Microplastics in the water column and sediment in Milwaukee-Area streams, the Milwaukee Harbor, and Lake Michigan, 2016

This dataset describes the quantity, morphology, and polymer identity of microplastics in the water column and surficial sediments of Milwaukee-Area streams, the Milwaukee Harbor, and Lake Michigan (Wisconsin). Water samples were collected at 10 locations, 2-4 times each, from May to September, 2016. At the 4 shallowest locations, water was collected only at the water surface. At the remaining 6 locations, water was collected at the water surface and at 1-4 depths below the surface. Sediment samples were collected once, in June 2016, at a subset of 9 locations. Sampling and analysis methods are described in the Processing Steps section of the metadata. These data are interpreted in the following journal article: Lenaker, P. L., Baldwin, A. K., Corsi, S. R., Mason, S. A., Reneau, P. C., & Scott, J. W. (2019). Vertical Distribution of Microplastics in the Water Column and Surficial Sediment from the Milwaukee River Basin to Lake Michigan. Environmental Science & Technology, 53(21), 12227–12237, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.9b03850.

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
identifier USGS:5cb0d7bfe4b0c3b0065741b0
metadata_type geospatial
modified 20200820
old-spatial -88.3795, 42.8599, -87.7066, 43.3551
publisher U.S. Geological Survey
publisher_hierarchy Department of the Interior > U.S. Geological Survey
resource-type Dataset
source_datajson_identifier true
source_hash 0acfe8c9dbe546c039a6cfc34f1a32da10da92dd
source_schema_version 1.1
spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [[[-88.3795, 42.8599], [-88.3795, 43.3551], [ -87.7066, 43.3551], [ -87.7066, 42.8599], [-88.3795, 42.8599]]]}
theme {geospatial}
Groups
  • AmeriGEOSS
  • National Provider
  • North America
Tags
  • amerigeo
  • amerigeoss
  • ckan
  • contamination-and-pollution
  • geo
  • geoss
  • inlandwaters
  • lake-michigan
  • microplastics
  • milwaukee
  • national
  • north-america
  • runoff
  • surface-water-quality
  • united-states
  • usgs-5cb0d7bfe4b0c3b0065741b0
  • wisconsin
isopen False
license_id notspecified
license_title License not specified
maintainer Austin K Baldwin
maintainer_email akbaldwi@usgs.gov
metadata_created 2025-11-21T12:12:45.861728
metadata_modified 2025-11-21T12:12:45.861732
notes This dataset describes the quantity, morphology, and polymer identity of microplastics in the water column and surficial sediments of Milwaukee-Area streams, the Milwaukee Harbor, and Lake Michigan (Wisconsin). Water samples were collected at 10 locations, 2-4 times each, from May to September, 2016. At the 4 shallowest locations, water was collected only at the water surface. At the remaining 6 locations, water was collected at the water surface and at 1-4 depths below the surface. Sediment samples were collected once, in June 2016, at a subset of 9 locations. Sampling and analysis methods are described in the Processing Steps section of the metadata. These data are interpreted in the following journal article: Lenaker, P. L., Baldwin, A. K., Corsi, S. R., Mason, S. A., Reneau, P. C., & Scott, J. W. (2019). Vertical Distribution of Microplastics in the Water Column and Surficial Sediment from the Milwaukee River Basin to Lake Michigan. Environmental Science & Technology, 53(21), 12227–12237, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.9b03850.
num_resources 2
num_tags 17
title Microplastics in the water column and sediment in Milwaukee-Area streams, the Milwaukee Harbor, and Lake Michigan, 2016