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Global inventory of atmospheric fibrous microplastics input into the ocean: An implication from the indoor origin
Summary
Researchers quantified atmospheric fibrous microplastic transport from land to ocean in the Asia-Pacific region using data from nine ocean cruises between 2018 and 2019, developing a global inventory of atmospheric microplastic input into marine environments. The study concluded that atmospheric deposition is a significant and previously underestimated pathway for inland microplastics to reach the ocean.
Atmospheric transport could be a significant pathway for inland microplastics (MPs, with size＜5 mm) to the ocean in addition to catchment runoff and coastal discharge. However, atmospheric input of MPs to the ocean is rarely quantified. To address this issue, transport of atmospheric MPs from source to sink was studied in the Asia-Pacific region during nine cruises from October 2018 to September 2019. Both deposited atmospheric MPs (DAMPs) and suspended atmospheric MPs (SAMPs) were collected, ranging from 23.04 n/(m·d) to 67.54 n/(m·d), and 0 to 1.37 n/m, respectively. Size composition revealed that atmospheric deposition of MPs originating in terrestrial regions seems inadequate and insufficient to quantify the atmospheric input to the ocean. In addition, combined with aerodynamic modelling, for the first time, we estimated that 7.64-33.76 t of fibrous atmospheric MPs was globally generated in 2018, which is 3 % and 31 % of riverine input MPs of The Yangtze River and The Pearl River in terms of mid-point mass, respectively. The increasing load of ingestible plastics from sea air could have a far-reaching impact on marine ecosystem.