Abigail P. W. Barrows | |
---|---|
Nationality | American |
Alma mater | |
Known for | microplastics research |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Marine science |
Institutions | Adventure Scientists |
Abigail P. W. Barrows (born 1984) is an American marine research scientist[1] and advocate based in Maine.[2] Barrows directs microplastics research that is used to inform conservation-focused legislation, and she initiated the first baseline data map of microplastic pollution distribution in the waters off the coast of Maine.[3][2]
Barrows grew up in Stonington, Maine, a town on the island of Deer Isle, off the coast of Maine.[2]
Barrows graduated in 2006 with a bachelor's degree in zoology with a focus on marine biology from the University of Tasmania, Australia.[4] After returning to Stonington, Maine, Barrows completed her master's degree in microplastics from the College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine in 2018.[5]
Barrows studies plastic pollution in global waterways.[6] Barrows' biological studies led her to travel much of the world including Papua New Guinea, the Himalaya, and South and Central America.[7] She later focused her studies on microplastics, having recognized plastic pollution as a global issue.[8][9]
Barrows directed global microplastic pollution research from 2013 to 2017, and consequently published research in collaboration with the Shaw Institute.[10] She has published 12 scientific papers and her work on microplastic prevalence has been cited hundreds of times.[1] Burrows worked with Adventure Scientists, an organization that links researchers with outdoorsmen and women.[11] This collaboration yielded the largest known and most diverse microplastics dataset as of 2019.[12]
Barrows leveraged her research to help pass legislation to reduce plastic consumption.[13]