VerdexMicroplastic counts from Long Island’s coastal waters.
Verdex is a student-run sampling effort. We record microplastic particle counts across Long Island’s coastal waters under a documented, version-locked protocol.
Every station we sampled at Wantagh Park had suspected microplastics.
In our first session under VSS v1.2, we sieved 15 liters of water at each of five stations. All five returned suspected microplastic particles: 153 in total, and 145 of them were fibers, the kind that shed from synthetic clothing in the wash.
Each mark is one particle we counted at that station, drawn in the color we recorded under the microscope.
See the counts as a table
| Station | Fibers | Fragments | Film | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Station 1 | 20 (9 white, 5 blue, 4 black, 2 green) | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| Station 2 | 36 (13 white, 9 blue, 5 black, 9 green) | 2 (1 black, 1 green) | 1 (white) | 39 |
| Station 3 | 35 (17 white, 8 blue, 5 black, 5 green) | 0 | 2 (white) | 37 |
| Station 4 | 28 (9 white, 10 blue, 7 black, 2 green) | 1 (black) | 1 (white) | 30 |
| Station 5 | 26 (9 white, 9 blue, 6 black, 2 green) | 0 | 1 (white) | 27 |
What this means
Particles consistent with microplastics are present in the water at Wantagh Park, at every point we sampled. Fibers have also been the most common particle type in every earlier full session.
What it doesn’t mean yet
These are visual identifications checked with a hot needle, not polymer confirmations; confirming the plastic type needs spectroscopy. This is one session at one site, and counts are not directly comparable to the 1-liter v1.1 sessions.
See what you already know about microplastics in local water, read what we found, and check again. Results are only reported as totals.
Every session, logged.
Sessions appear here whether the counts are interesting or not. Blank results and zero counts stay in the record — removing them would make the dataset a highlight reel.
One protocol, version-locked.
The Verdex Sampling Standard (VSS) is informed by NOAA marine-debris monitoring guidance and by outside methodology feedback. Each version is locked before the sessions that use it, so sessions under the same version stay comparable. v1.1 covered Sessions 1–3. v1.2, which moved from 1-liter jars to 15-liter sieved samples after reviewers flagged sample volume, applies from Session 4.
Collect
At each of five stations, water is collected about 10 cm below the surface and poured through a 100 µm stainless-steel sieve until 15 liters have passed through. Nitrile gloves throughout. Site, time, tide stage, and weather are recorded on the field sheet at the moment of collection.
Blank
Every session carries a blank suite: field blank, reagent blank, airborne control, lab sieve carry-over, and a field sieve rinse between stations, plus a rotating field duplicate or transport blank. If a blank is dirty, the session's counts are reported with that blank value attached — never quietly dropped.
Recover
Material caught on the sieve is rinsed with distilled water into a covered glass jar, then filtered and dried in a covered workspace with foil-lined trays before examination.
Count
Particles are counted and typed as fiber, fragment, film, foam, or pellet under an Accu-Scope EXS-210-13 stereo microscope, with a hot-needle check on ambiguous particles. Counts and photos are entered into the Verdex sheet the same day.
Single-team disclosure
All samples to date were collected, processed, and counted by one team using the VSS protocol (v1.1 for Sessions 1–3, v1.2 from Session 4). No independent laboratory has re-counted a Verdex sample, and inter-observer agreement has not yet been quantified. Counts are visual identifications, not polymer confirmations.
Verdex will not recruit additional teams until it has completed six consecutive protocol-compliant sessions and closed at least one external methodology review.
Where the protocol stands.
Status is reported exactly as it is. Nothing on this page claims an endorsement, a partnership, or a use of Verdex data that hasn't happened.
| Name | Affiliation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Dr. Luis Medina Faull | School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook University | Methodology review returned · advised on sample volume · v1.2 adopted October 2026 · correspondence ongoing |
| Dr. Chelsea Rochman | University of Toronto | Replied to outreach · recommended the higher-volume sieve method adopted in v1.2 |
| Dr. Sherri Mason | Gannon University | Replied to outreach |
| NOAA Marine Debris Program | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | Northeast regional coordinator and monitoring specialist met with founder September 15, 2026 and outlined the NCEI data-archive pathway · first dataset submission in preparation |
| Cassidy Freudenberg | Conservation and Waterways, Town of Hempstead | VSS v1.1 sent July 17, 2026 · no reply to date |
| Office of NY State Senator Steven D. Rhoads (SD-5) | Sandra VonRunnen, Director of Constituent Affairs | Met with founder June 17, 2026 · Q2 report received |
| Office of NY State Assemblyman David G. McDonough (AD-14) | Vicky Johnson, Director of Constituent Affairs | Correspondence ongoing since May 2026 |
| Dr. Jaymie Meliker | Program in Public Health, Stony Brook University | Research mentor to the founder |
| Aiden Tran | Verdex — internal methodology review | Contributed source-water rinse, foil liner, and tide/weather fields to VSS v1.1 |
No organisation listed above has used, endorsed, or cited Verdex data. Review returned means a document was reviewed and feedback sent back. Nothing more is claimed until there is a receipt for it.
Who runs Verdex.
Verdex is an independent student project based in Bellmore, New York. It is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or representative of any school or district.
Joshua Sat
FounderAuthored the VSS Protocol. Leads project strategy, stakeholder outreach, and data operations.
Aiden Tran
Field Operations LeadRuns field execution and reviews methodology. Background in environmental science across birds, water, and soils.
Chloe Pan
Communications & Outreach LeadLeads volunteer coordination, recruiting, and outreach infrastructure. Contributed to succession planning.
Field members credited by documented per-session contribution.
Brandon Chan
Data RecorderMaintains the VSS field data sheets, logs collection times, and checks protocol adherence during each session.
Antonio Terzulli
Data CollectorRuns field collection to the VSS methodology and helps onboard new samplers to the process.
Liam Sullivan
Data CollectorRuns field collection to the VSS methodology and helps onboard new samplers to the process.
From the water to the scope.
Want the raw data?
Session sheets, the full VSS v1.2 protocol document (and v1.1 for earlier sessions), and blank results are available on request to researchers, agencies, and educators.