A Review of Microplastics in China Marine Waters

Microplastics(<5 mm)are ubiquitous in the environment and can pose potential danger to the ecosystem and even human health.As the sink of microplastics,the ocean,especially the densely populated coastal area,has become a hotspot for research on microplastic pollution.In the last decade,the research of marine microplastics has been rapidly increasing in China.This review summarized the microplastic research conducted in China marine waters so far,and introduced the trends and progress of microplastic research in the four seas along the coast of China.We reviewed and compared the current sampling,extraction,and identification methodologies of China's microplastic research.According to the sampling method,the 30 reviewed studies were separated into two categories,trawl sampling and bulk sampling,to summarize relevant data,including abundance,sizes,shapes,colors and polymer types of microplastics.The main results showed that the distribution of microplastics in China's marine environment varied significantly,with offshore mariculture zones and the South China Sea being the most contaminated areas.Transparent,granules(or pellets)and fibers were the most dominant microplastic colors and shapes,and the size of microplastics was influenced significantly by the sampling method.Polyethylene(PE),polypropylene(PP)and polystyrene(PS)were the most common polymer types found in the China Sea,accounting for 49.96%,29.97%,and 12.38%of the total studies,respectively.Compared with other global data,China's coastal microplastic pollution is at an intermediate level and does not seem to be a major microplastic pollution source.

Distribution pattern and geochemical analysis of rare earth elements in deep-ocean sediments

The content and distribution pattern of rare earth elements(REEs)in surface sediments from the Eastern and Western Pacifi c Ocean,the Northern and Southern Atlantic Ocean,and the Southwestern Indian Ocean were explored and the resources and geochemical characteristics of REEs in deep-ocean sediments from diff erent oceans were studied.The total REE abundances(ΣREE)in the diff erent oceans ranged as follows:Eastern Pacifi c,56.88–500.02μg/g;Western Pacifi c,290.68–439.94μg/g;Northern Atlantic,55.33–154.90μg/g;Southern Atlantic,40.83–69.30μg/g;and Southwestern Indian Ocean,20.24–64.76μg/g.Their corresponding LREE(La-Eu)/HREE(Gd-Lu)average values were 5.18,5.86,9.01,5.21,and 4.59,which indicated that the light REEs were all evidently enriched.δEu andδCe showed slight Eu-negative anomalies and signifi cant Ce-positive anomalies in all sediments.Although the contents of REEs in the sediments varied among the diff erent oceans,the distribution patterns of REEs were similar,and the correlation coeffi cient was greater than 0.9290.In the Eastern Pacifi c sediments,ΣREE showed a signifi cantly positive correlation with Co,Cu,Zn,Mn,Mo and a weak correlation with Fe.In the Western Pacifi c and Southern Atlantic sediments,ΣREE presented no obvious correlation and a weakly negative correlation with Co,Cu,Zn,Mn,Mo and Fe,respectively.ΣREE in the Southwestern Indian Ocean sediments positively correlated with Cu,Zn,Mn,Mo,Fe,and had a weakly negative correlation with Co.

The study of the adductor muscle-shell interface structure in three Mollusc species

The adductor muscle scar（AMS） is the fixation point of adductor muscle to the shell. It is an important organicinorganic interface and stress distribution area. Despite recent advances, our understanding of the structure and composition of the AMS remain limited. Here, we report study on the AMS of three bivalves： Mytilus coruscus,Chlamys farreri and Ruditapes philippinarum. Results showed that there were significant differences among their AMS structures. Both M. coruscus and C. farreri were found to have a columnar layer above the nacreous platelet shell structure at the AMS and this layer was more organized in M. coruscus. There was no distinguishable twolayer structure in R. philippinarum. Atomic force microscopy（AFM） and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy（FT-IR） results showed that the AMS was much smoother than the nacreous inner shell in all the three species and the AMS had minor different compositions from the nacreous shell layer. SDS-PAGE（sodium dodecyl-sulfate polyacrylamide gel electophoresis） study of the proteins isolated from the interface indicated that there was a 70 k Da protein which seemed to be specifically located to the highly organized columnar AMS structure in Mytilus coruscus. Further analysis of this protein showed it contained high level of Asx（Asp＋Asn）, Glx（Glu＋Gln） and Gly.The special structure and composition of the AMS might play important roles in the stability, adhesion and function at this stress distribution site.

1D Bi_(2)S_(3) nanorods modified 2D BiOI nanoplates for highly efficient photocatalytic activity:Pivotal roles of oxygen vacancies and Z-scheme heterojunction

In this study,a novel Bi_(2)S_(3)/BiOI Z-scheme photocatalyst with 3D porous hierarchical network-like heterostructure(BSBI NHs)and rich oxygen vacancies(OVs)was fabricated by a facile ion exchange method followed by the in-situ growth process.A possible formation mechanism of BSBI NHs was studied,showing the self-assembled process of in-situ interwoven growth of 1D Bi_(2)S_(3) nanorods(NRs)on the surface of 2D BiOI disk-like nanoplates(NPs),which followed the Ostwald ripening and epitaxial growth.The modification of BiOI NPs by Bi_(2)S_(3) NRs brought about the formation of Z-scheme heterojunction and massive OVs,which improved the visible-light response property and promoted the separation of photoexcited charge carriers of BSBI NHs.BSBI NHs exhibited a significantly enhanced photocatalytic activity compared with Bi_(2)S_(3) and BiOI,and BSBI-1 can remove almost all bacteria and Rhodamine B(RhB)after 60 min visible light illumination.In addition,the photocatalytic mechanism was studied and speculated based on the tests of active species capture,electron spin resonance(ESR),and density functional theory(DFT)simulation calculation,proving the primary roles of·OH,·O_(2)^(-)and h^(+)during the photocatalytic reaction.This work provides new insights into the design and exploitation of novel heterojunctions with highly efficient photocatalytic performances for environmental remediation applications.