This study was carried out to estimate the microplastics (i.e. plastics measuring less than 5mm, reported in unit of pieces/m^3) concentration in the northern South China Sea. Microplastics data was collected from 2018-08-07 to 2018-08-22 using stainless steel buckets. This dataset contains the results from all 69 sampling efforts, in a spreadsheet format.

This study estimated the concentration of microplastics (i.e. plastics measuring less than 5mm, reported in unit of pieces/m3) in the surface sediments of Xialiao Beach, New Taipei City, Taiwan from 2017-07-06 to 2017-07-25. Microplastic data were collected using a metal scoop. This dataset contains the results from all 80 surface sediment samples, in a spreadsheet format.

This study estimated the concentration of microplastics (i.e. plastics measuring less than 5mm) in seawater (reported in unit of items/m3), and sediments (reported in unit of items/kg d.w.), in the Hangzhou Bay, China during 2020-09-11 to 2020-11-21. Microplastics in the seawater were collected using a plankton net while those in the sediment were collected using a sediment grab sampler. Data on hydrologic conditions in the study area were also collected. These include water depth (reported in unit of m), seawater temperature (reported in unit of oC), seawater dissolved oxygen (reported in unit of mg/L), seawater pH, and seawater salinity (reported in unit of ‰). This dataset contains the results from all 26 seawater, and 26 sediment samples, in a spreadsheet format.

This study estimated the load of surface microplastics (i.e. plastics less than 5mm, reported in unit of pieces/m^3) in the surface waters from the Northwest Pacific, the Bering Sea, and the Chukchi Sea from 2017-07-28 to 2017-10-01. Microplastics data were collected using manta net aboard R/V Xuelong. This dataset contains the results from all 13 surface net tows, in a spreadsheet format. Tows were conducted for 20 min at an average cruising speed of 3 knots.

This study was carried out to estimate the floating microplastics (i.e. plastics measuring less than 5mm, reported in unit of pieces/m^3) concentration in the South Pacific subtropical gyre. Microplastics data were collected with manta nets during an expedition that occurred between 2011-03-28 to 2011-04-21. This dataset contains the results from all 48 sampling stations, in a spreadsheet format.

This study estimated the concentration of surface microplastics (i.e. plastics measuring less than 5 mm; reported in unit of particles/L) in the Maowei Sea, a semi-closed mariculture bay in China. The data was collected on 2017-10-11 using a 5L stainless steel sampler. This dataset contains the results from all 23 surface water samples, in a spreadsheet format.

This study was carried out to estimate the floating microplastics (i.e. plastics measuring less than 5mm, reported in unit of pieces/m^3) concentration in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. Microplastics data was collected from 2017-08-28 to 2017-09-24 using a manta net. This dataset contains the results from all 18 sampling stations, in a spreadsheet format.

This dataset contains surface microplastics (i.e., plastics measuring less than 5mm, reported in unit of pieces/m^3) concentration in the global ocean collected by the Oceaneye Association. Microplastics data was collected from 2011-08-31 to 2021-10-05 using manta nets by several trained volunteer groups and Citizen Scientists. This dataset contains the results from all 802 sampling efforts, in a spreadsheet format.

This study estimated the concentration of microplastics (i.e. plastics measuring less than 5mm, reported in unit of pieces/m3) on sandy beaches along the northern coast of Taiwan from 2015-06-04 to 2015-09-14. Microplastic data were collected using a metal scoop. This dataset contains the results from all 8 sediment samples, in a spreadsheet format.

This study was carried out to estimate the microplastics (i.e. plastics measuring less than 5mm, reported in unit of pieces/m^3) concentration in the Bay of Bengal and South Pacific Ocean. Microplastics data was collected from 2013-05-27 to 2015-11-04. The Bay of Bengal expedition was aboard SV Mir while the South Pacific Ocean expedition was aboard RV Cabo de Hornos. During the two expeditions, the study investigated whether the microplastics sampling instruments, the new, high-speed AVANI trawl (All-purpose Velocity Accelerated Net Instrument) collected similar amounts and types of microplastics as two established scientific trawl designs, the manta trawl and the neuston net. The AVANI trawl can collect microplastics from the sea surface at relatively higher speeds up to 8 knots and during long transits (allowing for a nearly continuous sampling effort over long distances), whereas the manta and neuston trawls must be towed slowly in a less turbulent sea state and often represent shorter tow lengths. This dataset contains the results from all 36 sampling stations in the Bay of Bengal and 52 sampling stations in the South Pacific Ocean, in a spreadsheet format.