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Seasonal Changes in Drift Distribution of Microplastics on Ocean Surface Off Funahashi
Summary
This Japanese study tracked seasonal changes in the distribution and concentration of microplastics floating on the surface of Tokyo Bay. Microplastic density increased with rainfall, suggesting that storm runoff from the surrounding urban area is a major source of marine microplastic inputs.
近年注目されるマイクロプラスチックは毒性の強い化学物質を吸着し，生物相へ取り込まれることが懸念されている．そこで，我が国においてもMPsの汚染実態の把握が進められている．本研究では，大都市を背後に持つ東京湾に着目し，海洋表層におけるMPs汚染の実態を把握した．ここでは，年間を通じた現地調査を実施することにより，海表面を漂流するMPsの個数やサイズの季節性を把握することを目的とした．その結果，東京湾奥におけるMPsの個数密度は季節変動が大きく，雨量増加に伴い個数密度が増加すること．流入源の違いにより，海域によって検出される個数，種類，サイズに違いが生じている可能性があること．MPs個数の増加に伴いサイズが減少する傾向があること．使用されているポリマーにより，細分化に差が生じる可能性があることが示唆された．
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