Article ? AI-assigned paper type based on the abstract. Classification may not be perfect — flag errors using the feedback button. Tier 2 ? Original research — experimental, observational, or case-control study. Direct primary evidence. Detection Methods Environmental Sources Marine & Wildlife Sign in to save

Microplastics in the Northwestern Pacific: Abundance, distribution, and characteristics

The Science of The Total Environment 2018 417 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.

Zhong Pan Zhong Pan Zhong Pan Zhong Pan Zhong Pan Sumin Wang, Zhong Pan Zhong Pan Huige Guo, Hongzhe Chen, Hongzhe Chen, Hongzhe Chen, Zhong Pan Hongzhe Chen, Zhong Pan Zhong Pan Zhong Pan Hui Lin, Xiuwu Sun, Xiuwu Sun, Sumin Wang, Sumin Wang, Xiuwu Sun, Xiuwu Sun, Hongzhe Chen, Huige Guo, Huige Guo, Sumin Wang, Huige Guo, Xiuwu Sun, Huige Guo, Hui Lin, Hui Lin, Hui Lin, Xiuwu Sun, Huige Guo, Hongzhe Chen, Hui Lin, Hongzhe Chen, Sumin Wang, Qingping Zou, Qingping Zou, Hui Lin, Hui Lin, Zhong Pan Xiuwu Sun, Shangzhan Cai, Xiuwu Sun, Shangzhan Cai, Xiuwu Sun, Hui Lin, Hui Lin, Hui Lin, Jiang Huang, Hui Lin, Hui Lin, Qingping Zou, Yuanbiao Zhang, Yuanbiao Zhang, Hongzhe Chen, Qingping Zou, Xiuwu Sun, Qingping Zou, Xiuwu Sun, Xiuwu Sun, Qingping Zou, Xiuwu Sun, Hui Lin, Xiuwu Sun, Qingping Zou, Sumin Wang, Yuanbiao Zhang, Hui Lin, Zhong Pan Hui Lin, Hui Lin, Hui Lin, Hui Lin, Hui Lin, Zhong Pan Qingping Zou, Hongzhe Chen, Shangzhan Cai, Shangzhan Cai, Huige Guo, Zhong Pan Yuanbiao Zhang, Hui Lin, Zhong Pan Zhong Pan Hui Lin, Yuanbiao Zhang, Yuanbiao Zhang, Hongzhe Chen, Yuanbiao Zhang, Hui Lin, Hui Lin, Hui Lin, Zhong Pan Shangzhan Cai, Shangzhan Cai, Jiang Huang, Hui Lin, Hui Lin, Qingping Zou, Jiang Huang, Yuanbiao Zhang, Hui Lin, Zhong Pan

Summary

Microplastics were sampled at 18 stations across the Northwestern Pacific Ocean surface using manta trawls, finding widespread but heterogeneous distribution, with higher concentrations in areas near shipping lanes and ocean current convergence zones and polyethylene and polypropylene as dominant polymers. The study provides open-ocean baseline data for the Northwestern Pacific, a region historically underrepresented in microplastic monitoring.

Polymers

PE PP nylon

Study Type Environmental

Prevalence of microplastics (MPs) throughout the world's oceans has raised growing concerns due to its detrimental effects on the environment and living organisms. Most recent studies of MPs, however, have focused on the estuaries and coastal regions. There is a lack of study of MPs pollution in the open ocean. In the present study, we conducted field observations to investigate the abundance, spatial distribution, and characteristics (composite, size, color, shape and surface morphology) of MPs at the surface of the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. Samples of MPs were collected at 18 field stations in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean using a surface manta trawl with a mesh size of ~330 μm and width of 1 m from August 25 to September 26, 2017. The MPs were characterized using light microscopy, Micro-Raman spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Our field survey results indicate the ubiquity of MPs at all stations with an abundance from 6.4 × 102 items km-2 to 4.2 × 104 items km-2 and an average abundance of 1.0 × 104 items km-2. The Micro-Raman spectroscopic analysis of the MPs samples collected during our field survey indicates that the dominant MPs is polyethylene (57.8%), followed by polypropylene (36.0%) and nylon (3.4%). The individual chemical compositions of MPs from the stations within the latitude range 123-146°E are comparable with each other, with PE being the dominating composition. Similar chemical fingerprints were observed at these field stations, suggesting that the MPs originated from similar sources. In contrast, the major MPs at the field stations adjacent to Japan is polypropylene, which may originate from the nearby land along the coast of Japan. Physical oceanography parameters were also collected at these stations. The spatial distribution of MPs is largely attributed to the combined effects of flow pattern, adjacent ocean circulation eddies, the Kuroshio and Kuroshio Extension system.

Read via DOI PubMed Download PDF

Share this paper

Post Share Share Pin Email