GCR: Collaborative Research: Convergence on Micro- and Nanoplastics in Aquatic Environments

这一不断增长的融合研究项目将促进对微塑料和纳米塑料如何影响水环境的科学理解。塑料污染是当前全球面临的最大环境挑战之一，其中很大一部分是微米(5毫米)和纳米(1-1000纳米)大小的碎片。摄取或摄取这些微小的塑料碎片会损害组织，改变生长，并影响对食物网至关重要的水生生物的生殖过程。为了为风险评估和制定补救战略提供信息，该项目将汇集环境毒理学、环境工程学、海洋生物学和渔业科学，以建立关于微塑料和纳米塑料在水生生态系统中的命运和影响的基础科学。该项目将探索微塑料和纳米塑料的哪些特性以及哪些环境因素是风险的决定因素。研究小组将：1)表征在水环境中常见的微纳米塑料的物理化学成分、大小和形状；2)利用快速毒性测试策略确定微塑料和纳米塑料暴露在淡水和河口模式生物中的生物学后果；3)设计和验证两种河口微宇宙试验，以研究微塑料和纳米塑料的命运和影响；4)确定现实世界中微塑料和纳米塑料的转变如何改变塑料或塑料添加剂的命运；5)建立微塑料和纳米塑料环境命运、变化和预测生态毒理学的计算模型。该项目还将建立太平洋西北塑料联盟，该联盟将汇集不同的研究人员、监管机构和其他利益相关者，以促进项目中的创新并放大这项工作的更广泛影响。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This Growing Convergence Research project will advance scientific understanding of how micro- and nanoplastics impact aquatic environments. Plastic pollution is one of the greatest current global environmental challenges and a large fraction of it is present in micro- (5 mm) and nano- (1-1000 nm) sized fragments. Ingestion or uptake of these microscopic fragments of plastic can damage tissues, alter growth, and affect reproductive processes in aquatic organisms critical to the food web. To inform risk assessments and develop remediation strategies, this project will converge across environmental toxicology, environmental engineering, marine biology, and fisheries science to establish foundational science on the fate and effects of micro- and nanoplastics in aquatic ecosystems. This project will explore what properties of micro- and nanoplastics and what environmental factors are determinative of risk. The research team will: 1) characterize the physicochemical composition, size, and shape of micro- and nano-scale plastics commonly found in aquatic environments; 2) determine the biological consequences of micro- and nanoplastics exposure in freshwater and estuarine model organisms using rapid toxicity testing strategies; 3) design and validate two estuarine microcosm assays to study micro- and nanoplastics fate and impacts; 4) determine how real-world transformations of micro- and nanoplastics may alter the fate of the plastics or plastic additives; and 5) establish computational models of micro- and nanoplastics environmental fate, transformations and predictive ecotoxicology. The project will also establish the Pacific Northwest Consortium on Plastics, which will bring together diverse researchers, regulators, and other stakeholders to catalyze innovation within the project and to amplify the broader impacts of this work.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.