Relationships among the abundances of plastic debris in different size classes on beaches in South Korea.

Plastic debris on six beaches near the Nakdong River Estuary, South Korea, was sampled in May and September 2012 and classified into three size classes, large microplastics (1-5 mm), mesoplastics (5-25 mm), and macroplastics (>25 mm). The relationships among the abundances of the size classes were then examined. The abundances of each size category in May (before rainy season) and in September (after rainy season) were 8205 and 27,606 particles/m(2) for large microplastics, 238 and 237 particles/m(2) for mesoplastics, and 0.97 and 1.03 particles/m(2) for macroplastics, respectively. Styrofoam was the most abundant item both in microplastic and mesoplastic debris, while intact plastics were most common in macroplastic debris. The abundances of meso- and micro-plastics were the most strongly correlated. There was a higher correlation between the abundances of macro- and meso-plastics than between macro- and micro-plastics.

Lee J ，Hong S ，Song YK ，Hong SH ，Jang YC ，Jang M ，Heo NW ，Han GM ，Lee MJ ，Kang D ，Shim WJ ... -  《-》

Distribution and Size Relationships of Plastic Marine Debris on Beaches in South Korea.

Lee J ，Lee JS ，Jang YC ，Hong SY ，Shim WJ ，Song YK ，Hong SH ，Jang M ，Han GM ，Kang D ，Hong S ... -  《-》

Characteristics of meso-sized plastic marine debris on 20 beaches in Korea.

We surveyed the abundance and accumulation patterns of mesoplastic marine debris (5-25mm) on 20 beaches in Korea. The mean abundance of it was 13.2items/m2, and the mean weight was 1.5g/m2. Hard plastic and Styrofoam were the dominant types. The proportions of hard plastic and Styrofoam were highly variable among the beaches, each accounting for 0-100% of the total debris on a given beach with 32% and 48.5% (by number) on average, respectively. Relatively lower abundances of mesoplastic marine debris compared with our previous studies were likely due by differences of the sampling areas within the beach. The samples of this research were selected from backshore, middle line, and water edge whereas they were selected from high strandline and backshore in our previous studies. It should be considered when discussing the level of mesoplastic marine debris.

Lee J ，Lee J ，Hong S ，Hong SH ，Shim WJ ，Eo S ... -  《-》

Occurrence, distribution and size relationships of plastic debris along shores and sediment of northern Lake Victoria.

Plastic pollution has been reported in sediment, surface water and biota of freshwater systems especially in Europe, North and South America, and Asia with limited studies focussing on African great lakes. This study therefore investigated the occurrence, abundance and distribution of micro-, meso- and macro-plastic debris along shores and sediment of northern Lake Victoria. The abundance of micro-, meso- and macro-plastics measured as particles/kg dry sediment were in range of 0-1102, 0-218 and 0-100 respectively in shoreline sediment and 0-108, 0-33 and 0-77 respectively in lake sediment. The mean abundance of micro-, meso- and macro-plastic debris at fish landing beaches (75.2 ± 50.0, 16.7 ± 8.1 and 18.1 ± 4.6 respectively) were higher than what was recorded at recreational beaches (1.5 ± 0.6, 3.1 ± 3.1 and 3.8 ± 3.8 respectively). Similarly, mean abundance of micro-, meso- and macro-plastic debris in lake sediment were higher in areas of fish landing beaches (9.5 ± 2.6, 2.1 ± 1.5 and 7.7 ± 4.5 respectively) than what was recorded in areas of recreational beaches (0.7 ± 0.7, 0.2 ± 0.1, and 0 ± 0 respectively). Films, filaments, fragments, foam and pellets were the plastic types, with the shoreline sediment dominated by films (>54%) while lake sediment was dominated by filaments (>55%), across size groups (micro-, meso- and macro-plastics). Spearman's rank correlation indicated strong and significant correlation between abundance of micro- and meso-plastics for total plastic, film plastic and fragment plastic in shoreline sediment. Significant correlation between macroplastics in shoreline sediment and microplastics in lake sediment for total plastics was observed. The FTIR analysis revealed that polyethylene, polypropylene, Polyethylene Terephthalate, Polyamide (nylon), and polyvinyl chloride were the major polymers. These results demonstrated that fish landing beaches along Lake Victoria are hotspot areas for plastic pollution of the lake and should therefore be targeted for management of plastic pollution of Lake Victoria.

Egessa R ，Nankabirwa A ，Basooma R ，Nabwire R ... -  《-》

Marine neustonic microplastics around the southeastern coast of Korea.

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.

Kang JH ，Kwon OY ，Lee KW ，Song YK ，Shim WJ ... -  《-》