About This Project

I am canoeing the Ikpikpuk River on the North Slope of Alaska. Along the way, I will be sampling the water for micro-plastics in order to see the prevalence in an environment that is far from large populations. This will add to the data that others are collecting around the world and help us to understand the patterns of micro-plastic travel.

Ask the Scientists

What is the context of this research?

Micro plastics are being found everywhere -- snow in remote mountain ranges, oceans, streams, human tissue. I am going to the Ikpikpuk River in Alaska to film a documentary, but want to seize the opportunity to collect data on micro plastics and their prevalence in an area that is upstream of human activity. The Ikpikpuk runs through the heart of the North Slope. Its high banks provide nesting grounds for migratory birds, and its distance from human populations. With human activity downstream of where I will be, finding micro plastics upstream will emphasize that our world, even without humans present, is impacted by our reliance on plastics.

What is the significance of this project?

Micro plastics did not exist in the environment until humans created plastics. These ecosystems, some that have not seen many humans, are now functioning with micro plastics in them. How do these foreign materials affect life? Well, we cannot study this until we know how infiltrated different ecosystems are with these tiny particles of plastic. This project will add to the data that the Rozalia Project is collecting in remote areas of the world, increasing our knowledge of micro plastic prevalence. The Ikpikpuk River is particularly important to study because peregrine falcons and waterfowl rely on it for nesting grounds. Are they bringing plastics with them? The first step is seeing if there are plastics that can be found in the waterways that connect the life there.

What are the goals of the project?

The goals are to take water samples twice per day while canoeing the Ikpikpuk River to analyze for micro plastics. With the samples, the goal will be to see what how infiltrated the ecosystems are with micro plastics. Once the samples are gathered, we will send them toPlastic Ocean Project for analysis. They will analyze the samples to see the different fragments and fibers that may be present. By adding this data to what the Rozalia Project has collected, we will be able to have a more extensive global map of micro plastics and begin to understand the patterns of their travel.