Excellence in Research: The Fate of Microplastics Within the Georgia Bight

This is a collaborative effort to determine movements and abundances of small particulate plastics from the main coastal Georgia river systems to the NOAA Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary. Through existing equipment and resources at Savannah State University (SSU),the Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC Sandy Hook Laboratory, SHL), the University of Georgia Skidaway Institute of Oceanography (UGA SkIO), and Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary (GRNMS), this team will address three key science objectives. Further, to advance research at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and increase equitable involvement of African Americans and other underrepresented groups in the geosciences, there is a need for intra- and inter-institutional partnerships that are focused on both the intellectual merit and broader impacts radiating from that engagement. This can be achieved through place-based, relevant research that is connected to the broader research and to social communities, providing students with a sense of place within the scientific community and a sense of contribution for their social community. This project balances scientific objectives with multidimensional student mentorship and training in small particulate plastics research that includes targeted improved efficiency and training in primary and secondary analytical techniques, both critical to studying nano- and microplastics. Utilizing drifters and static water-tracking technology, concurrent water-sediment-biota collection, unique human-powered shallow-water collection methods, fluorescence-based particle detection, Raman spectroscopy, and pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, this team will address the following Science objectives: (1) Quantify and characterize micro- and nano-plastic distributions in water and sediments in the Georgia Bight region, with particular emphasis on establishing the temporal and spatial variability of these materials; (2) Examine representative estuarine faunal species within waterways of the Georgia Bight region for micro- and nano-scale plastic contamination, including in regions with high human population densities and low, as well as offshore; and (3) Complete design, construction, and testing to deploy a cost-effective shallow-water estuary profiling system for improved access to sediment and water sample collection and in situ analyses of site characteristics. This project will collect multiple types of samples in the same location, providing high data density that will allow the investigators to discern the processes that affect microplastic distribution in the Georgia Bight region. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.