Abigail P. W. Barrows | |
---|---|
Nationality | American |
Alma mater | |
Known for | microplastics research |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Marine science |
Institutions | Adventure Scientists |
Abigail P. W. Barrows (born 1984) is an American marine research scientist [1] and advocate based in Maine. [2] Barrows directs microplastics research that is used to inform conservation-focused legislation, and she initiated the first baseline data map of microplastic pollution distribution in the waters off the coast of Maine. [3] [2]
Barrows grew up in Stonington, Maine, a town on the island of Deer Isle, off the coast of Maine. [2] [4] From a teenager, she knew she loved the outdoors after participating in an OutwardBound trip. [5] She began to learn about and love the ocean which helped her pursue her career. In 2006, Barrows graduated with a bachelor's degree in zoology, with a focus on marine biology from the University of Tasmania, Australia. [5] After returning to Stonington, Maine, Barrows completed her master's degree in microplastics from the College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine in 2018. [6]
Barrows studies plastic pollution in global waterways. [7] Barrows' biological studies led her to travel much of the world including Papua New Guinea, the Himalaya, and South and Central America. [8] She later focused her studies on microplastics, having recognized plastic pollution as a global issue. [9] [10] Barrows has leveraged her research to help pass legislation to reduce plastic consumption. [11]
Barrows directed global microplastic pollution research from 2013 to 2017, and consequently published research in collaboration with the Shaw Institute. [12] She has published 12 scientific papers, where her work on microplastic prevalence has been cited hundreds of times. [1] Burrows worked with Adventure Scientists, an organization that links researchers with outdoorsmen and women. [13] This collaboration yielded the largest known and most diverse microplastics dataset as of 2019. [14] [4] Her work has identified that plastic pollution is present in New York’s Hudson River, and in popular bottled water brands - specifically, an average of 325 plastic particles were found for every litre of water being sold, in an analysis of 259 bottles, across 19 locations, in nine countries. [4] [15] [16]
Barrows is currently the owner of Deer Isle Oyster Company, based in Stonington, Maine, where she is trying to devlop and create plastic-free aquaculture gear, and operates an oyster aquaculture farm, Long Cove Sea Farm. [17] [18] [4] This includes working on prototypes of wooden oyster cages, selling oysters in compostable beechwood bags, and testing a mycelium buoy, a fungal alternative to a plastic buoy. [19]