Comprehensive Comparison of Various Microplastic Sampling Methods in Sea Water: Implications for Data Compilation

Abstract

The problem of plastic and microplastic (MP, 3), the MP characterization was significantly different, with fibers being the dominant MP in plankton samples (>70%) and only 14.2% in Manta trawl samples. Submersible pump sampling using a 50 µm mesh retained a higher percentage of fibers, with a two magnitude higher abundance of MPs (357 ± 119 and 553 ± 19 n/m3 for 330 µm and 50 µm mesh, respectively) attributed to the floating debris encountered during sampling and the shallower sampling depth as well as smaller sampling volume. This study highlights the key factors that impact MP abundance and characteristics as well as the challenges to harmonizing MPs sampling methods in aquatic environments, which is also helpful for data compilation across studies.

Keywords

• microplastic
• sampling methods
• manta trawl
• submersible pump
• plankton pump
• mesh size