1. Grab Sampling
1.1. Purpose
1.1.1. Grab sampling is used to detect trash by collecting whole water samples when the expected concentrations are high enough that a sample of 10 L or less will result in the detection of the trash or when the particles of interest are smaller than any avaliable mesh size (e.g. 1 um).
1.2. Equipment Checklist
1.2.1. Bucket
1.2.2. Long pole or rope
1.2.3. Glass mason jar
1.2.4. Marker
1.2.5. Camera
1.2.6. Field notebook
1.2.7. Field measuring tape
1.2.8. Reflective vests
1.2.9. Watch
1.2.10. Peristaltic pump
1.2.11. Battery for pump
1.3. Lab Preparation
1.3.1. The glass mason jar, bucket, and pump hose by tripple rinsing using DI water. The hose line will be cleaned by pumping 20 L of DI water through the system.
1.4. Safety
1.4.1. Reflective vests will always be worn while sampling.
1.4.2. The site will be assessed for safety on each sampling day before wading into the water or lowering the net from the bridge. If conditions are deemed unsafe for any reason, the sampling will not proceed.
1.5. Field Preparation
1.5.1. Between samples the peristaltic pump line will be cleaned by running 10 L of the next sample through the line and directly expelling that portion of the sample before collecting the sample.
1.6. Sampling Technique
1.6.1. General
1.6.1.1. 1-10 L samples will be collected from the stream.
1.6.2. Unique Permutations
1.6.2.1. Peristaltic pump
1.6.2.1.1. The peristalitic pump hose will be deployed with the net samples or other weighted object. The pump hose end will be fastened to the weighted object with hose-end facing upstream and the sample will be collected concurently with the net sample or by itself.
1.6.2.2. Grab by hand
1.6.2.2.1. The sample jar will be connected to a long pole and dunked into the water to scoop up a sample.
1.6.2.3. Bucket
1.6.2.3.1. A bucket will be lowered from a bridge or thrown from the riparian area into the stream to collect the grab sample, then the bucket will be carefully poured into the mason jar making sure to collect the total contents of the sample in the jar.
1.6.2.4. Grab samples for large particles
1.6.2.4.1. The bucket method will be used as described above, but the sample will also be poured through a 1 mm sieve and stored in a bag.
1.7. Sample Processing
1.7.1. For small plastic particles: Samples will be taken to the lab for further processing using advanced extraction and analysis methods. This includes density separation, organic matter destruction, fluorescence microscopy, and spectroscopy.
1.7.2. If grab samples are used for larger particles the particles will be processed as described in the net sampling protocol.
1.8. QA/QC
1.8.1. Blank Control
1.8.1.1. A blank sample will be created by running 1 - 10 L of DI water through the peristaltic hose line or the bucket and characterizing the sample. One blank sample will be created for each sampling session.
1.8.2. Clothing Contamination Control
1.8.2.1. All field researchers should wear 100% nonsynthetic clothing only. If there are people wearing synthetic clothing, we will take note of how many articles of synthetic clothing will be around the samples and the color of the clothing.
1.9. Records Managment
1.9.1. Things to record for each sample
1.9.1.1. When the sample was collected (date and time)
1.9.1.2. Where the sample was collected (e.g. lat long)
1.9.1.3. The size of the sample (e.g. 30 m3)
1.9.1.4. The composition of the sample (e.g. surface water)
1.9.1.5. The depth of the sample from the surface of the water column (e.g. from the surface to a 10 cm depth)
1.9.1.6. Sample device dimensions
1.9.1.7. Description of any environmental or infrastructure factors that may affect interpretation of the results
1.9.1.8. Storage container type
1.9.1.9. Description of transport technique
1.9.2. Recording technique
1.9.2.1. All factors of interest for each sample will be recorded in a field notebook and the entry will be photographed before leaving the site.
1.9.2.2. All samples will be labeled with: MM/DD/YY-STA#-Collector
1.9.2.3. Where: YYYY (Year), MM (Month), DD (Day) STA# = Station Letter and Sample number at that station (e.g. B2) Collector = Scientists Initials
1.9.2.4. Images and video will be taken to aid in interpretation and discussion of results as often as possible.
2. Net Sampling
2.1. Purpose
2.1.1. Net sampling is used to collect bulk samples by selecting for larger sized particles using a mesh net. This method is used when the expected concentrations of particles is well below that which would be possible to detect using volumes that can be measured using whole water samples or when the particles are larger than available aperture sizes of whole water samplers.
2.2. Equipment Checklist
2.2.1. Box trawl
2.2.2. Lure or rope
2.2.3. Garbage bags
2.2.4. Marker
2.2.5. Camera
2.2.6. Timer
2.2.7. Field notebook
2.2.8. Field measuring tape
2.2.9. Bolt cutters or Knife
2.2.10. Reflective vests
2.2.11. Watch
2.3. Lab Preparation
2.3.1. The net will be thoroughly cleaned by shaking all contents into the trash before taking into the field. All hardware on the net will be fastened. If pegs are needed to elevate the net from the bed they will be attached to the bottom of the net.
2.4. Safety
2.4.1. Reflective vests will always be worn while sampling.
2.4.2. The site will be assessed for safety on each sampling day before wading into the water or lowering the net from the bridge. If conditions are deemed unsafe for any reason, the sampling will not proceed.
2.4.3. As an additional safeguard in the case if the net is stuck in a dangerous position and attached to the lure or rope, we bring bolt cutters and a knife to free the device.
2.4.4. All hardware will be double checked to secure before deploying any devices and in between deployments.
2.5. Field Preparation
2.5.1. Between samples the net will be cleaned by shaking any remaining contents onto the ground before deploying the net again.
2.6. Sampling Technique
2.6.1. General
2.6.1.1. The net will be deployed by facing the opening of the mouth of the net upstream without disturbing the sediment in front of the net. The net will be released immediately behind the frame allowing it to completely open unobstructed. Sampling time will depend on conditions but will range from one minute to two hours. Shorter times will be used for wet season flows where trash concentration and stream velocity is expected to be high and longer sampling times will be used for dry season flows.
2.6.2. Unique Permutations
2.6.2.1. Bridge Deployment
2.6.2.1.1. The net will be attached to a lure or rope and lowered to the water from a bridge. If using the lure: When the device is in the water the lure will remain unlocked and held by hand so that if anything gets hung up on it, the device will be released by the field researcher. When the device is being raised from the water, the lure will be autolocked for ease of raising. The rope will only be used if conditions are very calm otherwise, the lure will be used. If using the rope: the device will be lowered by hand and tied to a pillar. If anything gets caught on the device that cannot be freed it will be cut free from the pillar using the knife.
2.6.2.2. Wading Deployment
2.6.2.2.1. The net will be carried to the sample location by wading into the water and set directly on the stream bed. It is especially important in this case that the location upstream of the deployment location is not disturbed while wading and deploying the device.
2.7. Sample Processing
2.7.1. Samples will be removed from the net and placed in a trash bag for further processing. If any animals are present in the sample (which we have never experienced after two years of using this sampling protocol) they will be returned to the stream. Samples may be weighed in the field using a field scale when conditions and effort are available to sort plastics from the sample and weigh them in the field, otherwise, samples will be processed in the lab. Beyond weighing, samples will also be characterized based on particle type, size and count by laying the particles out on a homogeneous background and photographing them with a scale in the background.
2.8. QA/QC
2.8.1. Blank Control
2.8.1.1. A blank sample will be created by shaking the net into a bag for one full minute after a sample has been completed and after the initial shake that happens between samples. One blank sample will be created for each sampling session.
2.8.2. Clothing Contamination Control
2.8.2.1. All field researchers should wear 100% nonsynthetic clothing only. If there are people wearing synthetic clothing, we will take note of how many articles of synthetic clothing will be around the samples and the color of the clothing.
2.9. Records Managment
2.9.1. Things to record for each sample
2.9.1.1. When the sample was collected (date and time)
2.9.1.2. Where the sample was collected (e.g. lat long)
2.9.1.3. The size of the sample (e.g. 30 m3)
2.9.1.4. The composition of the sample (e.g. surface water)
2.9.1.5. The depth of the sample from the surface of the water column (e.g. from the surface to a 10 cm depth)
2.9.1.6. Sample device dimensions
2.9.1.7. Description of any environmental or infrastructure factors that may affect interpretation of the results
2.9.1.8. Storage container type
2.9.1.9. Description of transport technique
2.9.2. Recording technique
2.9.2.1. All factors of interest for each sample will be recorded in a field notebook and the entry will be photographed before leaving the site.
2.9.2.2. All samples will be labeled with: MM/DD/YY-STA#-Collector
2.9.2.3. Where: YYYY (Year), MM (Month), DD (Day) STA# = Station Letter and Sample number at that station (e.g. B2) Collector = Scientists Initials
2.9.2.4. Images and video will be taken to aid in interpretation and discussion of results as often as possible.
3. Video Imagery
3.1. Purpose
3.1.1. Video imagery provides a means of passively surveying the flux of trash in a stream.
3.2. Equipment Checklist
3.2.1. Camera
3.2.2. Field notebook
3.2.3. Field measuring tape
3.2.4. Reflective vests
3.3. Lab Preparation
3.3.1. None
3.4. Safety
3.4.1. Reflective vests will always be worn while sampling.
3.4.2. The site will be assessed for safety on each sampling day before wading into the water or walking onto a bridge If conditions are deemed unsafe for any reason, the sampling will not proceed.
3.5. Field Preparation
3.5.1. The lens of the camera needs to be free of obstruction and clean. The camera may need to be placed inside of a water proof container if it is raining.
3.6. Sampling Technique
3.6.1. The camera will be placed in a location where it will not fall into the stream, has a view of the entire stream (preferably from above the center of the stream) and has a view of a scale that can be used to reference the size of objects within the view of the image. The camera can be tied to something or fixed in place so that it cannot fall even if it is bumped accidentally. The video can be taken as a image feed every X seconds or as a live instantaneous video feed. If using an image interval, make sure that the time interval is capturing the speed which the trash moves through the frame of view.
3.7. Sample Processing
3.7.1. Data will be stored on an external hard drive and backed up often. Video will be analyzed using image J to quantify, characterize, and size trash flowing downstream.
3.8. QA/QC
3.8.1. Image Analysis Control
3.8.1.1. Multiple viewers will watch the same video and characterize the trash, the difference between their results will be the error of the method.
3.9. Records Managment
3.9.1. Things to record for each video
3.9.1.1. When the video was taken (date and time)
3.9.1.2. Where the video was taken (e.g. lat long)
3.9.1.3. What the video is observing (e.g. surface of the stream)
3.9.1.4. Description of any environmental or infrastructure factors that may affect interpretation of the results
3.9.2. Recording technique
3.9.2.1. All factors of interest for each sample will be recorded in a field notebook and the entry will be photographed before leaving the site.
3.9.2.2. Images and video will be taken to aid in interpretation and discussion of results as often as possible.
4. Discharge Measurements
4.1. Purpose
4.1.1. Measuring discharge is essential to extrapolating trash flux and building hydrologic models.
4.2. Equipment Checklist
4.2.1. Level
4.2.2. Thread
4.2.3. Field measuring tape
4.2.4. Writing utensil
4.2.5. Camera
4.2.6. Timer
4.2.7. Field notebook
4.2.8. Reflective vests
4.2.9. Watch
4.2.10. Ball with string attached
4.3. Lab Preparation
4.3.1. None
4.4. Safety
4.4.1. Reflective vests will always be worn while sampling.
4.4.2. The site will be assessed for safety on each sampling day before wading into the water or going on the bridge. If conditions are deemed unsafe for any reason, the sampling will not proceed.
4.5. Field Preparation
4.5.1. None
4.6. Sampling Technique
4.6.1. Setting up the cross sectional area
4.6.1.1. The thread will be tightly strung from one bank to the other bank above the highest expected water height. We will make it very tight and test to make sure it is level on both sides and in the middle. Then we will measure the distance from the thread to the stream bed at equally spaced intervals along the thread and the total distance of the thread from one bank to the other. We will identify two locations where the depth of the water will be measured for future estimates of the cross sectional area.
4.6.2. Measuring water depth
4.6.2.1. We will measure the depth of the water at both of the identified locations. This will be repeated in the future when we are taking net samples. The depth of the water is the depth from the bed to the surface of the water.
4.6.3. Measuring velocity
4.6.3.1. Define the distance from the cross section downstream to a landmark by measuring it with the field tape measure. Drop a ball or another buoyant object into the water at the cross section and record the time that it takes for that object to reach the land mark. For measuring velocity through the net, the floating object needs to be dropped near where the net is deployed, for measuring average velocity of the cross section, this should be done at three locations, the center, the right side, and the left side.
4.7. Sample Processing
4.7.1. Calculating discharge is well defined in the literature. Area of Water X Velocity of Water = Discharge.
4.8. QA/QC
4.8.1. We will assess whether the cross section needs to be reestablished during the sampling based on how much the stream bed morphology changes throughout the sampling period.
4.9. Records Managment
4.9.1. Things to record for each sample
4.9.1.1. When the measurement was collected (date and time)
4.9.1.2. Where the measurement was collected (e.g. lat long)
4.9.1.3. All recorded depths of the water
4.9.1.4. Width from bank to bank
4.9.1.5. Velocity of water
4.9.1.6. Description of any environmental or infrastructure factors that may affect interpretation of the results
4.9.2. Recording technique
4.9.2.1. All factors of interest for each sample will be recorded in a field notebook and the entry will be photographed before leaving the site.
4.9.2.2. Images and video will be taken to aid in interpretation and discussion of results as often as possible.
5. Photogrametry of Stream
5.1. Purpose
5.1.1. Photogrametry provides a rapid way to thoroughly describe the physical site characteristics of a stream.
5.2. Equipment Checklist
5.2.1. Agisoft targets
5.2.2. Writing utensil
5.2.3. Camera
5.2.4. Field notebook
5.2.5. Field measuring tape
5.2.6. Reflective vests
5.2.7. Watch
5.3. Lab Preparation
5.3.1. None
5.4. Safety
5.4.1. Reflective vests will always be worn while sampling.
5.4.2. The site will be assessed for safety on each sampling day before wading into the water or onto a bridge. If conditions are deemed unsafe for any reason, the sampling will not proceed.
5.4.3. We recognize that we are taking photos of peoples neighborhoods and will be respectful of their space and will immediately stop operations if asked to do so.
5.5. Field Preparation
5.5.1. Targets and field tape need to be set out and nailed into place for pre and post cleanup photogrametry imaging. The targets should not move during cleanup but the tape can be moved. Agisoft targets should be placed near the edges of the area of interest.
5.6. Sampling Technique
5.6.1. The entire area of interest will be walked by foot while taking as many photos in HDR mode as possible. Any large objects must have all sides visible in the images. The same area will be covered after a cleanup. Each site should be no larger than 30 X 30 m. Make a diagram of where the targets are on the landscape and measure the distance between at least two of them.
5.7. Sample Processing
5.7.1. Images will be analyzed in Agisoft to build 3d models and quantify and characterize trash.
5.8. QA/QC
5.8.1. Special care will be taken to not manipulate the site when walking through it by not destroying the shape of any large piles of trash, kicking trash, or stomping trash down.
5.8.2. Images will be backed up on multiple drives.
5.9. Records Managment
5.9.1. Things to record for each sample
5.9.1.1. When the measurement was collected (date and time)
5.9.1.2. Where the measurement was collected (e.g. lat long)
5.9.1.3. Hand drawn schematic of the site, where the targets are, distances between targets, where the tape is, where the stream is.
5.9.1.4. Description of any environmental or infrastructure factors that may affect interpretation of the results
5.9.2. Recording technique
5.9.2.1. All factors of interest for each sample will be recorded in a field notebook and the entry will be photographed before leaving the site.
5.9.2.2. Images and video will be taken to aid in interpretation and discussion of results as often as possible.
6. Infiltration Experiments
6.1. Purpose
6.1.1. Infiltration helps us determine the connectivity between the surface water in the stream and the hillside
6.2. Equipment Checklist
6.2.1. Bucket
6.2.2. Double ring infiltrometer
6.2.3. Writing utensil
6.2.4. Camera
6.2.5. Timer
6.2.6. Field notebook
6.2.7. Reflective vests
6.2.8. Watch
6.3. Lab Preparation
6.3.1. None
6.4. Safety
6.4.1. Reflective vests will always be worn while sampling.
6.4.2. The site will be assessed for safety on each sampling day. If conditions are deemed unsafe for any reason, the sampling will not proceed.
6.5. Field Preparation
6.5.1. The ring infiltrometer will be rinsed off between uses.
6.6. Sampling Technique
6.6.1. Pound the infiltrometer into a location that has trash and another location nearby that does not have trash. Fill both rings with clean water, it will be best to have access to a hose or well outlet for this. Keep both rings full until the rate of filling becomes constant, measure the time it takes for the center ring to drop down to the second line then refill, do this at least three times per location. Keep the outside ring full while you let the inner ring drop down.
6.7. Sample Processing
6.7.1. The rate that the center ring drops, in distance per time is the infiltration rate.
6.8. QA/QC
6.8.1. The locations that are tested should be right next to each other, one completely free of trash, and the other heavily impacted by trash. They should also be on level ground.
6.9. Records Managment
6.9.1. Things to record for each measurement
6.9.1.1. When the measurement was collected (date and time)
6.9.1.2. Where the measurement was collected (e.g. lat long)
6.9.1.3. The time it takes for the center ring to drop two marks.
6.9.1.4. Location on the landscape the measurements are taken **with images.
6.9.1.5. The depth that the rings are pounded into the ground.
6.9.1.6. The distance from the top of the center ring to the two marks down in the center ring.
6.9.1.7. Description of any environmental or infrastructure factors that may affect interpretation of the results
6.9.2. Recording technique
6.9.2.1. All factors of interest for each measurement will be recorded in a field notebook and the entry will be photographed before leaving the site.
6.9.2.2. Images and video will be taken to aid in interpretation and discussion of results as often as possible.