Current Progress on Marine Microplastics Pollution Research: A Review on Pollution Occurrence, Detection, and Environmental Effects

Abstract

Recently, microplastics pollution has attracted much attention in the environmental field, as researchers have found traces of microplastics in both marine and terrestrial ecological environments. Here, we reviewed and discussed the current progress on microplastics pollution in the marine environment from three main aspects including their identification and qualification methods, source and distribution, and fate and toxicity in a marine ecosystem. Microplastics in the marine environment originate from a variety of sources and distribute broadly all around the world, but their quantitative information is still lacking. Up to now, there have been no adequate and standard methods to identify and quantify the various types of microplastics, which need to be developed and unified. The fate of microplastics in the environment is particularly important as they may be transferred or accumulated in the biological chain. Meanwhile, microplastics may have a high adsorption capacity to pollutants, which is the basic research to further study their fate and joint toxicity in the environment. Therefore, all the findings are expected to fill the knowledge gaps in microplastics pollution and promote the development of relative regulations.

Investigating the Human Impacts and the Environmental Consequences of Microplastics Disposal into Water Resources

“…Based on the overview of models and techniques, Table 2, it can be concluded that MP pollution in the marine environment can be reviewed and discussed in a wide geographical coverage worldwide in alignment with the key aspects of identification and qualification methods, source and distribution, sampling at natural sites, such as wetlands, and catchments supporting high industrial land use or close to residential densities [59], all contributing to species toxicity in their marine ecosystems [2,5,12,29,47]. Notation: Data have been presented in alphabetical order of the "Sampling sites at freshwater, coastal, urban environments" entries, following firstly the wider "geographical" naming and, secondly, the aquatic/aquifer "siting" naming.…”

“…Global environmental alarm and social sensitivity revealed that microplastics (MPs) are the most notable type of plastic degradation and pollution that has attracted much attention among researchers, who have detected MP traces in marine and terrestrial environments [5][6][7]. Plastic debris are recognized as threatening indicators against natural environment and wildlife habitats by human activity.…”

“…Plastic debris are recognized as threatening indicators against natural environment and wildlife habitats by human activity. In the past, much attention was paid to investigating the presence and the concentration of plastic debris in ecosystems, mainly in marine environments, seawater, and surface waters [5][6][7].…”

Effect of dry heat and polishing treatment on the germination rate and performance of seeds from Cassia obtusifolia L. as a turf filling material

“…Currently, the commonly used filling particles mainly include rubber particles SBR, EPDM, TPE, etc., and the particle size is usually between 0.5 and 2.5 mm. All of these can be categorized as micro-plastic particles, and they will be continuously lost in the process of use, and they will need to be continuously supplemented (Liu et al 2021). The particles that are lost can be carried by drainage systems into oceans, causing micro-plastic pollution (Rezania et al 2018).…”

Effects of Different Polystyrene Concentrations on the Bioaccumulation of As, Cd, and Pb in Ruditapes Philippinarum

“…Importantly, MPs pose a potential threat to the environment , and they can enter the marine ecosystem directly or indirectly . Synthetic bers, tires, and city dust are the principal sources of MPs in the ocean (Liu et al 2021). Neto et al (2020) tested 965 sh samples from the southeastern and southern coasts of Brazil, and we found that all contained plastics in their bodies.…”