Abundance of buried microplastics in sand profiles and pellet pollution index at Sarakkuwa beach, at west-coast of Sri Lanka was studied as a case study due to the receival of plastic nurdles and debris from the MV X-Press Pearl ship disaster in May 2021. Sand collected at 7 locations to a depth of 2 m in different depths for a beach segment of 200 × 25 m² during October 2021 and sand samples obtained from beach surface during March 2020 from the same location were analyzed for microplastics. Beach was contaminated with 2–5 mm sized partially pyrolyzed LDPE fragments and nurdles demonstrating a peak abundance of 13.3702 g/kg and1 mm-500 μm sized LDPE fragments up to 2.0 m depth. High concentrations of Mo and Cr were observed in the sand collected in 2021. Sarakkuwa beach is critically polluted by nurdles, partially pyrolyzed microplastics, and toxic elements from ship disaster.

The tidal influence on body-size spectrum of the protozoan periphytons was explored by using the conventional slide system (CS) and the polyurethane foam enveloped slide system (PFES) in coastal waters during a 1-month study. During the colonization process, clear temporal patterns of the body-size spectrum were observed using the two sampling methods. In terms of relative species number and frequency of occurrence, the rank S4 represented a more stable temporal variability in the PFES system than the CS system during the colonization. Additionally, the small forms (e.g., S1, S2, and S3) were more abundant in the PFES system. The clustering and bootstrapped average analyses demonstrated differences in body-size spectrum of protozoans between the two sampling systems. Our results imply that the body-size spectrum of protozoan periphytons may be impacted by tidal events during colonization process in marine waters.

The concentrations, sources, and ecological risks of nine trace elements in nine rivers flowing into Laizhou Bay were investigated. The dissolved element concentrations were 1.85–74.4, 0.01–0.47, 0.15–3.46, 1.54–19.7, 2.92–45.1, 1.72–11.5, 1.02–8.35, 0.10–1.02, and 21.4–185 μg/L for As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Sc, Pb, and Zn, respectively. Zinc was the most abundant element in the sediments, with an average concentration of 106 mg/kg, followed by Cr (64.5 mg/kg), Cu (25.5 mg/kg), Pb (24.3 mg/kg), Ni (23.4 mg/kg), Co (10.9 mg/kg), Sc (8.14 mg/kg), As (6.75 mg/kg), and Cd (0.16 mg/kg). Elements including Co, Cr, Ni, and Sc were mainly from natural sources and As, Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn were largely influenced by anthropogenic activities such as agricultural practice, industrial production, river transportation, and urbanization. Overall, the rivers flowing into Laizhou Bay experienced slight pollution and ecological risk. However, the severe element contamination in Jie River deserves continuous attention.

Alterations in mollusc shells have been proposed contamination biomarkers. We used geometric morphometrics analyses associated with analytical determinations of contaminants to select suitable biological models among species widely distributed on coastal zones. The study was carried out using Lottia subrugosa (herbivore limpet), Crassostrea brasiliana (filter-feeder bivalve), and Stramonita brasiliensis (carnivore gastropod) obtained along a marked contamination gradient at Santos Estuarine System (Brazil). L. subrugosa and S. brasiliensis presented distinct shapes along the gradient, while no significant differences in shell form were seen for C. brasiliana. Indeed, limpets and snails presented morphometric parameters consistent with measured contamination levels hazardous substances. Based on cross-validation models, the reliability of morphometric responses was over 75% for the herbivore and carnivore species. In addition, for S. brasiliensis, a 95.2% confidence was detected in most contaminated sites. Therefore, shell alterations on carnivorous gastropods should be further investigated, seeking to be effectively employed as pollution biomarkers.

Potentially hazardous metals (PHMs) in the coastal environment have become a great concern due to their easy bioaccumulation, poor biodegradability and high toxicity. Surface sediment samples were collected in a subtropical bay in South China to analyse the spatial variations, contamination level and potential sources of PHMs. The results indicated that the order of average contents of PHMs in Qinzhou Bay sediment was Zn > Pb > Cr > Cu > As > Hg > Cd. The most important potential ecological risk factor was Hg pollution in the Qinzhou Bay sediments. The positive matrix factorization (PMF) model results indicated that Cu, Pb, Zn, Cd and Cr mainly originated from natural sources while Hg and As were related to coal fired industrial inputs and petroleum production activities. The results could provide a basis for marine management to formulate relevant pollution prevention and control measures.

Human activities have changed the global concentration of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) and significantly altered the marine ecosystem. Little is known about the concentrations of these PTEs around Hainan Island in China, or their distribution and human health risks. Understanding the variability of PTEs in marine sediments and how they accumulate is important not only for biodiversity and ecological conservation, but also for management of aquatic natural resources and human health risk assessments. This study showed that the concentrations of six PTEs (Cd, Cu, Zn, As, Pb, and Hg), sampled in nine different cities, were linked to human activities. In order to understand the ecological risks associated with PTE pollution, we calculated the contamination factor (CF), enrichment factor (EF), pollution load index (PLI), and geo-accumulation index (Igeo) of each element in each city. These indicators suggest that the pollution of Cd and Zn in the sediments of these cities is higher than that of the other PTEs. We also carried out a human health risk assessment which demonstrated the carcinogenic effects of Zn on children and adults in ChengMai, while Pb showed non-carcinogenic effects at all the studied sites, suggesting that Zn pollution in the sediments of ChengMai may pose human health risks. We would therefore advise that follow-up studies endeavor to monitor the levels of PTEs in the flora and fauna of these cities.

Among the main sources of atmospheric mercury emissions are thermoelectric plants that use coal to generate electricity. This heavy metal is transported by air from its origin to neighboring coastal areas, where it is deposited in the sediment record. This research evaluated the content and temporal distribution of Hg in the coastal sediments of Central Chile, Coronel Bay, industrialized zone with two operative thermoelectric plants, and Coliumo Bay, reference zone free of industry. To this end, sediment cores from the centers of the two bays were obtained. Laboratory results show that the greatest Hg contents were found in the surface strata of the Coronel Bay core, with concentrations up to an order of magnitude greater than those obtained in the same strata in Coliumo Bay. This increase in Hg concentration coincides with the beginning of industrial activity in Coronel, with greater concentrations observed from 2012 on, the year in which the industrial operation of two coal-fired thermoelectric plants on the bay began. Based on ²¹⁰Pb activity and the relationships between Hg content and organic matter, it was established that the main pathway of Hg to sediment is atmospheric deposition, while Coliumo presented inputs that reflect local non anthropogenic sources.

Peru has a large small-scale fishing fleet upon which many coastal communities depend for their food and livelihoods. Nonetheless, no thorough assessments have been conducted of solid waste production and management of small-scale fisheries (SSF) and associated communities. We aimed to assess gillnet SSF and household solid waste generation in San Jose, north Peru. A solid waste generation assessment was conducted by monitoring solid waste production during 22 fishing trips and interviewing 70 families. Daily waste generation and recycling per capita, were calculated applying separate Generalized Linear Mixed-Effect Models. Organic waste is the most frequently produced during fishing activities (38%) and at home (83%), followed by plastic and metal. Glass, paper/cardboard, and fishing nets were solely produced during fishing trips. Daily waste per capita was estimated on 0.14 kg∗(day)⁻¹ onboard, and 0.33 kg∗(day)⁻¹ at home. Additionally, perception interviews showed that the population of San Jose perceived solid waste as a threat to public health and marine ecosystems. This study provides a first attempt to assess solid waste production in a Peruvian fishing community, showing the need for an integrated management plan embracing vessel and land-based solid waste generation.

Seagrass carbon emission is mainly due to the land-use change; therefore, conservation will be an approach required for carbon offset. A method for estimating carbon offset from conservation activities has been developed. This study aims to evaluate the carbon-offset potential of the seagrass ecosystem by applying this method to five provinces in Indonesia. North Maluku has the widest seagrass area, but only 5% of this is the conserved area. Meanwhile, Jakarta has the highest percentage of its conserved seagrass within the area. Emission reduction at the year 2020 ranged 0.03–1.02 tC/year (with leakage) or 0.05–2.04 tC/year (without leakage). The percentage of emission reduction among the five provinces ranged from 0.75% to 11.3%. About 9.03 tC/year emission from seagrass ecosystems in Jakarta will decrease by up to 8.01 tC/year. Further assessment shows a positive correlation between the percentage of the conserved area and the percentage of emission reduction.

The present study was conducted to provide a comprehensive picture of marine sediment characterization in terms of geochemistry and the extent of pollution. A total of 99 surface coastal sediments were collected from coastal areas along with the Egyptian Mediterranean Sea. The samples were analyzed by neutron activation analysis (NAA) and the mass fractions in mg/kg of 39 trace elements were determined. The normalized mass fractions show significant amounts of Cl (26.4%), Sn (12%), Zr (7.3%), Hf (5.9%), Ti (4.7%), Cr (4.2%), Ca (3.4%), Si (3.1%), Sr (2.9%). The mass fractions of the rare earth elements REEs (La, Ce, Nd, Sm, Eu, Tb, Dy, Yb, and Lu) are almost double compared to literature data. Principal component analysis PCA and positive matrix factorization PMF were used to decipher the sources of pollutions. Sediment quality was quantified using different pollution indices such as enrichment factor (EF), modified pollution index (MPI), pollution load index (PLI) and the new approach to calculate total pollution index (TPI). The results of the study recognized four locations with significant pollution, namely the coastal area along Al Manzalah Lake, the Nile River estuaries at Ras Elbar and its western coastal area, at the outlet of Elbrullus Lake, and finally the Abu Qir Bay. The obtained result can serve as a geochemical background of the sediments of the study coastal area, which allows following the quality of marine sediments along with the Egyptian Mediterranean Sea.