Sam Munoz

Sponsor: NSF

The degradation and transport of plastics has led to its accumulation across a range of environments, but a key component of the plastic-carbon cycle — namely the transport and storage of microplastics through rivers and floodplains — remains poorly constrained. Understanding where and why plastics accumulate along rivers and floodplains is critical for mitigating and managing plastic pollution because rivers connect plastics production and use upstream to coasts and the open ocean. This project will analyze soil samples to quantify the amount and types microplastics found in different floodplain environments, and relate patterns of plastic accumulation to environmental parameters.