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Can microplastics in offshore waters reflect plastic emissions from coastal regions?

Chemosphere 2022 26 citations ? Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count. Score: 50 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.

Hongyu Chen, Feng Yuan, Xinqing Zou Hongyu Chen, Feng Yuan, Feng Yuan, Yongcheng Ding, Yongcheng Ding, Feng Yuan, Yongcheng Ding, Hongyu Chen, Feng Yuan, Yongcheng Ding, Yongcheng Ding, Yongcheng Ding, Feng Yuan, Hongyu Chen, Yongcheng Ding, Yongcheng Ding, Yongcheng Ding, Yongcheng Ding, Hongyu Chen, Yongcheng Ding, Yongcheng Ding, Xinqing Zou Yongcheng Ding, Hongyu Chen, Hongyu Chen, Yongcheng Ding, Yongcheng Ding, Xinqing Zou Xinqing Zou Xinqing Zou Xinqing Zou Xinqing Zou Xinqing Zou Yongcheng Ding, Xinqing Zou Xinqing Zou Yongcheng Ding, Chenglong Wang, Yongcheng Ding, Yongcheng Ding, Yongcheng Ding, Feng Yuan, Yongcheng Ding, Yongcheng Ding, Yongcheng Ding, Yongcheng Ding, Feng Yuan, Yongcheng Ding, Yongcheng Ding, Yongcheng Ding, Yongcheng Ding, Yongcheng Ding, Xinqing Zou Yongcheng Ding, Wenwen Yu, Wenwen Yu, Yongcheng Ding, Yongcheng Ding, Yongcheng Ding, Yongcheng Ding, Hongyu Chen, Yongcheng Ding, Yongcheng Ding, Feng Yuan, Feng Yuan, Yongcheng Ding, Xinqing Zou Yongcheng Ding, Yongcheng Ding, Yongcheng Ding, Xinqing Zou Yongcheng Ding, Yongcheng Ding, Yongcheng Ding, Yongcheng Ding, Feng Yuan, Feng Yuan, Yongcheng Ding, Guanghe Fu, Hongyu Chen, Yongcheng Ding, Yongcheng Ding, Yongcheng Ding, Xinqing Zou Chenglong Wang, Chenglong Wang, Wenwen Yu, Yongcheng Ding, Yongcheng Ding, Guanghe Fu, Yongcheng Ding, Yongcheng Ding, Chenglong Wang, Qinya Fan, Feng Yuan, Yongcheng Ding, Feng Yuan, Feng Yuan, Hongyu Chen, Wenwen Yu, Wenwen Yu, Qinya Fan, Qinya Fan, Yongcheng Ding, Feng Yuan, Feng Yuan, Qinya Fan, Qinya Fan, Qinya Fan, Qinya Fan, Qinya Fan, Qinya Fan, Wenwen Yu, Wenwen Yu, Wenwen Yu, Wenwen Yu, Qinya Fan, Guanghe Fu, Guanghe Fu, Guanghe Fu, Qinya Fan, Qinya Fan, Feng Yuan, Guanghe Fu, Hongyu Chen, Qinya Fan, Qinya Fan, Qinya Fan, Qinya Fan, Yongcheng Ding, Yongcheng Ding, Yongcheng Ding, Yongcheng Ding, Guanghe Fu, Wenwen Yu, Chenglong Wang, Yongcheng Ding, Wenwen Yu, Yongcheng Ding, Xinqing Zou Guanghe Fu, Guanghe Fu, Guanghe Fu, Guanghe Fu, Guanghe Fu, Guanghe Fu, Guanghe Fu, Guanghe Fu, Guanghe Fu, Guanghe Fu, Guanghe Fu, Guanghe Fu, Wenwen Yu, Guanghe Fu, Xinqing Zou Guanghe Fu, Guanghe Fu, Yongcheng Ding, Yongcheng Ding, Guanghe Fu, Wenwen Yu, Xinqing Zou Xinqing Zou Xinqing Zou Guanghe Fu, Xinqing Zou Guanghe Fu, Xinqing Zou Xinqing Zou Guanghe Fu, Guanghe Fu, Xinqing Zou

Summary

Researchers found a significant negative correlation between coastal plastic discharge amounts and offshore microplastic abundance in Chinese waters, indicating that hydrodynamic conditions rather than proximity to pollution sources primarily determine microplastic distribution.

Study Type Environmental

Marine microplastic pollution is a major environmental challenge that threatens marine ecosystems and human health. Several models have been used to calculate and predict the theoretical amount of plastic waste discharged into the sea by coastal countries. Unlike earlier theoretical models of source discharge, we used the method of data normalisation to focus on the actual distribution of microplastics and their potential ecological risk in offshore surface waters. Our findings indicate that the average normalised abundance of microplastics in near-shore region of Bohai Sea was greater than the average normalised abundance of microplastics in the seas near the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration and the Pearl River Delta urban agglomeration. Moreover, the average amount of plastic waste discharged from terrestrial sources to the ocean per kilometre exhibited the following order: Bohai Rim urban agglomeration (150.90) (tonnes km) < the Pearl River Delta urban agglomeration (274.30) (tonnes km) < Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration (577.44) (tonnes km). Further, the average microplastics abundance in offshore areas of different countries and the amount of plastic discharged per kilometre of the coastline were significantly negatively correlated, implying that microplastics were not necessarily abundant in coastal areas where large amounts of plastic are discharged into the sea. Hydrodynamic conditions had the greatest influence on the distribution of microplastics in offshore surface waters. The transport of nutrient salts from terrestrial areas to offshore waters was also influenced by hydrodynamics, with enrichment patterns in offshore areas exhibiting similar to those of microplastics. Therefore, when the offshore microplastic accumulation area overlapped with the nutrient salt enrichment zone, the health risk associated with the consumption of edible fish from offshore communities increased. In view of these findings, coastal countries must implement policies to reduce marine plastic waste emissions and develop management strategies based on their local pollution levels.

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