Tsang YY, Mak CW, Liebich C, Lam SW, Sze ETP, Chan KM. Spatial and temporal variations of
coastal microplastic pollution in Hong Kong.
Mar Pollut Bull 2020;
161:111765. [PMID:
33091635 DOI:
10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111765]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2020] [Revised: 10/06/2020] [Accepted: 10/09/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Further to our 2015-16 investigation, this study revealed the repeated presence of microplastics (MPs) in the coastal environment (Deep Bay, Tolo Harbour, Tsing Yi and Victoria Harbour) of Hong Kong from July 2016 to March 2017. The highest level of MPs in coastal surface water (17,182 particles/100 m3) was detected in Tsing Yi. Microplastic abundance in sediments of different sites (59 to 225 plastic particles/kg), however, did not vary significantly. MPs in the size of ≤1 mm were predominated in surface waters (53.3% to 98.6%) and sediments (79.1% to 96.8%). MPs in the shape of pellets and fragments were prevalent in surface waters and sediments respectively. Seasonal pattern of microplastic pollution was consistently observed in Victoria Harbour and Tsing Yi, where the number of MPs was always higher in dry season than in wet season for two consecutive years.
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