Distribution and quantity of microplastic on sandy beaches along the northern coast of Taiwan
Journal
Marine Pollution Bulletin
Journal Volume
111
Journal Issue
1-2
Pages
126-135
Date Issued
2016
Author(s)
Abstract
Plastic pollution is now ubiquitous in the world's oceans, and studies have shown macroplastic and microplastic pollution of beaches in several East Asian countries. However, to our knowledge, no study of microplastic pollution has been conducted in Taiwan yet. Therefore, we collected sand samples from four beaches along the northern coast of Taiwan in 2015 and extracted microplastic particles using a saturated NaCl solution. Microplastic particles were identified using synchrotron-based FTIR spectroscopy. We recovered 4 to 532 particles from eight 0.0125 m3 samples, with a total of 1097 particles weighing 0.771 g. A negative trend between the size of the particles and their numbers was documented. We thus established that microplastic pollution was ubiquitous along Taiwan's northern coast. Future research should more comprehensively sample beaches around the entirety of Taiwan's coast, and special emphasis should be placed on identifying different sources and movements of microplastic. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd
Subjects
Beach; FTIR spectroscopy; Microplastic; Pellet; Taiwan
Other Subjects
Beaches; Pollution; Sodium chloride; East Asian countries; FTIR spectroscopy; Microplastic; Microplastic particles; NaCl solution; Pellet; Plastic pollutions; Taiwan; Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy; 1,3 butadiene; acrylonitrile; microplastic; plastic; polyamide; polyethylene; polylactic acid; polypropylene; polystyrene; polyurethan; polyvinylchloride; styrene; unclassified drug; water pollutant; beach; coastal zone; FTIR spectroscopy; marine pollution; particle size; plastic waste; pollutant source; Article; color; controlled study; infrared spectroscopy; particle size; sand; sea pollution; seashore; statistical analysis; Taiwan; environmental monitoring; pollution; water pollutant; Taiwan; Environmental Monitoring; Environmental Pollution; Plastics; Taiwan; Water Pollutants, Chemical
Type
journal article