The Chesapeake Bay is a ‘sink’ for plastic pollution

The vast majority of plastic pollution that makes its way into the rivers of the Chesapeake Bay stays in and along local waters and is not, as researchers put it, “exported” to the ocean.

These microplastics collected from surface waters of the Elizabeth River in Virginia were photographed with a stereo-zoom microscope/camera.Resarch conducted by Penn State Meteorology and Atmospheric Science postdoc, Alex Lopez, finds that the Chesapeake Bay is functioning as a catchall for plastic pollution.  

For the full story, please visit Bay Journal.

Image: These microplastics collected from surface waters of the Elizabeth River in Virginia were photographed with a stereo-zoom microscope/camera. (Amanda Laverty/Virginia Sea Grant, CC BY-ND 2.0)