RT journal article
T1 Abundance and distribution of microplastics on sandy beaches of the eastern Moroccan Mediterranean coast
A1 Azaaouaj, S.
A1 Nachite, D.
A1 Anfuso Melfi, Giorgio
A1 Er-Ramy, N.
A2 Ciencias de la Tierra
K1 Pollution
K1 FTIR-ATR
K1 Polyethylene
K1 Polypropylene
K1 Polystyrene
K1 Polyvinyl chloride
K1 Fishing activities
AB Microplastics (MPs) were investigated at 19 sandy beaches along the eastern Mediterranean Moroccan coast. Sediment samples (5 mm–63 μ m) were analyzed to identify MPs abundance, size, shape, color and nature. MPs concentration ranged from 40 ± 7.4 to 230 ± 48.6 MPs kg 1 ; fibrous MPs were the most abundant (74.72 %), followed by fragments (20.26 %), films (3.27 %), pellets (1.42 %) and foams (0.33 %). Large MPs (1–5 mm) accounted for 58 %, while small (< 1 mm) for 42 %. The 1–2 mm fraction of sediments presented the greatest amounts (30.67 %) of MPs. Transparent (50 %) and blue (17 %) were most common colors and most of particles were angular and irregularly shaped. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis showed that PE (Polyethylene), PS (Polystyrene) and PP (Polypropylene) and PVC (Polyvinyl chloride) were the most common polymers. These findings revealed a moderate level of microplastic pollution along the beaches of the eastern Moroccan Mediterranean coast.
PB Elsevier
SN 1879-3363
YR 2024
FD 2024-02-09
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10498/32698
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10498/32698
LA eng
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Cádiz
RD 07-nov-2026