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Numerical simulation research of the transportation and distribution characteristics on sea surface of the microplastic released continuously for 12 years from China's coastal cities
Summary
Using ocean current modeling, this study simulated where microplastics released from Chinese coastal cities over 12 years actually end up. The majority (80%) wash back ashore or remain in nearby marginal seas, about 18% are carried into the Pacific via the Kuroshio Current, and a small fraction reaches Southeast Asia. The results show that proximity to source matters enormously for coastal microplastic accumulation and that China's coastal emissions create a regional, rather than purely global, pollution signature.
Based on the Lagrangian random walk particle tracking method and the global ocean reanalysis data, this study simulated the drift-diffusion process in ocean of microplastic particles (density less than seawater) discharged by coastal cities in China for 12 consecutive years. The results reveal that most of the microplastics (80.33%) essentially end up ashore or in the marginal seas around China, a small portion of microplastics (18.22%) enter the Sea of Japan and the Northwest Pacific Ocean via the Tsushima Strait and the Osumi-Kaikyo with the Kuroshio Tide, a very small portion of microplastics (1.45%) enter into the waters of Southeast Asian countries along with the west boundary current of South China Sea. The concentration distribution characteristics have obvious seasonal variation in the high concentration areas (the marginal seas around China and Sea of Japan). The mainly destination area of microplastics released in different cities is different.