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!
1 Comment
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:
Hello world! I bet you've been wondering, "jeez, where's Baillie been! Total radio silence is probably not the best." Don't fear, we've been plenty busy, just with an alarming lack of wifi connection to update this project's page. In mid-June, I travelled down to the Florida Keys to meet with my advisor and aunt, Maria LaPointe, to discuss any issues that may have arisen when she built a version of the LADI trawl earlier this year, as well as outline my goals for the project. We decided to slightly modify the size and length of the initial design of the net so that it would be easier to travel with. While the initial design of the trawl recommends a net with a mouth diameter of 50 cm and that is 150 cm long, we instead decided it would be easier to travel with (and afford) a 30 cm mouth, while maintaining the 150 cm length. I ordered a simple plankton net from Aquatic Research Instruments (see below picture) which I will be modifying to better suit the frame. I decided on this net because I am not a great seamstress, and unlike the suggested Bongo net, the simple plankton net comes complete with a detached cod end, meaning it will be significantly easier to both collect my samples as well as clean the trawl itself. While in Florida we also rented a boat and mapped out the route we will follow when I collect my samples. We decided it would be best to collect samples on both the Atlantic and Gulf sides of the Keys, because that will provide an interesting contrast between the brackish water of the Chesapeake Bay, the slower moving water in the Florida Bay, and the cleaner salt water of the Atlantic Ocean. I will be collecting samples just south of Islamorada because it is fairly close to the center of the Keys, and I am still trying to determine if I should also take samples in other Keys that might be farther south and/or north.
|
AuthorJust doing her best to find out more about micro-plastics! Hope you enjoy these fun pictures of me! Archives
May 2020
Categories |