A comprehensive evaluation of pelagic microplastic pollution in surface water near the Xisha Islands of the South China Sea

IF 7.2 1区地球科学 Q1 GEOSCIENCES, MULTIDISCIPLINARY

Gondwana Research Pub Date : 2025-01-23 DOI:10.1016/j.gr.2024.12.011

Changjun Li , Lixin Zhu , Xuri Dong , Changxing Zong , Daoji Li

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Pelagic microplastics (MPs) are ubiquitous in seawater worldwide, driven by global ocean currents and atmospheric circulation. A comprehensive evaluation of MP pollution in surface water near Xisha Islands of the South China Sea was conducted using a typical Manta trawl. The results indicated that the average abundance of MPs in this region was 0.61 ± 0.87n/m³, demonstrating significant spatial heterogeneity. MPs were primarily composed of polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE). The average size of MPs was 1.95 ± 1.18 mm and approximately 90 % of all MPs were smaller than 3.80 mm. Additionally, there were significant differences in MP size between different shapes and polymers. The average sizes of MPs in shape of line and polymer of PS were largest. The type and ecological risk level of MP pollution in the water near Xisha Islands were classified as L-L (low MP abundance with low MP diversity) region and minor-risk, respectively, according to the microplastic diversity integrated index (MDII) and potential ecological risk index (PERI). Based on the map of ocean currents, the convergence effect of eddies may be a significant driving force behind the accumulation of MP pollution at individual stations. Our findings have enhanced the understanding of the current status, sources, and ecological risks of MP pollution in the South China Sea, providing valuable data and theoretical support for the promoting of MP pollution control in the region.

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来源期刊

Gondwana Research 地学-地球科学综合

CiteScore

12.90

自引率

6.60%

发文量

298

审稿时长

65 days

期刊介绍： Gondwana Research (GR) is an International Journal aimed to promote high quality research publications on all topics related to solid Earth, particularly with reference to the origin and evolution of continents, continental assemblies and their resources. GR is an "all earth science" journal with no restrictions on geological time, terrane or theme and covers a wide spectrum of topics in geosciences such as geology, geomorphology, palaeontology, structure, petrology, geochemistry, stable isotopes, geochronology, economic geology, exploration geology, engineering geology, geophysics, and environmental geology among other themes, and provides an appropriate forum to integrate studies from different disciplines and different terrains. In addition to regular articles and thematic issues, the journal invites high profile state-of-the-art reviews on thrust area topics for its column, ''GR FOCUS''. Focus articles include short biographies and photographs of the authors. Short articles (within ten printed pages) for rapid publication reporting important discoveries or innovative models of global interest will be considered under the category ''GR LETTERS''.