Registration Link:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/microplastics-research-views-between-the-chesapeake-and-the-baltic-registration-167615367075

The Chesapeake Bay is home to 516 wastewater treatment plants whose pollution, stemming from microplastics, is causing both short- and long-term damage to the delicate ecosystems within the Mid-Atlantic coastal region, as well as the humans who live there.

Beyond these threats, microplastics and their management pose danger to the infrastructures and resources surrounding the waterways, their environs, and the communities therein. Issues like long-term microplastic monitoring programs and how best to interpret microplastic pathways present major concern to scientists today.

Across the Atlantic, the Baltic Sea region is experiencing a similar set of challenges. To tackle this, the Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research has spearheaded an initiative to improve scientists’ understanding of the ecological impact of microplastic accumulation and meso and microplastic pollution in the waters.

Through comprehensive studies and research efforts, portions of the research are translating into innovative policy responses and tools, often on the local level.

Please join the German Center for Innovation and Research, the Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research, the Chesapeake Research Consortium, and the Northern Virginia Regional Commission for a webinar on Tuesday, September 21, 2021 at noon EST. The event will feature a conversation on the state of applied research on microplastic mitigation in the Baltic and Chesapeake Bay regions. A roundtable discussion will provide insight from researchers in both the Chesapeake Bay and Baltic Sea regions into the following areas:

• Comparisons of the design and implementation of microplastics monitoring programs between the Baltic and the Chesapeake
• Differences and similarities of research into microplastics pathways in the Baltic and Chesapeake Bay
• Considerations about the adequacy of infrastructure resources available to process microplastic samples
• Evaluation of Governmental structures and financing for research in the Baltic Sea/Chesapeake Bay on single-use plastics and microplastic mitigation
• Applied research in the Baltic Sea/Chesapeake Bay as it relates to microplastics and wastewater treatment/urban source conveyance

Agenda

12:00pm (EST) Welcome/Introduction

• Dr. Kathrin DiPaola, German Center for Research and Innovation
• Dr. Dale Medearis, Northern Virginia Regional Commission

12:05 PM View from the Chesapeake

• Dr. Denice Wardrop, Chesapeake Research Consortium

12:25 PM View from the Baltic

• Dr. Gerald Schernewski, Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research

12:45 PM Questions and Answers

• Dr. Kathrin DiPaola, German Center for Research and Innovation
• Dr. Dale Medearis, Northern Virginia Regional Commission

1:15 PM Close

For more information on other resiliency webinars please visit our web site for additional details.