Study on frequency, distribution and composition of microplastics pollution in Almagol wetland, Golestan province

Document Type : scientific research article

Authors

1 Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Gorgan

2 Gorgan Univ

3 Tehran Uni

4 IFRO

5 Gonbad Kavous University

Abstract

Background and objectives: Almagol is an international wetland near the border of Iran and Turkmenistan, whose source of water supply is Etrak River. The geographical location, the long route of the supplying river and the low vegetation cover of the Turkmen Sahara area indicate the possibility of microplastic contamination in this wetland. The abundance, distribution and composition of microplastics in Almagal Lagoon was done for the first time in this study.
Materials and methods: Water sampling was done in spring of 2023, in 5 stations. The separation of microplastics from the lagoon water was done by filtering method, so that for each repetition, one liter of lagoon water was taken by a vacuum pump. It was filtered on filter paper. A stereomicroscope was used to count the number of microplastics and to examine their appearance, and an infrared spectrometer was used for identification.
Results: The results showed that microplastics were found in all 5 sampling stations and their average number was 40 pieces per liter. Station 5 (amusement park) showed the highest frequency of microplastic pollution with 46 pieces per liter. Microplastics with a size of 0.1-0.5 mm were the most abundant and most of the identified microplastics were fiber-shaped and black in color. The concentration of microplastics in the amusement park station is more than other stations due to the high traffic of local people and tourists and the dumping of garbage.
Conclusion: This study highlights the importance of adequate waste management to limit microplastic pollution in recreational sites and ecologically important areas.
Keywords: microplastic, Almagol lagoon, pollution, surface water

Keywords

Main Subjects

Journal of Utilization and Cultivation of Aquatics
Volume 15, Issue 1
April 2026
Pages 19-34

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics