Ji Xiao, Yan Shuaishuai, He Yanlong, He Haisheng, Liu Hanqi
East China Sea Ecological Center, MNR (Ministry of Natural Resources), Shanghai 201206, China.
Key Laboratory of Marine Ecological Monitoring and Restoration Technology, Ministry of Natural Resources, Shanghai 201206, China.
Toxics. 2023 Oct 30;11(11):889. doi: 10.3390/toxics11110889.
Microplastics are widespread in the oceans as a new type of pollutant. Due to the special geographical environment characteristics, the Yangtze River estuary region become hotspot for microplastics research. In 2017 and 2019, surface seawater microplastics samples were collected from five stations off the Yangtze River estuary during four seasons (spring, summer, autumn, and winter). The abundance and characteristics of microplastics in seawater were researched. The results showed that microplastics widely existed in surface seawater; the average abundance of microplastics in seawater was (0.17 ± 0.14) items/m (0.00561 ± 0.00462) mg/m; and accounting for 80% of the total plastic debris, the abundance of microplastics was at moderately low levels compared to national and international studies. The particle size of most microplastics was between 1 mm to 2 mm, accounting for 36.1% of the total microplastics. The main shapes of microplastics were fiber, flake, and line, accounting for 39.5%, 28.4%, and 20.8%, respectively. Polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, and polyethylene were the main components of microplastics, accounting for 41.0%, 25.1%, and 24.9%, respectively. Yellow, green, black, and transparent were the most common colors, accounting for 21.9%, 19.6%, 16.5%, and 15.7%, respectively. This study shows that the spatial distribution of microplastics in the surface waters off the Yangtze River estuary shows a decreasing trend from nearshore to farshore due to the influence of land-based inputs, hydrodynamics, and human activities; the distribution of microplastics has obvious seasonal changes, and the level of microplastic pollution is higher in summer. The potential ecological risk of microplastics in the surface waters off the Yangtze River estuary is relatively small.
微塑料作为一种新型污染物在海洋中广泛存在。由于特殊的地理环境特征，长江口地区成为微塑料研究的热点区域。2017年和2019年，在四个季节（春、夏、秋、冬）从长江口外五个站点采集表层海水微塑料样本，对海水中微塑料的丰度和特征进行了研究。结果表明，微塑料广泛存在于表层海水中；海水中微塑料的平均丰度为（0.17±0.14）个/立方米（0.00561±0.00462）毫克/立方米；微塑料占塑料碎片总量的80%，与国内外研究相比，其丰度处于中等偏低水平。大多数微塑料的粒径在1毫米至2毫米之间，占微塑料总量的36.1%。微塑料的主要形状为纤维状、片状和线状，分别占39.5%、28.4%和20.8%。聚丙烯、聚对苯二甲酸乙二酯和聚乙烯是微塑料的主要成分，分别占41.0%、25.1%和24.9%。黄色、绿色、黑色和透明是最常见的颜色，分别占21.9%、19.6%、16.5%和15.7%。本研究表明，受陆源输入、水动力和人类活动影响，长江口外表层水体中微塑料的空间分布呈现出从近岸向远岸递减的趋势；微塑料的分布具有明显的季节变化，夏季微塑料污染水平较高。长江口外表层水体中微塑料的潜在生态风险相对较小。
