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East Asian seas: A hot spot of pelagic microplastics
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Field surveys in the East Asian seas around Japan found microplastic concentrations 16 times higher than in the North Pacific and 27 times higher than the global ocean average, making it one of the most contaminated regions in the world. The spatial patterns suggest that microplastics originate from the Yellow Sea and East China Sea and are carried northeastward by ocean currents.
To investigate concentrations of pelagic micro- (<5mm in size) and mesoplastics (>5mm) in the East Asian seas around Japan, field surveys using two vessels were conducted concurrently in summer 2014. The total particle count (pieces km(-2)) was computed based on observed concentrations (pieces m(-3)) of small plastic fragments (both micro- and mesoplastics) collected using neuston nets. The total particle count of microplastics within the study area was 1,720,000 pieces km(-2), 16 times greater than in the North Pacific and 27 times greater than in the world oceans. The proportion of mesoplastics increased upstream of the northeastward ocean currents, such that the small plastic fragments collected in the present surveys were considered to have originated in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea southwest of the study area.
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