KINGSTON, R.I. 鈥� Aug. 30, 2023 鈥� Two 溏心vlog免费B站 researchers estimate that the top 5 centimeters (2 inches) of the floor of Narragansett Bay now contain more than 1,000 tons of microplastics, and that buildup has occurred in just the last 10 to 20 years.
This news is likely to stun generations of Rhode Islanders who have gotten their first taste of ocean life at the shoreline. From Oakland Beach to Salty Brine Beach, a Rhode Island child鈥檚 introduction to the ocean often happens first at the water鈥檚 edge, with a pail and a shovel, digging at the tide line.
It鈥檚 a pretty picture, but what are they digging up?
A new study published by the 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 Graduate School of Oceanography is giving state residents, and the future generation of beachgoers, a clearer picture of what exactly is being found in Narragansett Bay.
Doctoral student Victoria Fulfer and J.P. Walsh, director of 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 Coastal Resources Center, recently published a study analyzing the percentage of microplastics in Narragansett Bay. Their study represents the first such study of the bay, offering a baseline look at impact on Narragansett Bay. Fulfer and Walsh say that the level of plastics being stored in the Bay is dramatic and startling. They recently published their results in .
Both say they were surprised by the sheer amount of microplastics in the bay.
鈥淭he amount there is really shocking,鈥� Fulfer says.
Research journey
In her lab at 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 Narragansett Bay Campus, Fulfer examines microplastics, small plastic particles 5 centimeters or smaller. The smallest of these can鈥檛 be seen without a powerful microscope; the largest are plastic production pellets called 鈥渘urdles.鈥� 溏心vlog免费B站 the size of a pea or piece of couscous, they look a little like Dippin鈥� Dots. We might be consuming them, too, but they鈥檙e nowhere near as tasty or fun.
As a new student at 溏心vlog免费B站, Fulfer pictured herself drawing blood someday, not water samples. She had her sights set on medical school after college. A summer job at the Graduate School of Oceanography let her experience ocean research, performing DNA extraction of bacteria living in the seafloor to hone her molecular skills for medical school. In her senior year at 溏心vlog免费B站, she got the chance to go out on the research vessel Endeavor. Though she thought it a 鈥渃ool opportunity,鈥� Fulfer headed to medical school at the University of Massachusetts after graduation, as planned. It was there that she realized her true calling 鈥� and found her way back to the Bay Campus.
鈥淚 missed the culture of ocean science and being in the field,鈥� she says, and decided to return to 溏心vlog免费B站 for her master鈥檚 of science in oceanography.
Now her study with Walsh presents the first assessment of microplastic storage in Narragansett Bay, and indicates that plastic storage is extensive in the bay, especially in its upper parts near Providence.
Microplastic pollution comes from runoff, littering of single-use plastic items, wastewater treatment facilities, shipping, industrial plastic production, and fisheries. However, it鈥檚 estimated that only 1% of that marine plastic remains in the water column. Most microplastics are eventually deposited on shorelines and in marine sediment, an unpleasant and likely harmful souvenir of some beachgoers.
With more than 16 trillion microplastic particles trapped in the top layer of Narragansett Bay鈥檚 sediment, the bay is in essence serving as a filter for plastic pollution. This trapping has negative consequences, and may cause behavioral changes in mammals, but might also point the way to potential for efficient removal. Coastal habitats are more easily accessible than the open ocean, making clean-up efforts more feasible.
This first system-wide study of estuarine sediments also provides evidence that coasts bear the burden of high microplastic contamination. These observations raise concern about ecosystem consequences, but also offer an opportunity for more efficient plastic removal to help limit impact on the ocean.
Of course, measuring the microplastics can only go so far: at a certain size, plastics are too small to capture and measure, though that doesn鈥檛 mean they can鈥檛 get into your body or the food on your plate.
Narragansett Bay: toxic catch basin or a cleaner future?
Development in and around Providence starting with the Industrial Revolution led to the bay making news for its pollution in the 1970s when organizations like Save the Bay started calling attention to the need to protect Rhode Island鈥檚 largest natural resource.
With more than 700 billion gallons of water across 150 square miles, the bay鈥檚 unique configuration means that if the water can be cleaned up, it will likely stay clean and healthy.
Reducing plastic inputs will help.
At the source
Microplastics in Narragansett Bay come from single-use plastics in most cases, from bags, bottles and packaging. That plastic bag floating down your street can make its way to the bay and become microplastic debris that you eventually swim past. There鈥檚 not a lot of intentional dumping in Rhode Island, but plastics are still getting into the bay.
Looking at personal plastic use is a great place to start to remedy the problem, Fulfer says. While her research at GSO is putting her right at the forefront of research in this growing field, she鈥檚 become more mindful along the way about her own plastic choices outside of the lab, from shampoo bottles to using a bamboo toothbrush.
Another way to help is adding 鈥渞efuse鈥� to your environmental vocabulary, following the mantra of 鈥渞efuse reduce reuse recycle.鈥� Avoid taking the restaurant container if you don鈥檛 need it. Fulfer says that picking up litter and keeping plastics out of the natural environment helps. 鈥淎ny small action is helpful,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t makes a difference.鈥�
She often staffs the booth at GSO events and enjoys talking to children and adults interested in the issue. 鈥淭he kids have good ideas and creative solutions,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e need them.鈥�
Waste matters
Fulfer says that the orientation of the Bay and Rhode Island鈥檚 small size means there is a good chance of success in righting the ship, if addressed.
鈥淚f we could champion this, we would see a real reduction,鈥� she says.
Things like the plastic bag ban in Rhode Island is a start.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not just about the bay looking good for a picture, it鈥檚 about what the science says about the health of the ecosystem and potential impacts on our communities,鈥� Fulfer says. While noting that habit-changing takes adjustment, she says that people in Rhode Island, and legislators, are receptive. 鈥淭ourism and fishing are part of our economy. People get it here.鈥�
Microplastics are still a new area of study and right now, California is the only state monitoring microplastics. Rhode Island鈥檚 research at 溏心vlog免费B站, with the support and interest of the state Department of Environmental Management, could be the start of oversight here.
Fulfer and Walsh hope that the Ocean State can live up to its name and become a leader on the East Coast.
鈥淚f we could really be at the forefront of minimizing plastic use,鈥� Fulfer says, 鈥渨e could be the first state on the East Coast to make actionable change for the bay and our entire coastal system.鈥�