We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
Abundance, characteristics and ecological risks of microplastics from South Yellow Sea Mudflat
Summary
Researchers surveyed microplastic contamination in the mudflats of the South Yellow Sea and found plastic particles in both the water and sediment at all sampling locations. Areas near estuaries and ports had higher levels of microplastics in the water, while purely coastal mudflats accumulated more in their sediments. Although overall pollution levels were rated as low, the types of plastic polymers present indicated the potential for significant ecological risk.
Microplastic (MP) pollution in global marine environments has been extensively reported and attracted significant concerns, but MP distribution in mudflat has rarely been studied. In this paper, the abundance, features and ecological risk of MP in South Yellow Sea Mudflat were investigated comprehensively. MP were both detected in waters (5.4 ± 0.38-11.3 ± 0.78 items/L) and sediments (5.1 ± 0.36-10.1 ± 0.69 items/g) from South Yellow Sea Mudflat. There existed different MP abundance tendencies from sampling Group I (coastal estuary or port) and II (purely coastal mudflat), while MP abundance in water from Group II was lower than that from Group I generally, but MP abundance in sediment from Group I was lower than that from Group II generally. This suggested that MP abundance in mudflat water could be associated with frequent human activities significantly, and disturbance might not be beneficial to MP accumulation in sediments. Fragments, transparent, polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP) and polystyrene (PS) were major MP features in mudflat water and sediment, and maximum proportion of size of MP was 0.001-0.25 mm in both water and sediment. Furthermore, the primary risk assessment indicated that MP pollution load for mudflat was low level. However, potential MP ecological risk for mudflat could reach dangerous level to very dangerous level by calculating and evaluating polymer risk index (PRI) and potential ecological risk index (PERI), which could be caused by high proportions of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polyacrylonitrile (PAN) with high hazard score. For the first time, reference data about MP pollution from South Yellow Sea Mudflat were supplied in this paper, which would be helpful for management and control of MP in mudflat.
Sign in to start a discussion.
More Papers Like This
Characteristics and ecological risks of microplastic contamination from aquaculture ponds located on South Yellow Sea Mudflat
Researchers characterized microplastic contamination across aquaculture ponds on the South Yellow Sea mudflat, finding concentrations of 32 items/L in water and 253 items/kg in sediment, with higher levels in crab and shrimp ponds compared to fish ponds. Ecological risk assessment revealed pollution load indices exceeding 1 and a polymer risk index corresponding to risk level III, driven primarily by the high hazard score of polyvinyl chloride.
Microplastic pollution in North Yellow Sea, China: Observations on occurrence, distribution and identification
Researchers surveyed microplastic pollution across the North Yellow Sea, documenting their occurrence, distribution, and characteristics, and finding widespread contamination with higher concentrations in coastal areas and near river inputs.
High levels of microplastic pollution in the sediments and benthic organisms of the South Yellow Sea, China
High concentrations of microplastics were found in both sediments and benthic organisms from the South Yellow Sea, with fibers as the dominant type and polymer compositions reflecting regional land-based and marine sources. The study identifies benthic ecosystems of the South Yellow Sea as significantly impacted by microplastic pollution, with potential risks to bottom-dwelling communities.
Microplastic pollution in the surface sediments collected from Sishili Bay, North Yellow Sea, China
Researchers investigated microplastic pollution in surface sediments from 28 stations in Sishili Bay in the North Yellow Sea, China, finding an average abundance of 499.76 items per kilogram dry weight with fibers dominating and eight polymer types identified including rayon and polyester.
Occurrence and distribution of microplastics in the adjacent environment of Yellow River Delta, China
Researchers assessed microplastic pollution across water, sediment, and soil samples in the Yellow River Delta of China. The study found microplastic concentrations ranging from 0.5 to nearly 8 particles per liter in water and up to 4,200 particles per kilogram in sediments, with polyethylene and polypropylene being the most common polymer types, indicating widespread plastic contamination in this coastal environment.