The seasonal assessment of heavy metals pollution in the waters of the Mediterranean and Atlantic seas of Morocco
Keywords:
Heavy metals ; Contamination ; Water sample ; Pollution ; Moroccan coasts
Abstract
Heavy metal pollution is a topical problem that concerns all communities anxious to maintain their water assets to a certain degree of quality. Heavy metals are not metabolized, they can be transferred into the food chain and accumulate in living matter. Metals, which are normal constituents of the environment, are all toxic above a certain threshold. In order to evaluate the health risk for humans and preserve the environment, we studied the level of metallic pollution (Cd, Pb, Zn, Fe, Cu, Cr and Ni) in water samples from both Moroccan coasts; the Mediterranean Sea (Nador coast), and the Atlantic coast (Casablanca coastline), this samples for the autumn and spring seasons between 2023 and 2024. The results obtained show that the concentrations of the metallic elements studied exceed the standard set by the WHO for certain elements.
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References
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6. Amiard, J.-C., et al. (2021). Metallothioneins in aquatic invertebrates: Their role in metal detoxification and their use as biomarkers. Aquatic Toxicology, 105, 1-17.
7. Anweting, I.A., et al. (2024). Heavy metal pollution and ecological risk assessment in sediments from the Gulf of Guinea. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 185, 114269.
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9. Behra, R., et al. (2002). Copper and zinc content of periphyton from two rivers as a function of dissolved metal concentration. Aquatic Sciences, 64(3), 300-306.
10. Bessa, F., et al. (2020). Microplastics in Mediterranean coastal area: toxicity and impact for marine biota. Environmental Pollution, 263, 114429.
11. Bounoua, L., et al. (1999). Interannual variability of vegetation cover in Morocco. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 20(5), 961-967.
12. Bouthir, F., et al. (2006). Environmental impact of industrial releases: The accumulation of chromium in the various aquatic compartments along the Casablanca-Mohammadia coastline. Water Qual. Res. J. Canada, 41(4), 418-426.
13. Duce, R.A., et al. (2009). Impacts of Atmospheric Anthropogenic Nitrogen on the Open Ocean. Science, 320(5878), 893-897.
14. El Baz, S., et al. (2022). Assessment of heavy metal contamination in sediments from the Moroccan Mediterranean coast. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 174, 113185.
15. El Baz, A., et al. (2022). Assessment of heavy metal contamination in Moroccan coastal waters. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 29, 12345-12360.
16. El Morhit, M., et al. (2012). Seasonal and spatial variation of heavy metals in the intertidal sediments of the Oued Souss estuary (Bay of Agadir, Morocco). African Journal of Environmental Science and Technology, 6(3), 116-123.
17. El Moumni, B., et al. (2015). Assessment of heavy metal contamination in marine sediments from the Moroccan coastal area. Environmental Earth Sciences, 73(8), 4625-4638.
18. El Nemr, A. (2020). Impact, Monitoring and Management of Environmental Pollution. Nova Science Publishers.
19. European Union (EU), (2021). Water Framework Directive.
20. Fahssi, A., & Chafi, A. (2015). Contribution to the study of metal bioaccumulation in sediments and aquatic organisms of the Saidia coast. European Scientific Journal, 11, 334-360.
21. Ganjavi, M., et al. (2010). Heavy metal contamination in fish and sediments from the coastal waters of the Persian Gulf. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 162(1-4), 49-59.
22. Jaishankar, M., et al. (2014). Toxicity, mechanism and health effects of some heavy metals. Interdisciplinary Toxicology, 7(2), 60-72.
23. Luo, W., et al. (2014). Heavy metal contaminations in a soil–rice system: Identification of spatial dependence in relation to soil properties of paddy fields. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 280, 1-10.
24. Malafaia, G., et al. (2022). Microplastics and associated contaminants in aquatic environments: A review of ecotoxicological effects on biota. Environmental Pollution, 293, 118497.
25. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), (2022). Certified Reference Materials for Heavy Metal Analysis.
26. Pacyna, E.G., et al. (2006). Global anthropogenic mercury emission inventory for 2000. Atmospheric Environment, 40(22), 4048-4063.
27. Pereira, M.E., et al. (2021). Heavy metal contamination in European coastal waters: A comparative study. Science of the Total Environment, 764, 144270.
28. Rahman, Z., et al. (2021). Assessment of heavy metal contamination and human health risk in urban soils of an industrial city in Bangladesh. Environmental Geochemistry and Health, 43(1), 1-16.
29. Rodier et al., (2009) : Rodier, J., Legube, B., & Merlet, N. (2009). Water analysis (9th ed.). Dunod. ISBN: 9782100541799.
30. Salghi, R., et al. (2023). Heavy metal contamination and ecological risk assessment in sediments from the Moroccan Atlantic coast. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 185, 114254.
31. -Şimşek, A., et al. (2021). Heavy metal pollution in the Turkish Mediterranean coast. Turkish Journal of Agriculture - Food Science and Technology, 9(6), 1076-108
32. USEPA, (2017). Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) Assessment of Lead.
33. WHO, (2018). Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) assessment of cadmium, inorganic arsenic, lead, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. WHO Technical Report Series, 1011, 1-66.
Published
2025-07-27
How to Cite
Karim, S., Aouniti, A., & Belbachir, C. (2025). The seasonal assessment of heavy metals pollution in the waters of the Mediterranean and Atlantic seas of Morocco. European Scientific Journal, ESJ, 43, 624. Retrieved from https://eujournal.org/index.php/esj/article/view/19809
Section
ESI Preprints
Copyright (c) 2025 S. Karim, A. Aouniti, C. Belbachir
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
