Occurrence of microplastics in the seawater and atmosphere of the South China Sea: Pollution patterns and interrelationship

Liu B 1 , Lu Y 1 , Deng H 1 , Huang H 1 , Wei N 1 , Jiang Y 1 Show all authors , Jiang Y 1 , Liu L 2 , Sun K 3 , Zheng H 4

Affiliations 

  • 1 State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Water Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, South China Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Guangzhou 510535, China
  • 2 Institute of Coastal Environmental Pollution Control, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sanya Oceanographic Institution, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Marine Environment and Ecology, Frontiers Science Center for Deep Ocean Multispheres and Earth System, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China
  • 3 State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Water Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, South China Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Guangzhou 510535, China. Electronic address: sunkaifeng@scies.org
  • 4 Institute of Coastal Environmental Pollution Control, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sanya Oceanographic Institution, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Marine Environment and Ecology, Frontiers Science Center for Deep Ocean Multispheres and Earth System, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China; Marine Ecology and Environmental Science Laboratory, Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao 266071, China. Electronic address: zhenghao2013@ouc.edu.cn
Sci Total Environ, 2023 Sep 01;889:164173.
PMID: 37201824 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.164173

Abstract

Microplastic (MP) pollution is a serious global environmental problem, particularly in marine ecosystems. However, the pollution patterns of MPs in the ocean and atmosphere, particularly the sea-air interrelationship, remain unclear. Therefore, the abundance, distribution patterns, and sources of MPs in the seawater and atmosphere of the South China Sea (SCS) were comparatively investigated. The results showed that MPs were prevalent in the SCS with an average abundance of 103.4 ± 98.3 items/m3 in the seawater and 4.62 ± 3.60 items/100 m3 in the atmosphere. The spatial analysis indicated that the pollution patterns of seawater MPs were mainly determined by land-based discharge and sea surface currents, whereas atmospheric MPs were predominantly determined by air parcel trajectory and wind conditions. The highest MP abundance of 490 items/m3 in seawater was found at a station near Vietnam with current vortices. However, the highest MP abundance of 14.6 items/100 m3 in the atmosphere was found in air parcels with low-speed southerly winds from Malaysia. Similar MP compositions (e.g., polyethylene terephthalate, polystyrene, and polyethylene) were observed in the two environmental compartments. Furthermore, similar MP characteristics (e.g., shape, color, and size) in the seawater and atmosphere of the same region suggested a close relationship between the MPs in the two compartments. For this purpose, cluster analysis and calculation of the MP diversity integrated index were performed. The results showed an obvious dispersion between the two compartment clusters and a higher diversity integrated index of MPs in seawater than in the atmosphere, thus implying higher compositional diversity and more complex sources of MPs in seawater relative to the atmosphere. These findings deepen our understanding of MP fate and patterns in the semi-enclosed marginal sea environment and highlight the potential interrelationship of MPs in the air-sea system.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

MeSH terms
Similar publications