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Lost but can't be neglected: Huge quantities of small microplastics hide in the South China Sea
The Science of The Total Environment2018
325 citations
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Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count.
Score: 45
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0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Bin Chen,
Bin Chen,
Bin Chen,
Mengyang Liu,
Bin Chen,
Bin Chen,
Yan Lin,
Bin Chen,
Bin Chen,
Mengyang Liu,
Mengyang Liu,
Minggang Cai
Guowen Tang,
Guowen Tang,
Bin Chen,
Minggang Cai
Mengyang Liu,
Haixia He,
Mengyang Liu,
Mengyang Liu,
Haixia He,
Mengyang Liu,
Mengyang Liu,
Mengyang Liu,
Zhengnan Cen,
Mengyang Liu,
Zhengnan Cen,
Yan Lin,
Yan Lin,
Yan Lin,
Yan Lin,
Yan Lin,
Peng Huang,
Mengyang Liu,
Yan Lin,
Peng Huang,
Mengyang Liu,
Mengyang Liu,
Minggang Cai
Minggang Cai
Mengyang Liu,
Mengyang Liu,
Peng Huang,
Peng Huang,
Minggang Cai
Haixia He,
Minggang Cai
Siwei Li,
Haixia He,
Bin Chen,
Mengyang Liu,
Minggang Cai
Guowen Tang,
Minggang Cai
Guowen Tang,
Weimin Wang,
Yan Lin,
Mengyang Liu,
Minggang Cai
Bin Chen,
Peng Huang,
Yan Lin,
Bin Chen,
Mengyang Liu,
Mengyang Liu,
Peng Huang,
Peng Huang,
Minggang Cai
Weimin Wang,
Minggang Cai
Minggang Cai
Minggang Cai
Minggang Cai
Peng Huang,
Yan Lin,
Peng Huang,
Yan Lin,
Minggang Cai
Bin Chen,
Minggang Cai
Yan Lin,
Mengyang Liu,
Peng Huang,
Peng Huang,
Peng Huang,
Weimin Wang,
Jiahui Hu,
Wei Ge,
Mengyang Liu,
Minggang Cai
Yan Lin,
Yan Lin,
Minggang Cai
Minggang Cai
Minggang Cai
Yan Lin,
Minggang Cai
Minggang Cai
Minggang Cai
Bin Chen,
Mengyang Liu,
Minggang Cai
Bin Chen,
Minggang Cai
Minggang Cai
Weimin Wang,
Minggang Cai
Minggang Cai
Minggang Cai
Yan Lin,
Minggang Cai
Mengyang Liu,
Jiahui Hu,
Minggang Cai
Bin Chen,
Minggang Cai
Minggang Cai
Bin Chen,
Minggang Cai
Minggang Cai
Zhengnan Cen,
Zhengnan Cen,
Minggang Cai
Minggang Cai
Summary
Using pumping sampling methods sensitive to small particles, researchers found far higher microplastic abundances in the South China Sea than trawl net surveys had indicated, with small particles (under 0.3 mm) making up the dominant fraction by count. The results reveal a massive "hidden" pool of small microplastics in a heavily populated and trafficked sea, underscoring the limitations of standard net-based monitoring.
Study Type
Environmental
Large quantities of microplastics with small particle sizes were found in the South China Sea (SCS). The abundances of microplastics in seawater were 0.045±0.093and 2569±1770particles/m according to the bongo net and pumping sampling methods, respectively. Smaller-size fractions (size<0.3mm) contributed 92% of the number of microplastics to the total load. Continental slope is the largest reservoir of microplastics with an inventory of 295tons. 21 polymer types were found in the samples using the micro Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), among which alkyds (22.5%) and polycaprolactone (PCL) (20.9%) accounted for almost half of the total polymer content. Lighter plastics would not only concentrate upon the coastal area, being more likely to drift further into open seas with ocean currents. The distribution characteristics showed that it was mainly controlled by terrestrial input of the Pearl River. This study, as the first report from SCS on microplastics in water for its distribution and influence factors, provided impetus for further research on the transportation fate and the behavior of this emerging pollutant from coastal zone to the open oceans.