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Volume 12
Issue 4
10.3390/app12042059
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Article

Water Quality Problems Analysis and Assessment of the Ecological Security Level of the Transboundary Ural-Caspian Basin of the Republic of Kazakhstan

by
Nariman Amirgalievich Amirgaliev
1,
Maulken Askarova
2,
Christian Opp
3,*,
Alikhan Medeu
1,
Roza Kulbekova
1,* and
Akhmetkal Rakhmetullayevich Medeu
1
1
Institute of Geography and Water Security, Ministry of Education & Science, Almaty 050010, Kazakhstan
2
Department of Geography, Land Management and Cadastre, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty 050038, Kazakhstan
3
Faculty of Geography, Philipps-Universität Marburg, D-35032 Marburg, Germany
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(4), 2059; https://doi.org/10.3390/app12042059
Submission received: 3 May 2021 / Revised: 11 August 2021 / Accepted: 11 September 2021 / Published: 16 February 2022
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Floodplains and Reservoirs as Sinks and Sources for Pollutants)
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Abstract

Both the insufficiency of water resources and the contamination of even transboundary water bodies are serious problems. Water quality analyses of the transboundary (between Russia and Kazakhstan) Ural River and the Kazakh sector of the Caspian Sea, and their assessment are the main research questions of this study. It is shown that the Ural River is heavily contaminated by polychlorinated biphenyls, heavy metals, oil contaminants, and pesticides, arising from industrial enterprises and agricultural objects. The results show that these toxicants are not only present in water, but they are also accumulated in the muscular tissues of all fish (Abramis brama, Sander lucioperca, Aspius aspius). The Caspian Sea is heavily contaminated by petroleum hydrocarbons due to off shore oil production. A sufficiently high level of accumulation of petroleum hydrocarbons, organochlorine pesticides and heavy metals was determined in the muscles of Caspian fish. All these contaminations lead to the loss of biodiversity and bio-productivity of the Caspian Sea. The authors propose a methodology for a quantitative assessment of the environmental safety level in relation to the Kazakh part of the Caspian Sea, based on bioindication methods. Recommendations, aimed for maintaining acceptable values of water resources quality, are suggested.
Keywords: transboundary water courses; Ural River; contaminants; Caspian Sea; fish; ecological safety; bioindication transboundary water courses; Ural River; contaminants; Caspian Sea; fish; ecological safety; bioindication

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MDPI and ACS Style

Amirgaliev, N.A.; Askarova, M.; Opp, C.; Medeu, A.; Kulbekova, R.; Medeu, A.R. Water Quality Problems Analysis and Assessment of the Ecological Security Level of the Transboundary Ural-Caspian Basin of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Appl. Sci. 2022, 12, 2059. https://doi.org/10.3390/app12042059

AMA Style

Amirgaliev NA, Askarova M, Opp C, Medeu A, Kulbekova R, Medeu AR. Water Quality Problems Analysis and Assessment of the Ecological Security Level of the Transboundary Ural-Caspian Basin of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Applied Sciences. 2022; 12(4):2059. https://doi.org/10.3390/app12042059

Chicago/Turabian Style

Amirgaliev, Nariman Amirgalievich, Maulken Askarova, Christian Opp, Alikhan Medeu, Roza Kulbekova, and Akhmetkal Rakhmetullayevich Medeu. 2022. "Water Quality Problems Analysis and Assessment of the Ecological Security Level of the Transboundary Ural-Caspian Basin of the Republic of Kazakhstan" Applied Sciences 12, no. 4: 2059. https://doi.org/10.3390/app12042059

APA Style

Amirgaliev, N. A., Askarova, M., Opp, C., Medeu, A., Kulbekova, R., & Medeu, A. R. (2022). Water Quality Problems Analysis and Assessment of the Ecological Security Level of the Transboundary Ural-Caspian Basin of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Applied Sciences, 12(4), 2059. https://doi.org/10.3390/app12042059

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