Measuring the Impact of Microplastics on Fresh Water
The impact of plastics on aquatic systems is big news and of major concern these days.
Microplastics (or plastic particles that are smaller than 5 mm) have also been acknowledged as a truly ubiquitous contaminant in recent years. Studies demonstrating the presence of microplastics in freshwater rivers, lakes and in atmospheric deposition have shown that microplastics don’t just affect oceans, and therefore need to be researched in freshwater environments.
In 2019, researchers at IISD Experimental Lakes Area are monitoring a remote lake (Lake 378) for microplastics—all with the ultimate goal of manipulating a lake in a few years to discover how the lake and its inhabitants respond to microplastics.
Click here to read a short blog post about the threat that microplastics pose to our environment.
This research project is led by researchers from the University of Toronto, Lakehead University and Queen’s University.
Microplastics: What are they and what can we do about them?
What exactly are microplastics? What are they doing to our water? And why should you be worried? We sat down with IISD Experimental Lakes Area research fellow Dr. Michael Rennie, who has recently worked on the impact of microplastics on fresh water, and he gave us the lowdown on them.
Freshwater Lakes’ Pollution Problems Go Beyond Plastics
Focusing solely on plastic pollution ignores the myriad problems — from algae to pollution — that plague our lakes
Is It Raining Plastic?
We need more research to understand the effects of microplastics on our fresh water—and find solutions. That's where our team of experts come in.
Project team
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