Abstract
Plastic pollution of aquatic ecosystem is an emerging hazard due to its negative effect on ecosystem health and human livelihood. Rivers are a main pathway of land-based plastic waste into the ocean. However, recent observations suggest that most plastics never leave the river basin. In fact, they are hypothesized to accumulate on floodplains, around hydraulic infrastructure and within estuaries. In this seminar we will discuss sources, sinks and transport mechanisms of plastic pollution through river basins, and avenues to explore in future research.
Bio
Tim van Emmerik is Assistant Professor Hydrologic Sensing at Wageningen University (WU), the Netherlands. His work focuses on monitoring and modeling plastic pollution transport through river systems. Before joining WU he worked at Delft University of Technology, The Ocean Cleanup, and the Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions.