USGS Science Opportunities Related to the Nationally Relevant Study of Microplastics
USGS recently (2024) released a strategic vision document that identifies science gaps and prioritizes research relevant to the mission, expertise, and capabilities of the USGS. The intention is for USGS and stakeholders to use this as a starting part for planning, prioritizing, and designing microplastic research projects.
The widespread occurrence of microplastics throughout our environment and exposure to humans and other organisms over the past decade has led to questions about potential health hazards and mitigation of exposures. Microplastics have been documented in tissues and organs of humans and wildlife, to have effects on benthic communities, and to cause potential nutritional and reproductive effects in some wildlife species.
The USGS Microplastic Strategic Vision Document describes both short- (1-2 years) and long-term (3 years +) science opportunities related to the nationally relevant study of microplastics. These opportunities were identified through literature gap analysis and alignment with USGS expertise and capabilities.
The Science Opportunities that could be addressed by USGS capabilities are organized into six categories:
- Environmental Sources, Pathways, and Fate
- Human and Wildlife Exposure Routes
- Ecotoxicology
- Sampling Protocols
- Analytical Methods
- Interdisciplinary Science to support Microplastic Research
Across the Nation, the USGS has broad and unique interdisciplinary expertise, tools, and capabilities, as well as field and laboratory capacities. USGS relies on the internal and external collaborative opportunities to utilize these capabilities and conduct comprehensive research. The interdisciplinary nature of USGS science provides a framework to understand how microplastics enter the environment, sorb pathogens and chemicals, and transform and move through ecosystems. USGS utilizes a One Health approach to understand how human health is intricately linked to the health of plants, animals, and ecosystems.
Utilizing a One Health framework on microplastic research is a more holistic approach that allows scientists to better understand and assess the cross disciplinary components (the relation between the ecosystem and the health of humans and wildlife) rather than working in silos. This approach facilitates the leveraging of resources, more efficient data collection and more timely results for informing decisions more quickly. The USGS microplastic strategy complements research conducted by other agencies and provide critical information for regulatory and other policy decisions.
USGS recently (2024) released a strategic vision document that identifies science gaps and prioritizes research relevant to the mission, expertise, and capabilities of the USGS. The intention is for USGS and stakeholders to use this as a starting part for planning, prioritizing, and designing microplastic research projects.
The widespread occurrence of microplastics throughout our environment and exposure to humans and other organisms over the past decade has led to questions about potential health hazards and mitigation of exposures. Microplastics have been documented in tissues and organs of humans and wildlife, to have effects on benthic communities, and to cause potential nutritional and reproductive effects in some wildlife species.
The USGS Microplastic Strategic Vision Document describes both short- (1-2 years) and long-term (3 years +) science opportunities related to the nationally relevant study of microplastics. These opportunities were identified through literature gap analysis and alignment with USGS expertise and capabilities.
The Science Opportunities that could be addressed by USGS capabilities are organized into six categories:
- Environmental Sources, Pathways, and Fate
- Human and Wildlife Exposure Routes
- Ecotoxicology
- Sampling Protocols
- Analytical Methods
- Interdisciplinary Science to support Microplastic Research
Across the Nation, the USGS has broad and unique interdisciplinary expertise, tools, and capabilities, as well as field and laboratory capacities. USGS relies on the internal and external collaborative opportunities to utilize these capabilities and conduct comprehensive research. The interdisciplinary nature of USGS science provides a framework to understand how microplastics enter the environment, sorb pathogens and chemicals, and transform and move through ecosystems. USGS utilizes a One Health approach to understand how human health is intricately linked to the health of plants, animals, and ecosystems.
Utilizing a One Health framework on microplastic research is a more holistic approach that allows scientists to better understand and assess the cross disciplinary components (the relation between the ecosystem and the health of humans and wildlife) rather than working in silos. This approach facilitates the leveraging of resources, more efficient data collection and more timely results for informing decisions more quickly. The USGS microplastic strategy complements research conducted by other agencies and provide critical information for regulatory and other policy decisions.