Microplastics in Lake Mead National Recreation Area, 2017-2018: U.S. Geological Survey data release

This dataset describes the quantity and morphology of microplastics in water, surficial sediment, sediment core, fish, and shellfish samples from Lake Mead National Recreation Area (Nevada/Arizona). Water and surficial sediment samples were collected once at 9 locations. A sediment core (33 cm long) was extracted from Las Vegas Bay to assess changes in microplastic deposition over time. Striped bass (Morone saxatilis), common carp (Cyprinus carpio), quagga mussels (Dreissena bugensis), and Asian clams (Corbicula fluminea) were sampled at a subset of locations to assess biological uptake of microplastics. Sampling and analysis methods are described in the Processing Steps section of the metadata. All samples were collected in March 2017 except the sediment core, which was collected in March 2018.

Data and Resources

Field Value
accessLevel public
bureauCode {010:12}
catalog_@context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
catalog_conformsTo https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
catalog_describedBy https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
datagov_dedupe_retained 20220722114234
identifier USGS:5d976ed0e4b0c4f70d1152c0
metadata_type geospatial
modified 20200820
old-spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [[[-114.9200, 35.1600], [-114.9200, 36.5900], [ -113.1400, 36.5900], [ -113.1400, 35.1600], [-114.9200, 35.1600]]]}
publisher U.S. Geological Survey
publisher_hierarchy Department of the Interior > U.S. Geological Survey
resource-type Dataset
source_datajson_identifier true
source_hash 869d0168b181e8ab611046869fa60e0435b7850a
source_schema_version 1.1
spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [[[-114.9200, 35.1600], [-114.9200, 36.5900], [ -113.1400, 36.5900], [ -113.1400, 35.1600], [-114.9200, 35.1600]]]}
theme {geospatial}
Groups
  • AmeriGEOSS
  • National Provider
  • North America
Tags
  • amerigeo
  • amerigeoss
  • biota
  • ckan
  • contamination-and-pollution
  • geo
  • geoss
  • inlandwaters
  • lake-mead
  • lower-colorado
  • microplastics
  • national
  • north-america
  • surface-water-quality
  • united-states
  • usgs-5d976ed0e4b0c4f70d1152c0
isopen False
license_id notspecified
license_title License not specified
maintainer Austin K Baldwin
maintainer_email akbaldwi@usgs.gov
metadata_created 2025-11-19T22:51:00.606991
metadata_modified 2025-11-19T22:51:00.606995
notes This dataset describes the quantity and morphology of microplastics in water, surficial sediment, sediment core, fish, and shellfish samples from Lake Mead National Recreation Area (Nevada/Arizona). Water and surficial sediment samples were collected once at 9 locations. A sediment core (33 cm long) was extracted from Las Vegas Bay to assess changes in microplastic deposition over time. Striped bass (Morone saxatilis), common carp (Cyprinus carpio), quagga mussels (Dreissena bugensis), and Asian clams (Corbicula fluminea) were sampled at a subset of locations to assess biological uptake of microplastics. Sampling and analysis methods are described in the Processing Steps section of the metadata. All samples were collected in March 2017 except the sediment core, which was collected in March 2018.
num_resources 2
num_tags 16
title Microplastics in Lake Mead National Recreation Area, 2017-2018: U.S. Geological Survey data release