Well this is certainly an unexpected turn of events. While I was planning to go up to NYC in a few weeks to work with Ms. Debra Magadini on identifying any microplastics in the digestive systems of Chesapeake Bay oysters, that has been put on hold until further notice. We will continue to play this by ear, but considering Columbia University has since closed their doors for the rest of the semester, I am deeply saddened to report that we may find it difficult to follow through on that trip. We also had a major issue with the Adobe licensing system at Severn so I am just grinding away a making my YouTube videos on iMovie.
Winter break was unfortunately not as productive as I hoped, but that is the nature of this project. I am confident that I will be able to complete the work I had designed for winter break by this weekend. I initially had hoped to edit the two videos I filmed this fall, but I was not able to get the license for Premier Pro and ended up using iMovie to edit them which I might need to redo because for some reason the footage became choppy when I imported them into the software. In the meantime, I finished setting up the YouTube channel's background art and bio, as well as edited a short "introduction video" that I will post by Wednesday (I had some issues with my wifi that are being addressed). I also began learning how to use Premier Pro so that when I do have the license I will be ready to get right to work.
This week and into this weekend my primary goal will be getting Premier (and learning to use it), uploading at least two, if not all three of the videos I have filmed, and taking high-quality photos of True to post on this blog so anyone who is interested in building their own trawl will have up-close visuals of the final product. I also recently found an incredible team of female sailors and scientists who are sailing around the world to study micropollution in the four gyres and other densely-polluted waterways. They are currently in the San Blas Archipelago (where this whole project began for me) so I will be reaching out to them and seeing if they would be willing to do an interview for one of my videos! I think it would be an amazing experience to interview a member of this inspiring crew, so stay posted to hear more about that development! Super stoked to have completed our final sample of 2019! It was not an easy road to get here, but we are certainly on our way towards using the trawl to do some important citizen science. So what exactly did I get done this fall? Awesome question. For starters, I ended up modifying some of the original design of the trawl so that it could glide better by altering the angle of the PVC tubes from 10 to 15 degrees. I then re-rigged the setup that actually holds the trawl above the water using a pulley to make it easier to let the trawl off and also retrieve it after data collection. I also learned that boat hooks might be easier to use than nets to raise the trawl. I determined that using a GPS tracking app such as the one designed by Under Armor for running might help me track the exact location of my trawls so I can return in the spring and measure in similar places. We completed our final trawl of the season on Sunday (it was 45 degrees and 10 knots of Northern wind, so chilly) and I am currently prepping the samples to analyze them in the lab at school! I have also written two YouTube videos, and expect to write three or four more for this series this winter. I will be filming all 4-6 videos this winter.
Favorite part of this fall was getting to be interviewed by the Capitol Gazette and Surfrider for my work on this project! I am excited to continue to raise awareness for the threat of micropollution in the Bay and beyond, especially as I see more articles every day regarding its impact on marine, and human, life. I've learned that going with the flow and modifying the original plans where needed makes the general process easier and more manageable. Whenever there is an issue on the water with the trawl or the samples, I just take a step back and try to think about how I can work through the problem and change my plans to include the hiccup, rather than fight against the issue and let it ruin a whole day of data collection. One of the greatest challenges I have faced so far was the loss of an entire day of samples when my dad tossed them back into the water after we had trawled for four hours to collect them. It was more than frustrating, but I worked through it and tried to find other ways to perhaps collect samples from the seams of the net that I might have missed or analyze smaller particles than I was originally expecting. Did it throw me briefly to lose that many samples? Yes. Will the project ultimately suffer that significantly from it? Most likely not. I feel as if this whole project has been a lesson in taking hits when they come and taking them with the flexibility to make something good from the problems. This winter I will write and shoot four to six Youtube videos that should be under five minutes and primarily consist of me discussing the materials needed, research that went into this project, how to classify micropollutants, and other useful tips for anyone who might want to build their own trawl. I will also complete the analysis of my dtaa samples and take pictures of the kinds of pollution I find in the Chesapeake. Going forward I will need Premier and a lesson in how to use that software so I can finish my videos. This is gonna be a shorter update, sorry everyone!
My YouTube account is at last fully up and running (I've got a background and everything!) and I have started filming my first video (don't really know how much of that footage is usable). My camera died mid-way through my intro, so we'll see how Baillie the Vlogger ends up. In the meantime I've been trying to study everything that I can find so that I can prepare myself to classify my first samples. Can't wait to get them into the lab! Below see a sick picture of me almost dying while using PVC cement that I just found :) P.S. The amount of Redbull I've consumed during this project is making me question the chemical integrity of my body right now. Pretty sure I'm roughly 57% water, 15% Redbull and 28% whatever else makes up our bodies. P.P.S. I should definitely be sponsored. I am currently have some issues with uploading pictures from my computer, but hopefully that problem will be resolved soon! I am so excited to begin my in-field testing, and I know these results will be awesome (we are waiting for a window of at least three sunny days so my results aren't skewed due to rainy weather!)
In the meantime, I have begun the process of drafting my YouTube videos, which I will be creating once school starts. They were initially going to be used to document my journey through this process, but I've instead decided to create a how-to series based on the knowledge I've gained this summer (i.e. PVC cement smells atrocious and you will need a face mask to work with it :) ) I currently have three videos scripted, and I can't wait to get started filming on that too! In summary, a whole lot of Big Stuff is in the works, and I hope to upload some pictures soon! We've done it everyone! I'd like to thank my loyal fans, my wonderful mother, and my complete lack of regard for necessary safety precautions for the completion of this project.
It was certainly an exciting few days. Despite my own faith in my abilities as a master carpenter, I quickly learned that I had almost no idea what I was doing. Several hours of cutting and sanding later, I at last had a frame! Attaching the net has proven to be another challenge entirely, but that too has since worked out and we have begun preliminary testing! So excited to see if this works! I am updating this at work, will provide a more thorough update later! Where's Waldo('s Net)?As it would turn out, acquiring a plankton net to convert into a usable microplastic trawl ended up being considerably more difficult than I anticipated. After ordering the net to be shipped in early June so that I could perform my preliminary samples with my outside mentor in Florida, the net spent another several weeks sitting in an Idaho warehouse. In fact, the net was not even shipped to me until July 13, and it would be another two weeks after that date until I would finally hold it in my hands. So, needless to say, I was on the strugglebus when it came to acquiring this net. Passing the time...In the meantime, I thought that it would be best to gather all of the other supplies on my list, which meant it was time to go to Home Depot. We planned for a 30 minute trip to that wondrous labyrinth of home supplies, turned out it took us almost 2 hours, and I never even got to go and stand in the lamp section (my personal favorite). We successfully found everything that we needed on the list, and as soon as we got back set to work. The net arrives, and it's time to get to work!The net has, at long last, arrived, so we will begin construction tonight! Stay tuned for more information about a YouTube channel I will be trying to start to better caption the construction of the net!
In addition to meeting with my advisor, I spent a considerable amount of time researching how I might identify the main types of micro-plastics in my samples. Due to the fact that I will not be sending my samples to an outside lab, I will be classifying these micro-plastics on my own using the Severn lab equipment. Below you will find some of the simplified notes I've collected on micro-plastics over the last month or so.
Types of Plastic: (See Appendix B in LADI PDF)
Pieces of microplastics <5mm can be generally identified by the following criteria:
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AuthorJust doing her best to find out more about micro-plastics! Hope you enjoy these fun pictures of me! Archives
May 2020
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