Marine microplastics in the surface waters of "pristine" Kuroshio

Ruei-Feng Shiu; Gwo-Ching Gong; Meng-Der Fang; Chun-Hoe Chow; Wei-Chun Chin

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112808

Marine microplastics in the surface waters of "pristine" Kuroshio

Mar Pollut Bull. 2021 Nov:172:112808. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112808. Epub 2021 Aug 10.

Authors

Ruei-Feng Shiu¹, Gwo-Ching Gong², Meng-Der Fang³, Chun-Hoe Chow⁴, Wei-Chun Chin⁵

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Marine Environment and Ecology, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung 20224, Taiwan; Center of Excellence for the Oceans, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung 20224, Taiwan.
² Institute of Marine Environment and Ecology, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung 20224, Taiwan; Center of Excellence for the Oceans, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung 20224, Taiwan. Electronic address: gcgong@mail.ntou.edu.tw.
³ Green Energy and Environment Research Laboratories, Industrial Technology Research Institute, Hsinchu 30011, Taiwan.
⁴ Department of Marine Environmental Information, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung 20224, Taiwan.
⁵ Department of Bioengineering, University of California at Merced, Merced, CA 95343, USA.

PMID: 34388451
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112808

Abstract

Microplastics (MPs) are ubiquitous in oceans. Their transboundary transport and fate have aroused global attention. Taiwan is located close to the western boundary current-Kuroshio, is an excellent location to study of MP mobility in the global current and Pacific Garbage Patch. This study is the first investigation to understand the microplastic contamination from Taiwan to the Kuroshio. MP concentrations in the area varied from N.D. to 0.15 items m^-3, with an average concentration of 0.05 ± 0.03 items m^-3. The majority of MPs were polypropylene, polyethylene, polyethylene and terephthalate. We found two MP hotspots near the coastal zone. One additional hotspot was also identified in the "pristine" Kuroshio suggesting rivers and local currents may play critical roles in transporting or injecting MPs from Taiwan into the North Pacific Gyre. These findings suggest that marine environments are altered by anthropogenic disposal and provide needed data for modelling and prediction of MPs.

Keywords: East coast of Taiwan; Kuroshio; Microplastics; Northwest Pacific; Plastic type; Source.

MeSH terms

Environmental Monitoring
Microplastics*
Plastics
Rivers
Water Pollutants, Chemical* / analysis

Substances

Microplastics
Plastics
Water Pollutants, Chemical