The characteristics and sources of organic matter in water of the Lake Shihwa, which receives inputs from rural, urban, and industrial areas, were evaluated by examining the biodegradable organic carbon concentration, fluorescence spectra, and carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios, especially during rainy season and dry season. The organic matter transported from rural areas was of refractory nature, while that of industrial origin decomposed rapidly. As compared to the dry season, the organic matter in the rainy season was characterized by a reduced labile fraction. During the dry season, the autochthonous organic matter dominated in the lake, however, the contributions of allochthonous organic sources by industrial and rural areas significantly increased at rainy season. This investigation revealed that the transport of organic matter of anthropogenic origin to the Lake Shihwa was mainly influenced by heavy rainfall. Moreover, each anthropogenic source could differently influence the occurrence of organic matter in water of the Lake Shihwa.

A sorbent for oil spill cleanup was prepared through a novel strategy by treating polyurethane sponges with silica sol and gasoline successively. The oil sorption capacity, oil/water selectivity, reusability and sorption mechanism of prepared sorbent were studied. The results showed that the prepared sorbent exhibited high sorption capacity and excellent oil/water selectivity. 1g of the prepared sorbent could adsorb more than 100g of motor oil, while it only picks up less than 0.1g of water from an oil–water interface under both static and dynamic conditions. More than 70% of the sorption capacity remained after 15 successive sorption–squeezing cycles, which suggests an extraordinary high reusability. The prepared sorbent is a better alternative of the commercial polypropylene sorbent which are being used nowadays.

The revised Bathing Water Directive (rBWD) introduces more stringent standards for microbial water quality and promotes more pro-active management of the beach environment through the production of a bathing water profile (BWP). The aim of this study was to determine whether living seaweeds in the littoral zone are colonised by faecal indicator organisms (FIOs), and to quantify the survival dynamics of waterborne Escherichia coli in microcosms containing senescing seaweeds. Living seaweed (Fucus spiralis) was not associated with FIO colonisation, although could be providing a protected environment in the underlying sand. Senescing seaweeds enhanced waterborne E. coli survival compared to plastic debris, with the brown seaweed Laminaria saccharina facilitating greater E. coli persistence than either Chondrus crispus or Ulva lactuca. This has important implications for FIO survival on bathing beaches as the majority of beach-cast biomass is composed of brown seaweeds, which could support significant levels of FIOs.

In the artificial reservoir of the Isahaya reclaimed land, Nagasaki, Japan, algal blooms have become an annual event, dominated primarily by the microcystin (MC) producing cyanobacteria Microcystis aeruginosa. Although the majority of MCs are either degraded by bacteria or washed out to sea, some remain in the sediment of the reservoir and bay throughout the year. As a result, they also accumulate in aquatic organisms (mullet, oyster, etc.) that inhabit the reservoir and surrounding areas, as well as midge flies that spend their larval period in the bottom of the reservoir. Accordingly, MCs also accumulate in the predators of these organisms, allowing the toxin to spread from the hydrosphere to terrestrial ecosystems. The most effective method for resolving this potentially dangerous condition is to introduce seawater into the reservoir by opening the drainage gates at high tide.

The degree of pyritization (DOP) and the extension of metals incorporation into pyrite was investigated at Guanabara Bay sediments. Maximum concentrations of total organic carbon (TOC), total sulfur, biopolymers and viable bacteria cells were observed in silted stations close to discharge points of sewage and minimum concentrations at sandy stations at the entrance of the bay. Pyrite iron concentrations (Fepy) was always lower than the reactive iron and Fepy were below the detection limit at sandy stations. The same trend was found to metals, which its degree of pyritization was Mn=Cu>As=Co>Ni>Cd>Zn≫Pb>Cr. The bay gathers all required factors to sulfate reduction and pyrite formation, once the C:S ratio express the reduced tendency conditions, almost half of the TOC present in its sediments is labile and both reactive sulfur and iron are available. However the degree of trace metals pyritization did not exceed 20%, consistent with the median DOP (29%).

A multispecies bloom caused by the centric diatoms, viz. Coscinodiscus radiatus, Chaetoceros lorenzianus and the pennate diatom Thalassiothrix frauenfeldii was investigated in the context of its impact on phytoplankton and microzooplankton (the loricate ciliate tintinnids) in the coastal regions of Sagar Island, the western part of Sundarban mangrove wetland, India. Both number (15–18 species) and cell densities (12.3×103cellsl−1 to 11.4×105cellsl−1) of phytoplankton species increased during peak bloom phase, exhibiting moderately high species diversity (H′=2.86), richness (R′=6.38) and evenness (E′=0.80). The diatom bloom, which existed for a week, had a negative impact on the tintinnid community in terms of drastic changes in species diversity index (1.09–0.004) and population density (582.5×103 to 50×103indm−3). The bloom is suggested to have been driven by the aquaculture activities and river effluents resulting high nutrient concentrations in this region. An attempt has been made to correlate the satellite remote sensing-derived information to the bloom conditions. MODIS-Aqua derived chlorophyll maps have been interpreted.

The Cunha Canal watershed, which is located in the municipality of Rio de Janeiro, suffered severe environmental degradation in recent decades due to rapid urban population growth. However, this substantial growth did not result in social development; instead, it exacerbated existing environmental and social problems. This study aimed to evaluate the pollution of the Canal do Cunha and Guanabara Bay, using GIS for mapping based on the result of the heavy metal concentrations obtained by spectrometry (ICP-OES). The analyzed data were monitored at five collection points. Five heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Cu, Ni and Zn) were evaluated. The results showed that the waters of the Cunha Canal watershed and the west side of Guanabara Bay have been altered and degraded. The concentration of heavy metals in the water was lower than the concentration in the sediments. The behaviors of the studied metals differed during the rainy and dry periods.

This paper deals with the real–world emissions of particle bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) emitted from different religious and ritual burning practices in India. The emission factors (EFs) of various PAHs were characterized over integrated stages of burning practices including pyrolysis, flaming and smoldering. Sampling was carried out in selected five different types of religious and ritual places: Hindu Temples (HT), Muslim Holy shrines (MG), Buddhist Temples (BT), Hindu Marriage Places (MP) and Cremation Centers (Hindu Funeral Pyre) (CC); where burning practices mostly include natural and synthetic biomaterials in different proportions. Seventy PAHs were analyzed and grouped in light PAHs (LPAHs=25) and heavy PAHs (HPAHs=45) according to number of benzene rings present and respective molecular weights. The average EF of total PAHs (TPAHs) from MP, MG, BT, HT and CC is estimated as 77.04±5.39, 99.09±6.02, 90.35±6.76, 22.78±1.57, and 77.15±6.16mg kg−1, respectively. Country level emission budget of particulate bound TPAHs from religious and ritual burning practices has also been evaluated to 0.47Gg yr−1; contributed ~23% of the 2.07Gg yr−1 – Indian emission budget of PAHs from unknown sources reported earlier.

2D URANS CFD simulations were conducted to study the effect of short–time variations of wind velocity on mass transfer rate between street canyons and the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL). A street canyon with a height–to– width ratio (aspect ratio) of three was considered as a case study. The study is of practical interest since it illustrates a skimming flow regime, the regime where pollutants are less effectively exchanged between the canyon and the above atmosphere, typically found in many urban areas in Mediterranean countries. Short–time variations of wind velocity magnitude were simulated assuming a sinusoidal function with average magnitude = 4m s−1; amplitude ±2m s−1 and period from 1 to 40 s, and subsequently with short–time averaged (0.1 s, 1 s and 10 s) real world data measured with an ultrasonic anemometer (50Hz). Mass transfer rate between the canyon and the ABL was evaluated as the rate of reduction of spatially averaged concentration of a passive pollutant, carbon monoxide (CO), in the street canyon. Results show that mass transfer rate increases with the frequency of short–time variations. In CFD studies pertaining to pollutant dispersion in street canyons, wind hourly average velocity is usually assumed as a reference value to simulate real world cases. Our results show that this input data must be completed with additional information about the extent of variation in wind intensity and its frequency in the hour.

In this study, 75 samples of two 210Pb-dated cores from the southwest of the Caspian Sea were analysed for 30 compounds of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The TPAH29 flux of the last six centuries ranged from 16.3 to 177.3 and 22.3 to 426.2ngcm−2y−1 in the Rezvanshahr and Anzali core sediments, respectively. Prior to 1840, four distinct maxima in PAH fluxes (61–426.2ngcm−2y−1) with a low weathered petrogenic pattern were found in each of the core sediments. Simultaneity of distinct peaks of PAH fluxes before 1840 and Caspian Sea level high-stands during the Little Ice Age (LIA), revealed the high importance of this phenomenon in washing and transport of land-based oil pollution into the Caspian Sea. An overall increase in some diagnostic ratios (Flu/202, IP/276 and BaA/228), especially after 1940, indicated increase of pyrogenic PAHs as a result of industrial development in the catchment area.