Université Laval

Purpose

The presence, sources and transport pathways of microplastics and nanoplastics (MNP) in the St. Lawrence River will be studied through multi-seasonal and multi-site sampling campaigns, analytical characterization and data integration into the NRC’s COMEX platform to validate its CaMPSim-3D model. The project will quantify the distribution of MNP in the River, identify their main sources, and analyze the influence of hydrodynamics on their transport through seasonal fieldwork and several analytical characterization techniques. The data will be integrated into the NRC platform, standardized, and analyzed using statistical and machine learning approaches to identify pollution trends and comparisons. The results will validate the model, improve the modelling of plastic fate and transport, support the development of plastic reduction policies and strategies, and strengthen the NRC’s decision support system on microplastics.