Sampling protocols, analytical methods and equipment are getting ready for the expedition
Plastics reach the Amazon
Plastic is a recurrent element in our daily lives. Only about 15% of total plastic consumed is recycled, while the rest is often dumped into the environment. The Amazon is not an exception. In some areas, the banks of the Amazon River look like this picture. Plastics are dangerous for large mammals, like freshwater dolphins and manatees, fish and birds. Moreover, they breakdown into smaller particles, the so-called microplastics, that can be ingested by smaller animals such as freshwater invertebrates. The SILENT AMAZON […]
First project meeting Manaus
Planning a large river monitoring campaign is not an easy task. One may expect that upon the field many things turn wrong. To prevent experimental failures and to plan ahead the field work, in July 2019, Andreu Rico visited Andrea Waichman in Manaus (Brazil). During that visit some preliminary water, plant and fish samples were taken, mainly to test sampling procedures and analytical methods. The results of this trial show that wastewaters dumped into the Amazon River contain a wide range of pharmaceuticals […]