Preliminary study of the source apportionment and diversity of microplastics: Taking floating microplastics in the South China Sea as an example

Abstract

At present, the study of microplastic sources is in a relatively preliminary stage due to the complexity of microplastic features in the environment. Based on a literature review, we developed a source-specific classification system for the quantitative analysis of microplastic sources. The classification system includes ten types of microplastics based on morphology and composition and can identify their main sources and the associated probabilities. To reflect the complexity of types and sources in the regional combination of microplastics, we first propose a microplastic diversity index (D1-D’(MP)). We use the South China Sea as an example to carry out quantitative source analysis and calculate the diversity index. Eight types of microplastics were found, mainly consisting of maritime coatings (type “Gran_coat”) (33.0%) and synthetic fibers (type “Fib_thin”) (29.6%). We also found that the diversity increased with offshore distance. In addition, we partitioned surface microplastics globally according to a two-dimensional microplastic abundance-diversity index. We believe that these indicators can effectively reflect pollution status and ultimately lead to different types of control measures. In the future, additional indicators for the characterization of microplastics must be included in the classification system to establish a one-to-one source analysis system for microplastic characteristics and source apportionment. In general, our study may provide new insights into the establishment of more accurate and quantitative source apportionment techniques and effective pollution control.