Specialists of the Southern Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences will study the content of microplastics in the surface water layer of the lower reaches of the Don River. Samples for this important scientific research were obtained during the expeditions on the ship “Professor Panov”.
– Microplastics are small particles of plastic (up to 5 mm), which are formed as a result of the destruction of large debris. Recently, this problem is extremely relevant. Plastic polymers have become widely used in our lives, the volumes of their emission are colossal, — emphasized Marina Antsiferova, Research Engineer of the SSC RAS.
In order to collect such tiny particles in the surface layer of water, a special, so-called neuston net, was used during trawling. Then, microplastics were separated from water and organic compounds in laboratory conditions using special methods.
Now the samples are carefully studied in the Laboratory of Hydrology and Hydrochemistry of the SSC RAS. Scientific research will help to monitor the ecological state of the Lower Don.
— Based on the results of the expedition, it was shown that the level of contamination of the Don waters with microplastics is quite high and that it is necessary to carry out further observations and reduce the amount of discarded plastic materials, — noted Marina Antsiferova.
In winter, scientists of the SSC RAS summed up integrated ecosystem studies of the Don, its tributaries and the Taganrog Bay of the Sea of Azov in 2022. Expeditions on the research vessel “Professor Panov” are extremely important for solving the problems of the development of the water system of the river, in the lower reaches of which about 2.1 million people live.
