Baseline Study on Microplastic Distribution in the Open Surface Waters of the Korean Southwest Sea

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

The publication presented for review raises an extremely important global problem, which is the ubiquity of microplastics. It is a very important basis for further research, which should be continued. It is very important that such results are known to the general public. Valuable at work is a multi-faceted approach to the problem.

In my opinion, the work should be published.

Just note the double parentheses.

Possibly consider transferring content containing graphics to the results, and the literature review chapter as a chapter in the discussion.

Author Response

<Cover Letter > 

 

Journal: Water (ISSN 2073-4441)

 

Type: Article                                                                                                  Manuscript ID: water-2452861

 

Title: Baseline study on microplastics distribution in opened surface sea water, Korean Southwest Sea

 

Modified Title : Baseline study on microplastics distribution in the open surface waters of the Korean Southwest Sea

 

Dear. Editors and Reviewers,

 

We are glad to resubmit the revised vision of the manuscript entitled ‘Baseline study on microplastics distribution in opened surface sea water, Korean Southwest Sea’ to the Water (ISSN 2073-4441).

 

we would like to appreciate the reviewer's detailed comments. The authors believe that these comments will help us further improve the manuscript and have addressed the specific comments of each reviewer by providing a point-by-point response. Please take the time to consider reviewing again.

 

The revised parts were marked in red color with line numbers of the revised manuscript in this response. The "Track Changes" function in MS Word was used following the journal's guidelines.

 

Please see our attached response letter for each comment of the reviewers.

 

We appreciate your hard work, dedication, and cooperation.

 

Sincerely,

16 June 2023

Corresponding Author 

 

 

<Reviewer 1 Comments>

The publication presented for review raises an extremely important global problem, which is the ubiquity of microplastics. It is a very important basis for further research, which should be continued. It is very important that such results are known to the general public. Valuable at work is a multi-faceted approach to the problem.

In my opinion, the work should be published.

Just note the double parentheses.

Possibly consider transferring content containing graphics to the results, and the literature review chapter as a chapter in the discussion.

 

Authors) The authors appreciate the reviewer's comment. It was supplemented in the revised manuscript.

• Unnecessary parentheses were deleted by referring to the instructions in the Water Journal.

 

• The comparison of the literature results was revised to the discussion part.

 

• The entire text was corrected in English using "English Editing" provided by the water journal.

 

 

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

Thank you for the opportunity to review a manuscript entitled: "Baseline study on microplastics distribution in opened surface seawater, Korean Southwest Sea." The topic of the study is of interest and within the journal's scope. However, some aspects of the manuscript need to be improved and corrected. My detailed comments are below:

 

I would suggest either adding a section with all used abbreviations in the front of the manuscript or to please explain all abbreviations within the text when they are used for the first time. For example, for the different types of microplastics like PE and PP, giving a full name at least once would encourage a read from a broader spectrum of other researchers.

 

The referencing style within the text must fit the journal guidelines (unnecessary round brackets).

 

The introduction: the bibliography is interesting, and the opening is nicely structured, containing the study's primary aim and the reasons behind it.

 

The materials and methods: the methods are proper and showcased in detail in this section. 

 

The results and discussion:

• The result section is nicely presented.
• The spatial distribution is of interest.
• The figures and their descriptions are clear to the reader. 

Overall the quality of the paper is high, and the research topic is of great importance.

The language of the manuscript needs to be improved and proofread. There are many grammatical mistakes as well as typos that require the author's attention before publication. A few examples, in the introduction, page 2, line 78 - there is no ":" sign after aims to. This paragraph also ends without a dot. The manuscript is generally well structured and well written, but those small mistakes occur frequently. 

Author Response

<Reviewer 2 Comments>

Thank you for the opportunity to review a manuscript entitled: "Baseline study on microplastics distribution in opened surface seawater, Korean Southwest Sea." The topic of the study is of interest and within the journal's scope. However, some aspects of the manuscript need to be improved and corrected. My detailed comments are below:

 I would suggest either adding a section with all used abbreviations in the front of the manuscript or to please explain all abbreviations within the text when they are used for the first time. For example, for the different types of microplastics like PE and PP, giving a full name at least once would encourage a read from a broader spectrum of other researchers.

The referencing style within the text must fit the journal guidelines (unnecessary round brackets).

The introduction: the bibliography is interesting, and the opening is nicely structured, containing the study's primary aim and the reasons behind it.

The materials and methods: the methods are proper and showcased in detail in this section. 

The results and discussion:

• The result section is nicely presented.
• The spatial distribution is of interest.
• The figures and their descriptions are clear to the reader. 
• Overall the quality of the paper is high, and the research topic is of great importance.

 

Authors) The authors appreciate the reviewer's comment. It was supplemented in the revised manuscript.

• All abbreviations have been modified to be described more than once in the text using parentheses.

 

• Unnecessary parentheses were deleted by referring to the instructions in the Water Journal.

 

• Before submitting the paper to the water journal, we will proceed with the English correction provided by the water journal.

 

The language of the manuscript needs to be improved and proofread. There are many grammatical mistakes as well as typos that require the author's attention before publication. A few examples, in the introduction, page 2, line 78 - there is no ":" sign after aims to. This paragraph also ends without a dot. The manuscript is generally well structured and well written, but those small mistakes occur frequently. 

 

Authors) The authors appreciate the reviewer's comment. It was supplemented in the revised manuscript.

• The entire text was corrected in English using "English Editing" provided by the water journal.

Reviewer 3 Report

The article presents the results of a study on the distribution characteristics of microplastics in the South Sea of Jeju Island in August 2020. The study found that the average content of microplastics is 0.46±0.27 particles/L with a high ratio of polyethylene (PE) observed. The microplastic structure was dominated by fragments and fibers, with fragments and fibers averaging 69% and 31%, respectively. The size distribution was in the range of 0.02-0.30 mm, with 69% of the particles falling into this category. The study suggests that the distribution of microplastics has different trends depending on the sea currents in the vicinity. Low-density and high-density plastics in the study area have been transported and introduced for a long time, since the eastern part of the sea is formed under the high salinity of the Taiwan Warm Current, while the western and central parts of the study area have low salinity. salinity of the Yangtze River runoff in China, where high-density bed deposits are observed at the mouth of the Yangtze River. Overall, the study provides valuable information about the distribution and characteristics of microplastics in the Jeju Island area. However, further research is needed to identify sources of microplastic pollution and its impact on marine life and the environment. However, this study is a step in the right direction to address growing concerns about plastic pollution in our oceans and seas. If we talk about the work itself, then it is correctly structured, there are all the necessary sections. The graphic material fully describes the presented material.

The conclusion of the work can be recommended for printing in its present form.

Author Response

<Reviewer 3 Comments>

The article presents the results of a study on the distribution characteristics of microplastics in the South Sea of Jeju Island in August 2020. The study found that the average content of microplastics is 0.46±0.27 particles/L with a high ratio of polyethylene (PE) observed. The microplastic structure was dominated by fragments and fibers, with fragments and fibers averaging 69% and 31%, respectively. The size distribution was in the range of 0.02-0.30 mm, with 69% of the particles falling into this category. The study suggests that the distribution of microplastics has different trends depending on the sea currents in the vicinity. Low-density and high-density plastics in the study area have been transported and introduced for a long time, since the eastern part of the sea is formed under the high salinity of the Taiwan Warm Current, while the western and central parts of the study area have low salinity. salinity of the Yangtze River runoff in China, where high-density bed deposits are observed at the mouth of the Yangtze River. Overall, the study provides valuable information about the distribution and characteristics of microplastics in the Jeju Island area. However, further research is needed to identify sources of microplastic pollution and its impact on marine life and the environment. However, this study is a step in the right direction to address growing concerns about plastic pollution in our oceans and seas. If we talk about the work itself, then it is correctly structured, there are all the necessary sections. The graphic material fully describes the presented material.

The conclusion of the work can be recommended for printing in its present form.

 

Authors) The authors appreciate the reviewer's comment. It was supplemented in the revised manuscript.

• Thank you very much for reviewing the "Baseline study on microplastic distribution in open surface seawater, Korean Southwest Sea" paper. It could be a better interpretation of the research results, but thank you for your good evaluation. Additional research is in progress, and I would appreciate it if you could review my paper next time.

 

• The entire text was corrected in English using "English Editing" provided by the water journal.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx