FIU scientists trying to eliminate microplastics in Biscayne Bay 

In the second installment of ‘Planet in Crisis: Solutions' we are taking a look at how scientists from Florida International University are fighting back against the plastic waste invading Biscayne Bay.

Plastic and its microparticles are an emerging issue. FIU scientists are beginning a detailed analysis of their behavior once they reach the water by means of modeling techniques.

“The idea of developing such a model is to provide a simulation model that was able to be used for management actions, different options to reduce the inflow of pollutants, or study what would happen if there is a sudden discharge of pollutants somewhere within the bay,” explained Reinaldo Garcia, Research Professor at FIU's Southeast Environmental Research Center.

This model was successfully validated in previous studies related to the bay's water salinity and its interaction with terrain, currents, and meteorological conditions.

Henry Briceño, another Research Professor at the Southeast Environmental Research Center, added, “We’ll be able to say where the most important sources of plastics are in the watershed, how do they get into the bay, how fast they get here, how they move within the bay, and how they leave the bay. That's what the model is going to do.”

Now, the research is analyzing the currents and its patterns, while studying how they diverge due to rainfall or drought during the year.

“We are going to use drifters with GPS installed so that we can track different drifters at different points and at different times during the tidal cycles so that we can track where these drifters go,” Garcia explained.

This study will take close to two years and should help identify plastic discharge areas, their trajectories and enable authorities to manage the issue of plastic discharge along the watershed.

Garcia continued, “The managers can use the model to study different scenarios to see where the plastics can go or see different control to the inflows, where they can be more critical to the water quality within the bay.”

Another crucial task will be to collect water samples at various depths and in different sectors within Biscayne Bay.

“We have to go to specific places in the bay, collect water samples, and measure what kind of plastics or microplastics are in those samples," said Piero Gardinali, the Associate Director for the Institute of Environment at FIU. "Information on the size, how much of these plastics we have, and then whether they're floating, whether they're in the water column, or whether they'll sink at the bottom.”

The BBLAST Project will require time, effort, and collaboration among various branches of science. It's only a part of the formula to address such an issue.

In our next story, we'll see what about the role our communities play.