title: Marine neustonic microplastics around the southeastern coast of Korea.
abstract: We investigated floating debris around the mouth of the Nakdong River in the Southeastern Sea of Korea using a Manta trawl (330-μm mesh) and hand-net (50 μm) before (May) and after (July) the rainy season in 2012. Microplastic (<2 mm) was present at all of the stations, whereas Styrofoam (2-5 mm) peaked only at a few stations far from the Nakdong River mouth in July. The dominant types were fibers (polyester), hard plastic (polyethylene), paint particles (alkyd), and Styrofoam (expanded polystyrene). The average abundances of fibers and hard plastic (<2 mm) in the trawl were significantly higher in July than in May (p<0.005, p<0.05, respectively), while two orders of magnitude more microplastics (<2 mm) were collected with the hand-net than with the trawl. Fibers and hard plastic by trawl were significantly compared temporally, and the hand-net proved the missed microplastics (50-330 μm) when trawl used.
authors.affiliation: South Sea Research Institute, Korea Institute of Ocean Science & Technology (KIOST), Geoje 656-834, Republic of Korea; Marine Environmental Chemistry and Biology, University of Science and Technology, Dajeon 305-320, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: jhkang@kiost.ac.
authors.forename: Jung-Hoon
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: South Sea Research Institute, Korea Institute of Ocean Science & Technology (KIOST), Geoje 656-834, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: koy00@kiost.ac.
authors.forename: Oh Youn
authors.initials: OY
authors.lastname: Kwon
authors.affiliation: Pacific Ocean Research Center, Korea Institute of Ocean Science & Technology (KIOST), Ansan 426-744, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: kyunu@kiost.ac.
authors.forename: Kyun-Woo
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Oil and POPs Research Group, Korea Institute of Ocean Science & Technology (KIOST), Geoje 656-834, Republic of Korea; Marine Environmental Chemistry and Biology, University of Science and Technology, Dajeon 305-320, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: songyk@kiost.ac.
authors.forename: Young Kyoung
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Oil and POPs Research Group, Korea Institute of Ocean Science & Technology (KIOST), Geoje 656-834, Republic of Korea; Marine Environmental Chemistry and Biology, University of Science and Technology, Dajeon 305-320, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: wjshim@kiost.ac.
authors.forename: Won Joon
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Shim
mesh_terms: D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D010969:Plastics / Q000032:analysis*; D056910:Republic of Korea; D045483:Rivers; D012621:Seasons; D014866:Waste Products / Q000032:analysis* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014873:Water Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D010969:Plastics; D014866:Waste Products; D014873:Water Pollutants
keywords: A Manta trawl net; A hand-net; Floating debris; Microplastics; Nakdong River mouth; Rainy season