Lecture: Microplastics Around Nantucket, the Known and the Unknown

Microplastics, plastic less than 5 mm in its biggest dimension, is everywhere.  The question we had was how much was here already on Nantucket and what type? What is the island’s baseline?  In 2019, we began sampling the beaches and intertidal waters in Nantucket Harbor, Madaket Harbor and Surfside beach.  We examined oysters, bay scallops and seal scat to see if it was making it into food-webs. Then in 2021 we began looking how much was deposited from the air we all breathe. Join Juanita Urban-Rich, Yvonne Vaillancourt, Graeme Durovich as they present some of the data and what they have learned about its distribution on Nantucket Island and discuss some of the remaining questions such as what impact is it having, and what is being done about it. 

Admission is Free. Masks Required. 

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