Micro plastics in ocean waters report - 825 Words

Micro plastics in ocean waters report (Coursework Sample) Content: Study 1: Occurrence and distribution of micro plastics in marine sediments along the Belgian coast. Plastic remains usually undergo significant fragmentation due to action of sea water on them, leading to the formation of microscopic elements of the plastic; commonly referred to as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"micro plasticsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢. These micro plastics have high buoyancy and persistent characteristics, hence enabling them to be widely spread in the sea water by means of ocean currents and hydrodynamic processes. This study is going to focus on the distribution and occurrence of micro plastics in the Belgian sea. Samples of water were collected from different locations of the Belgian coastal area. There was a large concentration of micro plastics from all the samples, signifying the immense distribution of micro plastics in Belgian waters. However, the highest concentration was found in the harbors where concentrations were as high as 390 particles per kilogram. Furthermore, there was the presence of one dry sediment, which is 15 to 50 times higher than the reported maximum concentration of other areas where similar studies were conducted. The study also showed that the depth profile of sediment cores gave an impression that micro plastic concentration on the beaches gives a reflection of an increase in global plastic production. Conclusion As per the results of this study, it is evident that there are high concentrations of micro plastics at the Belgian coastal water zones compared to those in other areas. This is a confirmation of the widespread micro plastic occurrence in our marine environment. Furthermore, spatial variation in micro plastics concentration was observed on a small scale. This study however did not provide a distinct relationship between human activities and the concentration of micro plastics. Fresh water sources are a potential source for a significant quantity of micro plastics. This study however gives a general implication that the concentration of micro plastics is greatly increasing in our oceanic waters. Study 2: Distribution and size relationships of plastic marine debris on beaches in South Korea A study to determine the characteristics of the distribution of plastic marine debris in South Korea was carried out on 12 beaches between 2013 and 2014. The results of the study were as follows: large micro- (1-5 mm), meso- (5-25mm) and micro plastics ([25mm) were 880.4, 37.7, and 1.0 particles per m2 respectively. The most abundant debris type for large micro plastics and meso plastics was Styrofoam (99.1% and 90.9% respectively). The most abundant macro plastic was fiber (54.7%). No statistical differences in the mean numbers and weights of plastics debris in three beaches from western, southern and eastern coasts was recorded. In addition to this, no significant differences were detected between the abundances of beached plastics in high strandline and backshore for all three size groups. The Spearmanà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s rank of correlation was applied in determining the relationships between the three debris size classes. The following was depicted: the abundance of large micro p lastics was strongly correlated to that of meso plastics for most material types, which gave a suggestion that the contamination level of large micro plastics can be estimated from that of meso plastics. The surveying of smaller particles is more labor intensive compared to that of meso plastics. Study 3: Micro plastics and meso plastics in fish from coastal and fresh waters of China* Environmental pollution by plastic debris is a growing concern globally. In this study, we investigated plastic pollution in 21 species of sea fish and 6 species of fresh water fish from China. All the species were found to have exhibited a significant quantity of micro and meso plastics. Average abundance of micro plastics varied from 1.1 to 7.2 items by individual and 0.2 to 17.2 items by gram. On the other hand, the average abundance of meso plastics varied from 0.2 to 3.0 items by individual and 0.1 to 3.9 items by gram. 26 species had an abundance of micro plastics, which accounted for 55.9 to 92.3...