Fate, source and mass budget of sedimentary microplastics in the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea

Mingyu Zhang; Yan Lin; Andy M Booth; Xikun Song; Yaozong Cui; Bin Xia; Zhangjie Gu; Yifan Li; Fengjiao Liu; Minggang Cai

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2021.118640

Fate, source and mass budget of sedimentary microplastics in the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea

Environ Pollut. 2022 Feb 1:294:118640. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2021.118640. Epub 2021 Dec 4.

Authors

Mingyu Zhang¹, Yan Lin², Andy M Booth³, Xikun Song¹, Yaozong Cui⁴, Bin Xia⁵, Zhangjie Gu¹, Yifan Li⁴, Fengjiao Liu⁶, Minggang Cai⁷

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361002, China; College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361002, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361002, China; College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361002, China; College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Xiamen University of Technology, Xiamen, 361002, China.
³ SINTEF Ocean, Department of Climate and Environment, Trondheim, 7465, Norway.
⁴ College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361002, China.
⁵ Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China. Electronic address: xiabin@ysfri.ac.cn.
⁶ College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Environment, Minnan Normal University, Zhangzhou, 363000, China.
⁷ State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361002, China; College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361002, China; Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory for Coastal Ecology and Environmental Studies, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, China. Electronic address: mgcai@xmu.edu.cn.

PMID: 34875265
DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2021.118640

Abstract

As reservoirs for pollutants transported via the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, the Bohai Sea (BS) and Yellow Sea (YS) play an important role in transporting microplastics (MPs) to the Pacific Ocean. The fate, sources and mass budget of MPs in the BS and the YS were investigated by Pearson correlation, principal component analysis-multilinear regression analysis (PCA-MRLA) and a mass balance model to sedimentary MPs data. Average MP abundances were 137 and 119 items kg^-1 in the Bohai and Yellow Seas, respectively. MPs <1000 μm exhibited similar distribution patterns to total organic carbon and fine-grained sediments, while MPs >1000 μm were confined in the BS and exhibited a strong positive correlation with chlorophyll-a and polyethylene terephthalate, suggesting that larger MPs might deposit faster due to biofouling or when comprised of high density polymers. PCA-MLRA analysis indicated land-based inputs (packing materials, textile material and daily commodities) were dominant in the BS, while maritime activities (fishing and mariculture) were the main source of MPs in the YS. The mass balance model revealed that the total MP input and output to the BS and the YS was 3396.92 t yr^-1 and 3814.81 t yr^-1, respectively. The major input pathway of MPs to the BS and the YS were river discharge and air deposition, respectively. Notably, 94% of MPs in the BS and the YS were deposited to sediments. This study revealed that BS and YS sediments play an important role in preventing MPs from being further transported to the Pacific Ocean, thus more attention should be paid to local ecological risk assessment.

Keywords: Bohai and yellow seas; Mass budget; Microplastics; Sediment; Source apportionment.

MeSH terms

China
Environmental Monitoring
Geologic Sediments
Microplastics*
Oceans and Seas
Plastics
Water Pollutants, Chemical* / analysis

Substances

Microplastics
Plastics
Water Pollutants, Chemical