Although atmospheric transport and
deposition could be an important
pathway of terrestrial pollutants to the ocean, little information
concerning the presence and distribution of these suspended atmospheric
microplastics in marine air is available. We investigated, for the
first time, the occurrence and distribution of suspended atmospheric
microplastics (SAMPs) in the west Pacific Ocean. In this study, the
spatial distribution, morphological appearance, and chemical composition
of suspended atmospheric microplastics were studied through continuous
sampling during a cruise. SAMPs abundance ranged from 0 to 1.37 n/m3, the median of 0.01 n/m3. Fiber, fragment, and
granule SAMPs quantitively constituted 60%, 31%, and 8% of all MPs,
respectively. Interestingly, plastic microbeads with numerical proportion
of 5% were also observed. A high suspended atmospheric microplastics
abundance was found in the coastal area (0.13 ± 0.24 n/m3), while there was less amount detected in the pelagic area
(0.01 ± 0.01 n/m3). The amount of suspended atmospheric
microplastics collected during the daytime (0.45 ± 0.46 n/m3) was twice the amount collected at night (0.22 ± 0.19
n/m3), on average. Our observations provide field-based
evidence that suspended atmospheric microplastics are an important
source of microplastics pollution in the ocean, especially the pollution
caused by textile microfibers.
The discovery of atmospheric micro(nano)plastics transport and ocean-atmosphere exchange points to a highly complex marine plastic cycle, with negative implications for human and ecosystem health. Yet observations are currently limited. In this Perspective, 4 of 23 07/04/2022, 15:41 we quantify the marine-atmospheric micro(nano)plastics cycle processes and fluxes, with the aim of highlighting the remaining unknowns in atmospheric micro(nano)plastics transport. Between 0.013 and 25 million metric tons per year of micro(nano)plastics are potentially being transported within the marine atmosphere and deposited in the oceans. However, the high uncertainty in these marine-atmospheric fluxes is related to data limitations and a lack of study intercomparability. To address the uncertainties and remaining knowledge gaps in the marineatmospheric micro(nano)plastics cycle, we propose a future global marine-atmospheric micro(nano)plastics observation strategy, incorporating novel sampling methods and the creation of a comparable, harmonized and global dataset. Together with long-term observations and intensive investigations, this strategy will help to define the trends in marine-atmospheric pollution and any responses to future policy and management actions.Editor's Summary Atmospheric transport of microplastics could be a major source of plastic pollution to the ocean, yet observations currently remain limited. This Perspective quantifies the known budgets of the marine-atmospheric micro(nano)plastics cycle and proposes a future global observation strategy.
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