title: Suspended microplastics in the surface water of the Yangtze Estuary System, China: first observations on occurrence, distribution.
abstract: Levels of microplastics (MPs) in China are completely unknown. This study characterizes suspended MPs quantitatively and qualitatively for the Yangtze Estuary and East China Sea. MPs were extracted via a floatation method. MPs were counted and categorized according to shape and size under a stereomicroscope. The MP densities were 4137.3±2461.5 and 0.167±0.138 n/m(3), respectively, in the estuarine and the sea samples. Plastic abundances varied significantly in the estuary. Higher densities in three sea trawls confirmed that rivers were the important sources of MP to the marine environment. Plastic particles (>5mm) were observed with a maximum size of 12.46 mm, but MPs (0.5-5 mm) constituted more than 90% by number of items. The most frequent geometries were fibres, followed by granules and films. Plastic spherules occurred sparsely. Transparent and coloured plastics comprised the majority of the particles. This study provides clues in understanding the fate and potential sources of MPs.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Costal Research, East China Normal University, 3663 North Zhongshan Road, Shanghai 200062, China.
authors.forename: Shiye
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Costal Research, East China Normal University, 3663 North Zhongshan Road, Shanghai 200062, China.
authors.forename: Lixin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Costal Research, East China Normal University, 3663 North Zhongshan Road, Shanghai 200062, China.
authors.forename: Teng
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Costal Research, East China Normal University, 3663 North Zhongshan Road, Shanghai 200062, China. Electronic address: daojili@sklec.ecnu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Daoji
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D063366:Estuaries; D010969:Plastics / Q000032:analysis*; D045483:Rivers / Q000737:chemistry*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*; D014877:Water Pollution, Chemical / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D010969:Plastics; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: East China Sea; Marine debris; Suspended microplastic; Yangtze Estuary