Distribution and pollution assessment of marine debris off-shore Shandong from 2014 to 2022

This study analysed marine debris monitoring data for Shandong from 2014 to 2022 to obtain a better understanding of marine debris stocking off-shore Shandong in order to reduce marine debris pollution and improving the ecological environment of ocean. The results indicated that the abundance of coastal marine debris was 45,832 items/km2 (1118.5 kg/km2); the abundance of small/medium sized floating marine debris was 8976 items/km2 (1.38 kg/km2); and the abundance of large floating marine debris was 35 items/km2; the abundance of seafloor debris was 104 item/km2 (0.22 kg/km2). Compared with the nationwide abundance of marine debris, the quantity density of floating marine debris in Shandong was higher; the abundance of coastal marine debris and quality density of floating marine debris were lower. The majority of the Shandong marine debris was small/ medium plastic, mostly from human activities. And we found no significant correlation between precipitation and the abundance of marine debris by statistical analysis.

Automated summary

This study analyzed monitoring data of marine debris in Shandong from 2014 to 2022, aiming to understand the distribution and sources of marine debris, and examined its correlation with precipitation. The findings have important implications for reducing marine debris pollution and improving the marine ecological environment.