Project Title: Microplastics contamination in the urban area

Project Description: Microplastics have been a major area of concern over the last decade, owing to the widespread usage of plastic. These plastics can be broken down by environmental factors into small particles and become microplastics which are defined as particle sizes less than 5 mm. This contamination accumulates in the environment and affects other living organisms as well as people. In this project, we aim to understand how microplastics can transport and change the number of microplastics from upstream to downstream in freshwater, one of the pathways to microplastic contamination from the human source to the ocean. Do other factors like temperature, water flow rate, and the amount of organic matter in the sediment affect the number of microplastics?

The student will learn how the environment can affect the number of microplastics and how to study the new emerging contamination.