After driving for 22 hours west from Toronto along the Trans-Canada highway, University of Toronto professor Chelsea Rochman turns down an unmarked dirt track to reach Lake 378. This lake is one of 58 that are part of a “living lab” used for long-term ecological monitoring of acid rain, mercury contamination and, in Rochman’s case, microplastic pollution. After releasing tiny plastic fragments evenly across the lake, Rochman and her team investigate how they move, dissipate and affect everything from microbes to fish. Then, with a clearer picture of how these microplastics behave and affect ecosystems, more effective monitoring, risk assessment and management priorities can be informed. “There isn’t another research station like this anywhere else in the world,” says Rochman.
Special permission is granted by the government to contaminate and manipulate these lakes. Of course, any pollution is carefully contained and remediated. Scientists are under strict instructions to monitor the lake throughout the research project and ensure nothing escapes the watershed.
