Interpreting field-collected microplastic (MP) pollution data often presents a major challenge: how do we uncover meaningful patterns when both environmental systems and microplastic assemblages have substantial innate heterogeneity? Addressing this challenge requires purposeful survey design to effectively capture patterns across relevant scales while using creative approaches to interpreting resulting data based on local, site-specific processes. In aquatic systems, MP distributions are shaped by a range of physical drivers that not only influence MP particle transport, but also their detectability through sampling. Through the examination of case studies focusing on New England’s largest estuary and several freshwater systems within its watershed, this talk will discuss the importance of thoughtful replication across a range of spatial and temporal scales to capture the dynamic behavior of MPs in environmental systems. Additionally, it will discuss the increasingly common use of hydrodynamic models to simulate MP movement, highlighting the usefulness of models to contextualize field-collected MP observations while addressing shortcomings in model vs. field-collected data agreement. Lastly, it will consider connecting MP data with co-occurring water quality metrics as an approach to better understand site-specific MP sources and transport processes.
