Supported by: RI Science and Technology Advisory Council 

This research team couples hydrodynamic models (computer simulations of water movement), the use of Lagrangian Drifters (trackable floats that move with the currents), spatial and time-series sampling at strategic locations within Narragansett Bay to develop a baseline understanding of microplastic pollution. This study will 1) determine the current level of microplastic pollution in Narragansett Bay by producing spatially explicit risk maps that highlight hotspots of microplastic contamination; 2) develop model and technological case studies that are capable of resolving the dispersal of microplastic pollution within Narragansett Bay and 3) establish the presence and magnitude of temporally varying patterns in microplastic transport at strategic sites within Narragansett Bay.

Additional Information:
Project information from Ocean State Initiative for Marine Plastics (OSIMAP)
Ocean Ecogeochemistry Laboratory (McMahon Laboratory)

URI Leads: Andrew Davies (Co-PI), Kelton McMahon (Co-PI)

Team Members: Coleen Suckling (URI College of Environment and Life Sciences), Vinka Oyanedel Craver (URI College of Engineering) , Christopher Kincaid (URI Graduate School of Oceanography) , Mike Jarbeau (Save the Bay), Scott Rutherford (RWU Feinstein School of Social and Natural Sciences)