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Semi-Quantitative Assessment On Winyah Bay's Microplastic Contamination Levels, Samantha Ladewig

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Although there is much concern globally regarding microplastic contamination in aquatic environments, there is little documentation on microplastic contamination concentrations within South Carolina inland waters and coastal areas. Specifically, Winyah Bay, SC should be of high priority for microplastic contamination evaluations as it is the third largest drainage basin (47,060 km2) and the second largest (157 km2) estuarine system on the east coast of the United States. Today, the general influencing physical factors on microplastic transport are mostly known by the scientific community, however, transport and deposition patterns of microplastics heavily vary by location depending on various physical, chemical, and …