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Spatiotemporal distribution and diversity of microplastics in the sediment of beaches in Xiamen City, China
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Researchers surveying beaches in Xiamen, China found that microplastic pollution levels varied significantly by season and location, with human activity patterns driving contamination in ways that highlight coastal tourism and urban runoff as key sources requiring targeted management.
Coastal ecosystems are plagued by high levels of microplastic pollution. Conducting baseline surveys is crucial to comprehend the distribution and influencing factors of this pollution. The present study investigates the spatiotemporal variation and diversity of microplastic on the coastal beaches in Xiamen City, China, considering the combined effects of seasons, human activities, and physicochemical properties of sediments. It is detected that the abundance of microplastics in Xiamen beaches was 0.271±0.01 items/g. The abundance of microplastics in dry season was significantly higher than in rainy season. In terms of spatial variation, the beaches that attracted a larger number of tourists exhibited significantly higher microplastic abundance. The temporal pattern of microplastic distribution on different beaches varied greatly due to region-specific human activities (e.g., mangrove restoration project) and sedimentary properties (e.g., bulk density). When the assemblage of microplastics in the coastal area was viewed as a biological community, the Shannon-Wiener index and Pielou’s index were higher in rainy season and in the beaches with high intensity of tourist activities, which suggests that the human activities and the surface runoff may contribute to the diversity of microplastics on coastal beaches. Future investigations are encouraged to combine controlled experiments and long-term monitoring at multiple scales to elucidate the underlying mechanisms and factors associated with microplastic pollution in coastal zone.
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This study mapped the vertical distribution of microplastics in sandy intertidal sediments at Xiamen Bay, finding that particle abundance, morphology, and polymer composition varied significantly with sediment depth and tidal dynamics. Intertidal zones serve as active mixing environments that can remobilize buried microplastics back into the water column, increasing bioavailability to coastal organisms and humans consuming local seafood.
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A four-site study of Dongshan Bay beach sediments in South China found microplastic concentrations ranging from 7.4 to 283.1 items/kg, with tidal dynamics strongly influencing distribution — higher loads near estuaries at high tide and coastal accumulation at low tide — and statistical analysis pointing to fishing and packaging industries as the dominant sources. Tidal forcing emerges as a key control on microplastic redistribution in coastal sediments, complicating source attribution and remediation planning for fishery-intensive coastlines.
Distribution and composition of microplastics in coastal sediments of urban and rural islands in the Maldives
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This study found microplastic contamination in coastal sediments across all sampled urban and rural islands in the Maldives, with over 90% of particles smaller than 50 micrometers and dominated by polyamide, polyethylene, and polystyrene—patterns suggesting both local waste inputs and ocean-scale transport contribute to contamination across the archipelago.
The abundance, characteristics and diversity of microplastics in the South China Sea: Observation around three remote islands
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Floating microplastics in the South China Sea around three remote islands reached median concentrations of 1.9×10⁵ items/km², with polypropylene dominating and transparent films comprising the majority — pointing to household and agricultural plastic consumption as primary sources. Fish and mollusks in these waters were also found to have ingested microplastics, confirming active bioaccumulation in marine food webs of a region surrounded by high-plastic-use emerging markets.
A Review of the Distribution, Characteristics and Environmental Fate of Microplastics in Different Environments of China
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"A comprehensive review of 1,862 sampling sites across China found microplastics in every environmental medium studied—seawater, sediments, inland water, soils, and atmospheric fallout—with polypropylene, polyethylene, and PET as the dominant polymer types. China's scale as the world's largest plastic producer and user makes these findings especially alarming, highlighting the urgent need for standardized detection methods and stronger national pollution controls."
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