Marine Plastics & Microplastics
The role of plastics in the global health of the ocean is unclear. Our research centers around the theme of using technology to drive our ability to robustly quantify and identify ocean plastics. We utilize spectroscopic techniques to study the fate of plastics in the marine environment. We are interested in the weathering of plastics, on land and in the ocean, and the metal adsorption onto plastics found on global beaches. We are also developing in situ technologies to measure microplastics in the ocean. We have recently developed an impedance sensor that can identify if a particle in a fluid flow is a plastic or a biological material. This is one of the first demonstrations of flow-through counting and sizing of microplastics with differentiation of plastic and biological materials. This sensor is leading the way for in situ microplastic detection and enabling the quantification of microplastics in aqueous bodies.
RESEARCH PAPERS
- Divergent Forms of Pyroplastic: Lessons Learned from the M/V X-Press Pearl Ship Fire
- The M/V X-Press Pearl Nurdle Spill: Contamination of Burnt Plastic and Unburnt Nurdles along Sri Lanka’s Beaches
- Field-Portable microplastic sensing in aqueous environments: a perspective on emerging techniques
- Flow-Through Quantification of Microplastics Using Impedance Spectroscopy
- Quantum cascade laser-based reflectance spectroscopy: a robust approach for the classification of plastic type
- Rapid Identification of Marine Plastic Debris via Spectroscopic Techniques and Machine Learning Classifiers
Funding Agencies
The Richard Saltonstall Charitable Foundation, the National Academies Keck Futures Initiative, the Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award, the Gerstner Family Foundation, and the Wallace Research Foundation funded this research.
Partners/Collaborators
This is a collaboration with H. White (Haverford College) and C. Reddy (WHOI)).
Related Links
- WHOI scientists discuss the chemistry behind Sri Lanka's flaming plastic spill
- The spread of plastics and oil in Sri Lanka from the wreck of M/V X-Press Pearl
- Study Outlines Challenges to Ongoing Clean-up of Burnt and Unburnt Nurdles Along Sri Lanka’s Coastline
- WHOI's Chemical Sensors Lab teams up with TripleRing Technologies to continue microplastic sensing efforts
- Colson interviewed by The Academic Times regarding his novel Microplastic Sensor
- Using Quantum Cascade Lasers to Identify Plastics
- Flow-Through Quantification of Microplastics Using Impedance Spectroscopy
- JP Student Beckett Colson’s Microplastic Impedance Sensor recognized in the MRS Bulletin
- Colson interviewed by The Academic Times regarding his novel Microplastic Sensor