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Bibi, Fazeelat; Qazi, Adnan A: Microplastic abundance and morphology in the riverbed sediment from Head Panjnad, Punjab, Pakistan (2023) [dataset]. PANGAEA, https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.995264 (dataset in review), In: Bibi, F; Qazi, AA: Microplastic abundance, morphology, and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) polymer characterization in the gastrointestinal tracts (GIT) of Wallago attu, surface water, and riverbed sediment from Head Panjnad, Punjab, Pakistan (2023) [dataset bundled publication]. PANGAEA, https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.995243 (dataset in review)

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Abstract:
This dataset provides geo-referenced measurements of microplastic (MP) occurrence, abundance, morphological characterization, and FTIR polymer identification across three environmental matrices — surface water, riverbed sediment, and gastrointestinal tracts (GIT) of the freshwater catfish (Wallago attu Bloch & Schneider, 1801) — collected from Head Panjnad, Punjab, Pakistan (29.347842° N, 71.028484° E) in 2023. Head Panjnad represents the confluence of all five major Punjab rivers (Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej), constituting a key node of the Indus River Basin. Ten specimens of W. attu were morphometrically characterized and their GITs examined for MPs. Parallel water and sediment samples (n = 10 each) were processed through KOH/HNO₃ digestion, Whatman filtration, and stereomicroscopy, with polymer identity confirmed by FTIR spectroscopy. Mean GIT MP burden was 12.08 ± 3.47 items/individual. Surface water MP concentration averaged 79.42 ± 17.82 items/m³. Riverbed sediment MP constituted a mean of 0.148% of total solids. Fiber morphotype dominated all three matrices (65–74%). PE, PP, nylon, and probable polyester (PET) were confirmed by FTIR across matrices. All data values in this submission are summary statistics (mean, SD, SE, min, max) aggregated over n = 10 replicates per matrix; individual-level raw data are not available.
Keyword(s):
fibers; freshwater; Indus basin; Microplastics; Pakistan; Sediment
Related to:
Dehaut, Alexandre; Cassone, Anne-Laure; Frère, Laura; Hermabessiere, Ludovic; Himber, Charlotte; Rinnert, Emmanuel; Rivière, Gilles; Lambert, Christophe; Soudant, Philippe; Huvet, Arnaud; Duflos, Guillaume; Paul-Pont, Ika (2016): Microplastics in seafood: Benchmark protocol for their extraction and characterization. Environmental Pollution, 215, 223-233, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2016.05.018
Hurley, Rachel R; Lusher, Amy L; Olsen, Marianne; Nizzetto, Luca (2018): Validation of a method for extracting microplastics from complex, organic-rich, environmental matrices. Environmental Science & Technology, 52(13), 7409-7417, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.8b01517
Koelmans, Albert A; Mohamed Nor, Nur Hazimah; Hermsen, Enya; Kooi, Merel; Mintenig, Svenja M; De France, Jennifer (2019): Microplastics in freshwaters and drinking water: Critical review and assessment of data quality. Water Research, 155, 410-422, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2019.02.054
Prata, Joana Correia; da Costa, João P; Duarte, Armando C; Rocha-Santos, Teresa (2019): Methods for sampling and detection of microplastics in water and sediment: A critical review. Trac-Trends in Analytical Chemistry, 110, 150-159, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trac.2018.10.029
Raheel, Syed Muhammad Moeen Uddin; Qazi, Adnan A; Latif, Muhammad; Naz, Huma; Waqas, Yasir; Lackner, Maximilian (2025): Unveiling the microplastics menace in freshwater fishes: Evidence from the Panjnad Barrage, South Punjab, Pakistan. Fishes, 10(5), 198, https://doi.org/10.3390/fishes10050198
Shim, Won Joon; Song, Young Kyoung; Hong, Sang Hee; Jang, Mi (2016): Identification and quantification of microplastics using Nile Red staining. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 113(1-2), 469-476, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.10.049
Thompson, Richard C; Olsen, Ylva S; Mitchell, Richard P; Davis, Anthony; Rowland, Steven J; John, Anthony W G; McGonigle, Daniel; Russell, Andrea E (2004): Lost at sea: Where is all the plastic? Science, 304(5672), 838-838, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1094559
Source:
Bibi, Fazeelat (2023): Microplastics in fish (Wallago attu) from Head Panjnad, Bahawalpur [thesis]. Master thesis, Department of Zoology, Cholistan University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (CUVAS), Bahawalpur, Pakistan (CORRIGENDUM: The herein reported mean concentration 794.419 items/m³ for surface water was incorrect. The corrected mean concentration of 79.419 items/m³ was used in the datset (compare table 4.3: min = 44.57, max = 101.92, n =10).)
Documentation:
Coverage:
Latitude: 29.347842 * Longitude: 71.028484
Date/Time Start: 2023-01-01T00:00:00 * Date/Time End: 2023-12-31T00:00:00
Event(s):
PJ-Sed-2023 * Latitude: 29.347842 * Longitude: 71.028484 * Date/Time Start: 2023-01-01T00:00:00 * Date/Time End: 2023-12-31T00:00:00 * Location: Head Panjnad, Punjab, Pakistan * Method/Device: Sediment sample (SES) * Comment: Riverbed sediment was sampled somewhen in 2023 (exact date unknown)
Comment:
Key dataset features:
* Gravimetric parameters, microplastic weight, concentration (% of total solids and items/m²), colour and shape distribution, and FTIR transmittance in riverbed sediment samples (n=10).
* Full methodological details, limitations (no procedural blanks, detection limit ~100–300 µm, aggregated summary statistics only), and data quality notes are included in Metadata_README.txt and the submission package document.
Acknowledgements:
The authors acknowledge the assistance of local fishermen at Head Panjnad for fish collection, and the Department of Zoology, CUVAS Bahawalpur for laboratory facilities.
Parameter(s):
#NameShort NameUnitPrincipal InvestigatorMethod/DeviceComment
1Event labelEventQazi, Adnan A
2Location of eventLocationQazi, Adnan A
3Latitude of eventLatitudeQazi, Adnan A
4Longitude of eventLongitudeQazi, Adnan A
5Year of samplingYear samplQazi, Adnan AExact date unknown
6Sample materialSamp matQazi, Adnan ASample matrix
7Sample methodSample methodQazi, Adnan ACollection method
8Data typeData typeQazi, Adnan A
9Number of samplesSamples#Qazi, Adnan ASample size
10Extraction methodExtractionQazi, Adnan ADetection method
11Microplastic, per dry mass of solidsMicroplastic solids dm%Qazi, Adnan AMean valuesMean percentage of microplastic per dry mass of solids (n = 10)
12Microplastic, per dry mass of solids, standard deviationMicroplastic solids dm std dev%Qazi, Adnan ACalculated standard deviationStandard deviation of the mean percentage of microplastic per dry mass of solids (n = 10)
13Microplastic, per dry mass of solids, minimumMicroplastic solids dm min%Qazi, Adnan AMinimumMinimum percentage of microplastic per dry mass of solids (n = 10)
14Microplastic, per dry mass of solids, maximumMicroplastic solids dm max%Qazi, Adnan AMaximumMaximum percentage of microplastic per dry mass of solids (n = 10)
15Microplastic, dry massMicroplastic dmmgQazi, Adnan AMean valuesMean dry mass of microplastic (n = 10)
16Microplastic, dry mass, standard deviationMicroplastic dm std dev±Qazi, Adnan ACalculated standard deviationStandard deviation of the mean dry mass of microplastic (n = 10)
17Microplastic, dry mass, minimumMicroplastic dm minmgQazi, Adnan AMinimumMinimum dry mass of microplastic (n = 10)
18Microplastic, dry mass, maximumMicroplastic dm maxmgQazi, Adnan AMaximumMaximum dry mass of microplastic (n = 10)
19Microplastic, dry mass per areaMicroplastic dm/areag/m2Qazi, Adnan AMean valuesMean concentration of microplastic (n = 10)
20Microplastic, dry mass per area, standard deviationMicroplastic dm/area std dev±Qazi, Adnan ACalculated standard deviationStandard deviation of the mean concentration of microplastic (n = 10)
21Microplastic abundance per areaMicroplastic/area#/m2Qazi, Adnan AMean valuesMean concentration of microplastic (n = 10)
22Microplastic abundance per area, standard deviationMicroplastic/area std dev±Qazi, Adnan ACalculated standard deviationStandard deviation of the mean concentration of microplastic (n = 10)
23Total solids, dry massSolids dmgQazi, Adnan AMean valuesMean dry mass of total solids
24Total solids, dry mass, standard deviationSolids dm std dev±Qazi, Adnan ACalculated standard deviationStandard deviation of the mean dry mass of total solids
25Microplastic particles, dominant colorMicroplastic part dom color%Qazi, Adnan ACalculated from microplastic particle countsPercentage of dominant color of microplastic particles
26Microplastic particles, dominant colorMicroplastic part dom colorQazi, Adnan ADominant color of microplastic particles
27Microplastic particles, dominant shapeMicroplastic part dom shape%Qazi, Adnan ACalculated from microplastic particle countsPercentage of dominant shape of microplastic particles
28Microplastic particles, dominant shapeMicroplastic part dom shapeQazi, Adnan ADominant shape of microplastic particles
29Microplastic particles, yellowMicroplastic part yellow%Qazi, Adnan ACalculated from microplastic particle countsPercentage of yellow microplastic particles
30Microplastic particles, orangeMicroplastic part orange%Qazi, Adnan ACalculated from microplastic particle countsPercentage of orange microplastic particles
31Microplastic particles, whiteMicroplastic part white%Qazi, Adnan ACalculated from microplastic particle countsPercentage of white microplastic particles
32Microplastic particles, other colorMicroplastic part other color%Qazi, Adnan ACalculated from microplastic particle countsPercentage of microplastic particles of other color
33Microplastic particles, greenMicroplastic part green%Qazi, Adnan ACalculated from microplastic particle countsPercentage of green microplastic particles
34Microplastic particles, redMicroplastic part red%Qazi, Adnan ACalculated from microplastic particle countsPercentage of red microplastic particles
35Microplastic particles, fiberMicroplastic part fiber%Qazi, Adnan ACalculated from microplastic particle countsPercentage of fibers out of the total number of microplastic particles
36Microplastic particles, pelletMicroplastic part pellet%Qazi, Adnan ACalculated from microplastic particle countsPercentage of pellets out of the total number of microplastic particles
37Microplastic particles, fragmentMicroplastic part fragment%Qazi, Adnan ACalculated from microplastic particle countsPercentage of fragments out of the total number of microplastic particles
38Microplastic particles, other shapeMicroplastic part other shape%Qazi, Adnan ACalculated from microplastic particle countsPercentage of other shapes out of the total number of microplastic particles
License:
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY-4.0) (License comes into effect after moratorium ends)
Status:
Curation Level: Enhanced curation (CurationLevelC)
Size:
34 data points

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