Jongmyoung Lee, Sunwook Hong, Young Kyung Song, Sang Hee Hong, Yong 
Chang Jang, Mi Jang, Nak Won Heo, Gi Myung Han, Mi Jeong Lee, Daeseok 
Kang, Won Joon Shim, Relationships among the abundances of plastic 
debris in different size classes on beaches in South Korea, Marine 
Pollution Bulletin, Volume 77, Issues 1–2, 15 December 2013, Pages 
349-354, ISSN 0025-326X, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2013.08.013.
(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X13004657)
Abstract: Plastic debris on six beaches near the Nakdong River Estuary, 
South Korea, was sampled in May and September 2012 and classified into 
three size classes, large microplastics (1–5 mm), mesoplastics (5–25 
mm), and macroplastics (>25 mm). The relationships among the abundances 
of the size classes were then examined. The abundances of each size 
category in May (before rainy season) and in September (after rainy 
season) were 8205 and 27,606 particles/m2 for large microplastics, 238 
and 237 particles/m2 for mesoplastics, and 0.97 and 1.03 particles/m2 
for macroplastics, respectively. Styrofoam was the most abundant item 
both in microplastic and mesoplastic debris, while intact plastics were 
most common in macroplastic debris. The abundances of meso- and 
micro-plastics were the most strongly correlated. There was a higher 
correlation between the abundances of macro- and meso-plastics than 
between macro- and micro-plastics.
Keywords: Marine debris; Microplastics; Mesoplastics; Macroplastics; 
Styrofoam