Microplastic pollution and regulating factors in the surface sediment of the Xuande Atolls in the South China Sea

Microplastics are widely present in the marine environment, but their pollution and potential risk assessment in the seabed sediments have not been well addressed in remote sea areas. In this study, microplastics in 50 surface sediment samples from the Xuande Atolls at the Xisha of the South China Sea were studied. There were 20 samples with detectable microplastics of 5–20 items kg−1. They were all fibers in shapes and blue/transparent in colors with the dominant chemical component of polyester and the typical size of 0.02-3 mm. We found a large spatial variability of microplastic abundance in the surface sediment with generally low or undetectable levels in the lagoon deposits and the offshore deep-sea sediments but elevated abundances in the slope sediments of the Xuande Atolls. Correlation analyses suggested that microplastic variability in the Xisha sediment was less affected by local environmental parameters such as water depth, sediment particle size, organic carbon content, and sediment types. We also found that elevated microplastics in the seabed sediments on various sides of the Xuande Atolls could be related to the seasonal change in monsoon-driven currents. Finally, a low risk of microplastic pollution in the surface sediment of the Xisha is concluded based on the assessments of the polymer hazard index and the pollution load index. These findings provide not only a baseline understanding of microplastics but also their dynamics in the surface sediment of the remote Xisha area of the South China Sea.