Relationships among the abundances of plastic debris in different size classes on beaches in South Korea.
Plastic debris on six beaches near the Nakdong River Estuary, South Korea, was sampled in May and September 2012 and classified into three size classes, large microplastics (1-5 mm), mesoplastics (5-25 mm), and macroplastics (>25 mm). The relationships among the abundances of the size classes were then examined. The abundances of each size category in May (before rainy season) and in September (after rainy season) were 8205 and 27,606 particles/m(2) for large microplastics, 238 and 237 particles/m(2) for mesoplastics, and 0.97 and 1.03 particles/m(2) for macroplastics, respectively. Styrofoam was the most abundant item both in microplastic and mesoplastic debris, while intact plastics were most common in macroplastic debris. The abundances of meso- and micro-plastics were the most strongly correlated. There was a higher correlation between the abundances of macro- and meso-plastics than between macro- and micro-plastics.
OSEAN, Our Sea of East Asia Network, 1570-8 Gwangdo-myon, Tongyoung-shi 650-826, South Korea.
Jongmyoung
J
Lee
Sunwook
S
Hong
Young Kyung
YK
Song
Sang Hee
SH
Hong
Yong Chang
YC
Jang
Mi
M
Jang
Nak Won
NW
Heo
Gi Myung
GM
Han
Mi Jeong
MJ
Lee
Daeseok
D
Kang
Won Joon
WJ
Shim
D001493:Bathing Beaches / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D010969:Plastics / Q000032:analysis* / Q000145:classification; D056910:Republic of Korea; D014866:Waste Products / Q000032:analysis* / Q000145:classification / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis* / Q000145:classification
D010969:Plastics; D014866:Waste Products; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
Macroplastics; Marine debris; Mesoplastics; Microplastics; Styrofoam