RT journal article
T1 Presence, Spatial Distribution, and Characteristics of Microplastics in Beach Sediments Along the Northwestern Moroccan Mediterranean Coast
A1 Azaaouaj, Soria
A1 Er-Ramy, Noureddine
A1 Nachite, Driss
A1 Anfuso Melfi, Giorgio
A2 Ciencias de la Tierra
K1 beach pollution
K1 marine debris
K1 fishing activities
K1 wastewater
AB Microplastics (MPs) (<5 mm) are recognized as an emerging global problemin all oceans and coastlines around the world. This paper provided the quantificationand characteristics of microplastics found on fourteen beaches along the northwesternMoroccan Mediterranean coast. A total of 42 samples were gathered at a depth of 5 cmalong the shoreline using a quadrant of 1 m × 1 m. Microplastics were detected in allsediment samples. The average abundance was 59.33 ± 34.38 MPs kg−1 of dry weight(median: 48.33 MPs kg−1), ranging from 22 ± 7.21 to 135.33 ± 38.80 MPs kg−1. Statisticalanalyses revealed significant differences between sampling sites. All observed microplasticswere classified according to their shape, color, and size. The microplastic shapes comprisedfibrous MPs (77.61%), fragments (15.65%), films (4.49%), foams (1.85%), and pellets (0.40%).Microplastic particles in the sediment samples ranged from 0.063 to 5 mm in length andwere composed of small (54.3%, <1 mm) and large sizes (45.7%, 1–5 mm). The size fractionswith the greatest percentage of MPs were 1–2 mm (24.9%). The dominant color of themicroplastics was transparent (43.2%), followed by black (15.8%) and blue (13.3%), withshapes that were mainly angular and irregular. The present results indicate a moderatelevel of microplastic contamination on the beaches throughout the northern MoroccanMediterranean coast, and tourism, fishing activities, and wastewater discharges as the mostrelevant sources.
PB MDPI
SN 2073-4441
YR 2025
FD 2025-05-29
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10498/37972
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10498/37972
LA eng
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Cádiz
RD 10-may-2026