tows, one at Mount Baker Terminal (MBT), which is near the Mukilteo site. The other three were found in horizontal tows, one was at MBT and the other was at Buoy, a site in between Jetty and Hat Island. The Snohomish River, Mukilteo, Whidbey Island, and Hat Island research sites were analyzed to determine how the influence of the river and the ferry terminal affect the microplastic fragments found in the surface layer. The working hypothesis is that there will be a spatial difference in the location of the microplastic fibers within the water column, where the sites near the mouth of the river and ferry terminal will have a lower concentration of microplastics on the surface compared to the sites on the east side of Hat and Whidbey Island. |
format |
Text |
author |
Aitoro, Elisa |
spellingShingle |
Aitoro, Elisa Microplastics in Possession Sound |
author_facet |
Aitoro, Elisa |
author_sort |
Aitoro, Elisa |
title |
Microplastics in Possession Sound |
title_short |
Microplastics in Possession Sound |
title_full |
Microplastics in Possession Sound |
title_fullStr |
Microplastics in Possession Sound |
title_full_unstemmed |
Microplastics in Possession Sound |
title_sort |
microplastics in possession sound |
publisher |
Western CEDAR |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://cedar.wwu.edu/ssec/2016ssec/fate_and_effects_of_pollutants/12 |
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ENVELOPE(169.250,169.250,-72.767,-72.767) |
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Mount Baker |
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Mount Baker |
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Orca |
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Orca |
op_source |
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference |
op_relation |
https://cedar.wwu.edu/ssec/2016ssec/fate_and_effects_of_pollutants/12 |
op_rights |
This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University. |
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1766161690222657536 |