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Accumulation of Microplastics on Lake Champlain Beaches: Spatial and Temporal Patterns
Summary
Scientists checked sand from 35 Lake Champlain beaches and found tiny plastic bits (microplastics) on nearly all of them, with the most showing up on beaches near cities and during busy summer weekends. This suggests that swimming, sunbathing, and hanging out at popular urban beaches may come with more exposure to these tiny plastic particles, which is worth knowing since microplastics can be accidentally swallowed or inhaled and are still being studied for their health effects.
Accumulation of Microplastics on Lake Champlain Beaches: Spatial and Temporal Patterns Alyssa Warbeck1, Nurjahan Begum1, Andrea C. Stumpf1, Anne Jefferson1 Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Vermont Plastic debris in freshwater systems, ranging from macro-plastics (e.g. water bottles) and pieces that have broken down into micro- and meso- plastic particles, can disperse throughout watersheds. Microplastics deposited on lake beaches have been a growing concern for the Lake Champlain Watershed as it poses threats to recreation and ecosystem viability. This study includes samples from 35 beaches around Lake Champlain in Vermont. In the summer of 2025, samples of sand were collected along 2 transects at 3 distances from the waterline on each of the 35 beaches. Urban beaches (North and Oakledge) were sampled across 10 dates to assess the influence of urban environments on microplastic counts during summer recreation. Across the 35 beaches, there was a total of 2011 microplastics. The beach with the greatest number of microplastics was Red Rocks (265 pieces) followed closely by Oakledge Cove (253 pieces), the lowest being Sandbar State Park (1 piece). High visitation transects accounted for 52% detected microplastics and low visitation transects accounted for 41%. Across the 10 sample dates at North and Oakledge beaches, there was a total of 1102 microplastics recorded, 22% on North and 78% on Oakledge. Samples collected on September 2, 2025 had the highest counts (22%) and samples collected on June 25th, 2025 had only one detection. Further work will be conducted on even smaller plastics (<0.1mm) present on the 35 beaches as well as hydrological influences on plastic distribution. These results suggest that urban areas pose a threat of microplastic accumulation that is amplified during the recreation season. They also demonstrate the presence of microplastics on beaches surrounding Lake Champlain and the need for further analysis of beach samples.