Microplastics In The Surface Water Of The South China Sea And Its Influencing Factors

During the central south China sea cruise,different sampling methods of the submersible pump and bongo net worked for the research of the northern south China sea and central south China sea in collecting different particle size range of microplastic in the surface waters of the sea water samples,describing a large spatial scales of microplastic in the surface waters of the content distribution and sources and types of biogeochemical characteristics,discusses the influence factors of its distribution,the main preliminary conclusions are as follows:(1)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±0.093 and 2 569±1 770 particles/m3 according to the bongo net and pumping sampling methods,respectively.(2)Smaller-size fractions(size<0.3 mm)contributed 92%of the number of microplastics to the total load.(3)Continental slope is the largest reservoir of microplastics with an inventory of 300t.(4)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.(5)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.(6)It is reasonable for studies to choose different pre-treatment methods for samples with different degree.Microplastic abundance and distribution of the research is the most direct and effective way address the issue of marine plastic pollution source.Study above show that under the background of in the increasing of plastic production and emissions,the fate of microplastic pollution in the ocean need further long-term studies.In this paper,the following research will mainly focus on the extension of study area and environmental medium.