Transport of microplastics in the South China Sea: A review

Abstract

The South China Sea is receiving a considerable plastic discharge and is a hot place for microplastics (MPs). Characterized by seasonal basin-scale circulation and strong interaction with the western Pacific, the South China Sea is an ideal area to study the transport and fate of MPs from coast to open ocean. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the abundance and distribution of MPs in the water and sediment of the South China Sea, as well as their characters such as shape, polymer type, color, and size. Seawater MPs generally showed higher abundances in the coastal than in the basin area, while abundances in sediments showed lower variance. Basin-scale circulation and regional currents or processes, such as mesoscale eddies, and upwelling could influence MPs’ horizontal and vertical transport. Future research works are required to understand the role of oceanic processes on MP distributions quantitively.