Journal of East China Normal University(Natural Science) >

2024 , Vol. 2024 >Issue 1: 79 - 89

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1000-5641.2024.01.009

Ecological Security of Estuarine and Coastal

Comparative study of the vertical distribution characteristics of microplastics and sampling methods for microplastics in the water column: A case study in the Jiulong River estuary

  • Chunhua JIANG ,
  • Jinxu YI ,
  • Lixin ZHU ,
  • Kai LIU ,
  • Changxing ZONG ,
  • Daoji LI
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  • State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, Shanghai　200241, China

Received date: 2023-04-20

  Accepted date: 2023-06-09

  Online published: 2024-01-23

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Abstract

Due to the influence of tidal processes, sampling and study of microplastics in estuarine areas have been hampered by inconsistent research methods and large data errors. In this study, whole-water depth sampling was conducted in the Jiulong River estuary using the pumping method in August of 2019. The abundances and distribution patterns of microplastics among different water layers and stations were analyzed and compared with research studies performed using different sampling methods. The results showed that the microplastic abundances in the surface, middle, and bottom waters of the Jiulong River estuary were markedly different and influenced by tidal effects. The abundances of microplastics obtained by different sampling methods were also significantly different. The abundance of microplastics in the surface water was significantly higher than the abundances in the middle and bottom waters near the source of pollution, and the abundances of microplastics in the middle and bottom waters were higher than the abundance in the surface water within the main estuary, which is subject to strong tidal action and has obvious stratification. The pumping method was more effective than the trawling method at retaining plastic fibers. The volume of water sample filtered by the pumping method and the size of the filtering mesh had significant effects on the abundances and sizes of the obtained microplastics. Different sampling methods lead to considerable differences in microplastic abundance results, and it is necessary to take tidal effects into account during microplastic monitoring in tidal estuaries. Therefore, it is recommended that operational monitoring and flux observations of microplastics in tidal estuaries be established and that sampling methods for observation of full tidal periods of flood and dry seasons and high and low tides should be used.

Key words： microplastics; sampling method; vertical distribution; the Jiulong River estuary

Cite this article

Chunhua JIANG , Jinxu YI , Lixin ZHU , Kai LIU , Changxing ZONG , Daoji LI . Comparative study of the vertical distribution characteristics of microplastics and sampling methods for microplastics in the water column: A case study in the Jiulong River estuary[J]. Journal of East China Normal University(Natural Science), 2024 , 2024(1) : 79 -89 . DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1000-5641.2024.01.009

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