Roland Hall is a Professor of Aquatic Ecology in the Department of Biology at the University of Waterloo. He is a member of the Microplastics Fingerprinting project, a multidisciplinary initiative comprising over 30 team members, including faculty, graduate students, and support staff. The team’s diverse expertise enables a comprehensive approach to tackling the complex challenges of plastic pollution.
As part of the project, Professor Hall collaborates with MSc student Meredith Watson to investigate historical trends in microplastic deposition in two major reservoirs within the Grand River Watershed. This watershed is characterized by rapid urbanization and intensive agriculture. Their findings reveal that while the overall deposition of microplastics has remained stable since the late 1950s, the relative abundance of rubber particles has increased. The likely source of these rubber particles is vehicular traffic, as the area of paved roads has expanded over time. These findings suggest that reducing sediment runoff from roads could help reduce the supply of microplastics to waterbodies in the Grand River watershed.
Since the mid-1980s, Professor Hall has specialized in paleolimnology, a field of study that reconstructs past environmental changes in waterbodies by analyzing the physical, chemical and biological remains preserved in sediment cores. His research focuses on understanding how natural and human-caused processes influence aquatic ecosystems. The emerging issue of plastic pollution has recently drawn his attention, prompting investigations into its potential impacts on aquatic environments.