{"id":49939,"date":"2025-09-15T03:20:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-15T08:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/?p=49939"},"modified":"2025-12-15T05:26:11","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T11:26:11","slug":"uncovering-microplastic-pollution-in-iowa-lakes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/uncovering-microplastic-pollution-in-iowa-lakes\/","title":{"rendered":"Uncovering Microplastic Pollution in Iowa Lakes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Grace Wilkinson, associate professor within the Nelson Institute\u2019s Center for Ecology and the Environment (CEE), was among the authors of a study<\/a> that analyzed the microplastic pollution of 132 Iowa lakes.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n\"Grace\n\n\n\n
Grace Wilkinson<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Conducted during the summer of 2021, the study found that Iowa lakes contain an average of five microplastic particles per liter, mostly polyvinyl chloride (46 percent), polyester (30 percent), and polyethylene (11 percent). Concentrations were higher in lakes near roads and developed areas, and lower in deeper, clearer lakes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two statistical models explained only eight percent variability, highlighting complexity in microplastic distribution. In seven lakes, microplastic levels approached concentrations potentially harmful to aquatic life, underscoring the need for more freshwater-focused microplastic research. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wilkinson is a limnologist and ecosystem ecologist who studies the connections between aquatic and terrestrial systems. She is the principal investigator of the Wilkinson Limnology Lab<\/a> where her work explores how biogeochemistry, water quality, and ecosystem resilience intersect to shape environmental health and function. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nelson Institute ecologist Grace Wilkinson coauthors study revealing prevalence, sources, and risks of microplastics in freshwater ecosystems.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":50170,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[49,34],"tags":[35,47],"post_template":[],"class_list":["post-49939","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-water","tag-fall-2025","tag-research"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nUncovering Microplastic Pollution in Iowa Lakes | The Commons Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Grace Wilkinson, associate professor within the Nelson Institute\u2019s Center for Ecology and the Environment (CEE), was among the authors of a study that analyzed the microplastic pollution of 132 Iowa lakes.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/uncovering-microplastic-pollution-in-iowa-lakes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Uncovering Microplastic Pollution in Iowa Lakes | The Commons Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Grace Wilkinson, associate professor within the Nelson Institute\u2019s Center for Ecology and the Environment (CEE), was among the authors of a study that analyzed the microplastic pollution of 132 Iowa lakes.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/uncovering-microplastic-pollution-in-iowa-lakes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Commons\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NelsonInstitute\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-15T08:20:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-15T11:26:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/wp-content\/uploads\/lake-okoboji-iowa.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2124\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1195\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Anica Graney\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Anica Graney\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nelson.wisc.edu\\\/the-commons\\\/uncovering-microplastic-pollution-in-iowa-lakes\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nelson.wisc.edu\\\/the-commons\\\/uncovering-microplastic-pollution-in-iowa-lakes\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Anica Graney\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nelson.wisc.edu\\\/the-commons\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/df6b0e36a655b32dc89a8b6ad9abcd75\"},\"headline\":\"Uncovering Microplastic Pollution in Iowa Lakes\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-15T08:20:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-15T11:26:11+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nelson.wisc.edu\\\/the-commons\\\/uncovering-microplastic-pollution-in-iowa-lakes\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":165,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nelson.wisc.edu\\\/the-commons\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nelson.wisc.edu\\\/the-commons\\\/uncovering-microplastic-pollution-in-iowa-lakes\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nelson.wisc.edu\\\/the-commons\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/lake-okoboji-iowa.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"Fall 2025\",\"Research\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Health\",\"Water\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nelson.wisc.edu\\\/the-commons\\\/uncovering-microplastic-pollution-in-iowa-lakes\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nelson.wisc.edu\\\/the-commons\\\/uncovering-microplastic-pollution-in-iowa-lakes\\\/\",\"name\":\"Uncovering Microplastic Pollution in Iowa Lakes | The Commons Magazine\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nelson.wisc.edu\\\/the-commons\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nelson.wisc.edu\\\/the-commons\\\/uncovering-microplastic-pollution-in-iowa-lakes\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nelson.wisc.edu\\\/the-commons\\\/uncovering-microplastic-pollution-in-iowa-lakes\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nelson.wisc.edu\\\/the-commons\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/lake-okoboji-iowa.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-15T08:20:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-15T11:26:11+00:00\",\"description\":\"Grace Wilkinson, associate professor within the Nelson Institute\u2019s Center for Ecology and the Environment (CEE), was among the authors of a study that analyzed the microplastic pollution of 132 Iowa lakes.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nelson.wisc.edu\\\/the-commons\\\/uncovering-microplastic-pollution-in-iowa-lakes\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nelson.wisc.edu\\\/the-commons\\\/uncovering-microplastic-pollution-in-iowa-lakes\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nelson.wisc.edu\\\/the-commons\\\/uncovering-microplastic-pollution-in-iowa-lakes\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nelson.wisc.edu\\\/the-commons\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/lake-okoboji-iowa.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nelson.wisc.edu\\\/the-commons\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/lake-okoboji-iowa.webp\",\"width\":2124,\"height\":1195,\"caption\":\"Shoreline view of Lake Okoboji in Iowa.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nelson.wisc.edu\\\/the-commons\\\/uncovering-microplastic-pollution-in-iowa-lakes\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nelson.wisc.edu\\\/the-commons\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Uncovering Microplastic Pollution in Iowa Lakes\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nelson.wisc.edu\\\/the-commons\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nelson.wisc.edu\\\/the-commons\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Commons\",\"description\":\"UW\u2013Madison\u2019s quarterly environmental magazine from the Nelson Institute\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nelson.wisc.edu\\\/the-commons\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nelson.wisc.edu\\\/the-commons\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nelson.wisc.edu\\\/the-commons\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"The Commons Magazine\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nelson.wisc.edu\\\/the-commons\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nelson.wisc.edu\\\/the-commons\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nelson.wisc.edu\\\/the-commons\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/wrm60-5.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nelson.wisc.edu\\\/the-commons\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/wrm60-5.webp\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":800,\"caption\":\"The Commons Magazine\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nelson.wisc.edu\\\/the-commons\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/NelsonInstitute\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/nelsoninstitute\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/nelsoninstitute\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/nelson-institute-for-environmental-studies\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.flickr.com\\\/photos\\\/200678372@N03\\\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nelson.wisc.edu\\\/the-commons\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/df6b0e36a655b32dc89a8b6ad9abcd75\",\"name\":\"Anica Graney\",\"description\":\"Anica Graney began as a student communications assistant and has continued with the Nelson Institute after graduating in 2023, building her career in environmental and nonprofit communications.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nelson.wisc.edu\\\/the-commons\\\/author\\\/agraney\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Uncovering Microplastic Pollution in Iowa Lakes | The Commons Magazine","description":"Grace Wilkinson, associate professor within the Nelson Institute\u2019s Center for Ecology and the Environment (CEE), was among the authors of a study that analyzed the microplastic pollution of 132 Iowa lakes.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/uncovering-microplastic-pollution-in-iowa-lakes\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Uncovering Microplastic Pollution in Iowa Lakes | The Commons Magazine","og_description":"Grace Wilkinson, associate professor within the Nelson Institute\u2019s Center for Ecology and the Environment (CEE), was among the authors of a study that analyzed the microplastic pollution of 132 Iowa lakes.","og_url":"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/uncovering-microplastic-pollution-in-iowa-lakes\/","og_site_name":"The Commons","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NelsonInstitute\/","article_published_time":"2025-09-15T08:20:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-12-15T11:26:11+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2124,"height":1195,"url":"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/wp-content\/uploads\/lake-okoboji-iowa.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"Anica Graney","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Anica Graney","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/uncovering-microplastic-pollution-in-iowa-lakes\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/uncovering-microplastic-pollution-in-iowa-lakes\/"},"author":{"name":"Anica Graney","@id":"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/#\/schema\/person\/df6b0e36a655b32dc89a8b6ad9abcd75"},"headline":"Uncovering Microplastic Pollution in Iowa Lakes","datePublished":"2025-09-15T08:20:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-15T11:26:11+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/uncovering-microplastic-pollution-in-iowa-lakes\/"},"wordCount":165,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/uncovering-microplastic-pollution-in-iowa-lakes\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/wp-content\/uploads\/lake-okoboji-iowa.webp","keywords":["Fall 2025","Research"],"articleSection":["Health","Water"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/uncovering-microplastic-pollution-in-iowa-lakes\/","url":"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/uncovering-microplastic-pollution-in-iowa-lakes\/","name":"Uncovering Microplastic Pollution in Iowa Lakes | The Commons Magazine","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/uncovering-microplastic-pollution-in-iowa-lakes\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/uncovering-microplastic-pollution-in-iowa-lakes\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/wp-content\/uploads\/lake-okoboji-iowa.webp","datePublished":"2025-09-15T08:20:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-15T11:26:11+00:00","description":"Grace Wilkinson, associate professor within the Nelson Institute\u2019s Center for Ecology and the Environment (CEE), was among the authors of a study that analyzed the microplastic pollution of 132 Iowa lakes.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/uncovering-microplastic-pollution-in-iowa-lakes\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/uncovering-microplastic-pollution-in-iowa-lakes\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/uncovering-microplastic-pollution-in-iowa-lakes\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/wp-content\/uploads\/lake-okoboji-iowa.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/wp-content\/uploads\/lake-okoboji-iowa.webp","width":2124,"height":1195,"caption":"Shoreline view of Lake Okoboji in Iowa."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/uncovering-microplastic-pollution-in-iowa-lakes\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Uncovering Microplastic Pollution in Iowa Lakes"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/#website","url":"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/","name":"The Commons","description":"UW\u2013Madison\u2019s quarterly environmental magazine from the Nelson Institute","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/#organization","name":"The Commons Magazine","url":"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/wp-content\/uploads\/wrm60-5.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/wp-content\/uploads\/wrm60-5.webp","width":1200,"height":800,"caption":"The Commons Magazine"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NelsonInstitute\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/nelsoninstitute","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/nelsoninstitute","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/nelson-institute-for-environmental-studies","https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/200678372@N03\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/#\/schema\/person\/df6b0e36a655b32dc89a8b6ad9abcd75","name":"Anica Graney","description":"Anica Graney began as a student communications assistant and has continued with the Nelson Institute after graduating in 2023, building her career in environmental and nonprofit communications.","url":"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/author\/agraney\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49939","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49939"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49939\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50580,"href":"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49939\/revisions\/50580"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50170"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49939"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49939"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49939"},{"taxonomy":"post_template","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_template?post=49939"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}