Rachel Hurley
Rachel Hurley is a post-doctoral researcher at the Norwegian Institute for Water Research in Oslo. She completed her PhD in Physical Geography at The University of Manchester in 2017 investigating microplastics and heavy metals in river sediments. This work looked at spatial and temporal patterns of microplastic contamination throughout the Manchester river network. She moved to Oslo in late 2017 to start work on a project tracking microplastics through the environment, from the sources to the rivers and oceans. This research includes looking for plastics in many different contexts including water, soils, sediments, and sewage sludge. She is also developing new methods for detecting microplastics in complex, environmental samples and quantifying how macroplastic becomes micro in the environment.
Talk: The global significance of microplastics in Manchester’s muddy rivers