East Asian seas: A hot spot of pelagic microplastics

MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN

卷:101

Article

Isobe, Atsuhiko¹  Uchida, Keiichi²  Tokai, Tadashi²  Iwasaki, Shinsuke¹ 

[1] Kyushu Univ, Appl Mech Res Inst, Kasuga, Fukuoka 818580, Japan

[2] Tokyo Univ Marine Sci & Technol, Dept Ocean Sci, Minato Ku, Tokyo 1088477, Japan

关键词: Microplastics;    Mesoplastics;    Field survey;    Total particle count;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.marpolbul.2015.10.042

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

To investigate concentrations of pelagic micro- (<5 mm in size) and mesoplastics (>5 mm) 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. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

【 授权许可】

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