Microplastics in the Taiwan Strait and adjacent sea: Spatial variations and lateral transport.

This study investigates the distribution, structural properties, and potential impacts of oceanic processes on microplastics (MPs) in the Taiwan Strait (TWS) and surrounding seas. With an average of 174 particles/m, the MP abundance in surface seawater ranged from 84 to 389 particles/m. MP abundance ranged from 16 to 382 particles/kg in sediments, with a median of 121 particles/kg.

Surface structures changes and biofilm communities development of degradable plastics during aging in coastal seawater.

Biodegradable plastics (BPs) are a suitable alternative to conventional plastics. Still, their excessive or unplanned use may disrupt the abundance and community structure of the microbial population. To this end, a 58-day experiment in which biodegradable plastic objects, such as bags and boxes, were exposed to near-coastal seawater was conducted.

Microplastics in the surface waters of the South China sea and the western Pacific Ocean: Different size classes reflecting various sources and transport.

Microplastic transport in the marginal seas is a key process influencing their ultimate fate in the open oceans. In the present study, we collected seawater samples from the western Pacific Ocean (WP) and the South China Sea (SCS) to investigate the distribution, transport, and possible sources for microplastics. Generally, the range of microplastic levels were 187-1816, 146-1563, and 34.

Assessment and sources identification of microplastics, PAHs and OCPs in the Luoyuan Bay, China: Based on multi-statistical analysis.

Luoyuan Bay is a mariculture influenced water body located in southeastern China. Multi-statistical techniques were applied to 21 sampling locations in the bay to identify the sources of microplastics and other pollutants in the sediment. In microplastics detection, fragment was the most abundant shape (~36%), and rayon was the dominant polymer (~59%).

Fate, source and mass budget of sedimentary microplastics in the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea.

As reservoirs for pollutants transported via the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, the Bohai Sea (BS) and Yellow Sea (YS) play an important role in transporting microplastics (MPs) to the Pacific Ocean. The fate, sources and mass budget of MPs in the BS and the YS were investigated by Pearson correlation, principal component analysis-multilinear regression analysis (PCA-MRLA) and a mass balance model to sedimentary MPs data. Average MP abundances were 137 and 119 items kg in the Bohai and Yellow Seas, respectively.

Microplastic pollution in water, sediment, and fish from artificial reefs around the Ma'an Archipelago, Shengsi, China.

In this study, the occurrence and distribution of microplastics in artificial reefs around the Ma'an Archipelago, a national marine ranching area in China, were investigated. The abundance of microplastics ranged from 0.2 ± 0.

Microplastics in offshore sediment in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea, China.

Microplastic particles are a global concern due to their widespread and growing threat to marine and coastal environments. To improve knowledge of microplastic pollution in China, we investigated 25 sediment samples collected with a box corer in the Southern Yellow Sea and East China Sea off the coast of China. The microplastics were extracted from sediments via density separation, after which they were observed under a microscope and characterized according to shape, color, and size, while polymer type identification was performed using micro-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy.