Next Article in Journal
The Importance of Nonconventional Water Resources under Water Scarcity
Next Article in Special Issue
Transport of Floating Plastics through the Fluvial Vector: The Impact of Riparian Zones
Previous Article in Journal
The Role of Iron Minerals in the Preservation of Organic Carbon in Mangrove Sediments
Previous Article in Special Issue
Potential Pollution Loads of the Cikembar Sub-Watershed to the Cicatih River, West Java, Indonesia
 
 
Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
Journals
Water
Volume 16
Issue 7
10.3390/w16071014
water-logo
Submit to this Journal Review for this Journal Propose a Special Issue
► Article Menu

Article Menu

share Share announcement Help format_quote Cite question_answer Discuss in SciProfiles
first_page
settings
Order Article Reprints
Font Type:
Arial Georgia Verdana
Font Size:
Aa Aa Aa
Line Spacing:
Column Width:
Background:
Article

Spatial Variations in Microplastics in the Largest Shallow Lake of Central Europe and Its Protecting Wetland Area

by
Bence Prikler
1,2,†,
Réka Svigruha
3,†,
Judit Háhn
1,*,
Péter Harkai
1,
István Fodor
3,
Edit Kaszab
1,
Balázs Kriszt
1,
Gergő Tóth
1,
István Szabó
1,
Zsolt Csenki
1,
Gábor Bordós
2,
Adrienn Micsinai
2,
Brigitta Nyírő-Fekete
2,
Zoltán Palotai
2,
Zsófia Lovász
4,
Zsolt Pirger
3,‡ and
Sándor Szoboszlay
1,‡
1
Institute of Aquaculture and Environmental Safety, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, 2100 Gödöllő, Hungary
2
Eurofins Analytical Services Hungary Ltd., 1045 Budapest, Hungary
3
Ecophysiological and Environmental Toxicological Research Group, HUN-REN Balaton Limnological Research Institute, 8237 Tihany, Hungary
4
Western Transdanubia Water Directorate, 9700 Szombathely, Hungary
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
These authors contributed equally to this work.
‡
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Water 2024, 16(7), 1014; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16071014
Submission received: 9 February 2024 / Revised: 25 March 2024 / Accepted: 26 March 2024 / Published: 31 March 2024
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Contaminants in the Water Environment)
Browse Figures
Versions Notes

Abstract

The concentration of microplastics (MPs) in two important Hungarian freshwater habitats was determined in the size range of 50 μm–1 mm. Lake Balaton (LB) is the largest shallow lake in Central Europe, with a significant role in recreation and tourism. Its main inflow, the Zala River, enters the lake through an artificially constructed wetland, the Kis-Balaton Water Protection System and its catchment area (KB), which helps preserve the water quality of the lake. From these two areas, 15 samples were taken with an in situ filtration sampling method. After preparation, the samples were analyzed automatically by FT-IR microscopy. All samples, from both areas, contained MPs; the dominant microplastic (MP) shape was the fragment, while the most frequently polymer types were polyethylene, polypropylene and alkyd. Small MPs were dominant in both areas; around 90% of the MPs were smaller than 500 μm. On average, LB contained more MPs (21.0 ± 12.5 MPs/m3) compared to the KB, which presented an average concentration of MPs of 7.8 ± 5.9 MPs/m3. In the examined areas, two potential MP sources were determined, i.e., treated wastewater and road traffic. The importance of tourism should also be further investigated.
Keywords: FTIR; MPs; types of polymers; fiber; fragment; filtration; freshwater; Lake Balaton; Kis-Balaton Water Protection System FTIR; MPs; types of polymers; fiber; fragment; filtration; freshwater; Lake Balaton; Kis-Balaton Water Protection System
Graphical Abstract

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Prikler, B.; Svigruha, R.; Háhn, J.; Harkai, P.; Fodor, I.; Kaszab, E.; Kriszt, B.; Tóth, G.; Szabó, I.; Csenki, Z.; et al. Spatial Variations in Microplastics in the Largest Shallow Lake of Central Europe and Its Protecting Wetland Area. Water 2024, 16, 1014. https://doi.org/10.3390/w16071014

AMA Style

Prikler B, Svigruha R, Háhn J, Harkai P, Fodor I, Kaszab E, Kriszt B, Tóth G, Szabó I, Csenki Z, et al. Spatial Variations in Microplastics in the Largest Shallow Lake of Central Europe and Its Protecting Wetland Area. Water. 2024; 16(7):1014. https://doi.org/10.3390/w16071014

Chicago/Turabian Style

Prikler, Bence, Réka Svigruha, Judit Háhn, Péter Harkai, István Fodor, Edit Kaszab, Balázs Kriszt, Gergő Tóth, István Szabó, Zsolt Csenki, and et al. 2024. "Spatial Variations in Microplastics in the Largest Shallow Lake of Central Europe and Its Protecting Wetland Area" Water 16, no. 7: 1014. https://doi.org/10.3390/w16071014

APA Style

Prikler, B., Svigruha, R., Háhn, J., Harkai, P., Fodor, I., Kaszab, E., Kriszt, B., Tóth, G., Szabó, I., Csenki, Z., Bordós, G., Micsinai, A., Nyírő-Fekete, B., Palotai, Z., Lovász, Z., Pirger, Z., & Szoboszlay, S. (2024). Spatial Variations in Microplastics in the Largest Shallow Lake of Central Europe and Its Protecting Wetland Area. Water, 16(7), 1014. https://doi.org/10.3390/w16071014

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Metrics

Back to TopTop