The release of unburnt coal particles and associated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) may cause adverse impacts on the environment. This study assessed variations in the concentration and composition of PAHs in a set of fifty coal samples from eleven coal basins worldwide. The maximum PAH concentrations at high volatile bituminous rank were recorded in samples from a single basin. Considering the entire sample set, the highest PAH concentrations were in fact found outside of this rank range, suggesting that the maceral composition and thus the coal’s origin also influenced PAH concentrations. The examination of the PAH compositions revealed that alkylated 2–3 ring PAHs remain dominant compounds irrespective of coal rank or origin. Multivariate analysis based on PAH and maceral content, bulk and maturity parameters allowed the recognition of seven groups with different rank and origin within the coal sample set.

Reconstructions of 250 years historical inputs of two distinct types of black carbon (soot/graphitic black carbon (GBC) and char-BC) were conducted on sediment cores from two basins of the Puget Sound, WA. Signatures of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were also used to support the historical reconstructions of BC to this system. Down-core maxima in GBC and combustion-derived PAHs occurred in the 1940s in the cores from the Puget Sound Main Basin, whereas in Hood Canal such peak was observed in the 1970s, showing basin-specific differences in inputs of combustion byproducts. This system showed relatively higher inputs from softwood combustion than the northeastern U.S. The historical variations in char-BC concentrations were consistent with shifts in climate indices, suggesting an influence of climate oscillations on wildfire events. Environmental loading of combustion byproducts thus appears as a complex function of urbanization, fuel usage, combustion technology, environmental policies, and climate conditions.

Perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) measured in surface running waters indicated the existence of different emission sources in eight main city basins. The tap water reflected the contamination pattern and levels in their corresponding source water basins. The daily intakes through tap water consumption ranged from <0.01 to 0.73 ng kg⁻¹ d⁻¹ for perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) and <0.01 to 0.08 ng kg⁻¹ d⁻¹ for perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS). Tap water intake-derived exposure accounted for 8.6%–101% (for PFOA) and while <10% (for PFOS) of total daily exposure, which was estimated from Korean serum concentrations using a pharmacokinetic model. Our findings indicate that tap water intake could be an important contributor to PFOA exposure in Korean populations; accordingly, additional efforts are necessary to improve the removal efficiency of perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) in the water purification process. However, more fundamentally the aim would be to reduce the discharge of PFCs from potential sources within the basin.

Sediment cores from the deep Balearic basin and the Cretan Sea provide evidence for the accumulation of Cd, Pd and Zn in the top few centimeters of the abyssal Mediterranean sea-bottom. In both cores, 206Pb/207Pb profiles confirm this anthropogenic impact with less radiogenic imprints toward surface sediments. The similarity between excess 210Pb accumulated in the top core and the 210Pb flux suggests that top core metal inventories reasonably reflect long-term atmospheric deposition to the open Mediterranean. Pb inventory in the western core for the past 100years represents 20–30% of sediment coastal inventories, suggesting that long-term atmospheric deposition determined from coastal areas has to be used cautiously for mass balance calculations in the open Mediterranean. In the deeper section of both cores, Al normalized trace metal profiles suggest diagenetic remobilization of Fe, Mn, Cu and, to a lesser extent, Pb that likely corresponds to sapropel event S1.

Despite a large number of gas platforms existing in the Adriatic Sea, which is a semi-enclosed basin characterized by a slow turnover rate and increasing industrial as well as other anthropogenic activities, the effects of these structures on the aquatic ecosystem require further investigation. Since 1998, multidisciplinary studies have been performed by CNR-ISMAR to comply with legislation and to support the development of protocols for the monitoring of offshore activities in the Adriatic Sea. The present study was developed to implement a biomonitoring plan to assess the ecotoxicological effects of the extraction activities of an off-shore gas platform. Biomarkers were evaluated in mussels collected from the platform in relation to physiological stress, DNA damage, cellular damage, oxidative stress and exposure effects. Organic contaminants and trace element bioaccumulation were also assessed in the soft body of the mussels to correlate bioaccumulation of pollutants with biomarker responses. The results indicate an absence of platform-related environmental stress.

This study tested the hypothesis that, during recent years, the benthic macroinvertebrate fauna of the large basin of the Swan-Canning Estuary has changed in ways consistent with deteriorating environmental conditions in that estuary. Between 1986/7 and 2003/4, the compositions of that fauna altered markedly at the species and even family levels. Thus, the densities and number of species of molluscs, and especially of crustaceans, which are particularly susceptible to environmental stress, declined, while those of the more tolerant polychaetes increased. However, taxonomic distinctness declined consistently only at one of the four widely-spaced sampling sites and the dispersion of samples did not differ markedly between periods, indicating that the benthic fauna has not undergone such extreme changes as in the nearby Peel-Harvey Estuary. It is thus proposed that benthic macroinvertebrates can act as important indicators of the severity of environmental degradation in microtidal estuaries in regions where such perturbations are increasing.

We examined Cu contamination effects on macrobenthic communities and Cu concentration in invertebrates within Shelter Island Yacht Basin, San Diego Bay, California. Results indicate that at some sites, Cu in sediment has exceeded a threshold for “self defense” mechanisms and highlight the potential negative impacts on benthic faunal communities where Cu accumulates and persists in sediments. At sites with elevated Cu levels in sediment, macrobenthic communities were not only less diverse but also their total biomass and body size (individual biomass) were reduced compared to sites with lower Cu. Cu concentration in tissue varied between species and within the same species, reflecting differing abilities to “regulate” their body load. The spatial complexity of Cu effects in a small marina such as SIYB emphasizes that sediment-quality criteria based solely on laboratory experiments should be used with caution, as they do not necessarily reflect the condition at the community and ecosystem levels.

Waters and sediments from the Potiguar Basin (NE Brazilian coast) were investigated for the presence and nature of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and aliphatic hydrocarbons. The region receives treated produced waters through a submarine outfall system serving the industrial district. The total dispersed/dissolved concentrations in the water column ranged from 10–50ngL⁻¹ for ∑16PAH and 5–10μgL⁻¹ for total aliphatic hydrocarbons. In the sediments, hydrocarbon concentrations were low (0.5–10ngg⁻¹for ∑16PAH and 0.01–5.0μgg⁻¹ for total aliphatic hydrocarbons) and were consistent with the low organic carbon content of the local sandy sediments. These data indicate little and/or absence of anthropogenic influence on hydrocarbon distribution in water and sediment. Therefore, the measured values may be taken as background values for the region and can be used as future reference following new developments of the petroleum industry in the Potiguar Basin.

An ongoing project monitors saline dust transportation and accumulation in the Western Junggar Basin to determine the rate and chemical composition of dust inputs to soils and their impact on snow/ice melt and vegetation degradation of the surrounding areas. The 1-year record from ten dust trap sites in the Ebinur region of northwest China reveals that yearly deposition rates fluctuate strongly between different sampling sites. The mass accumulation rates (fluxes) of the dust, including water-soluble solutes and trace element, range from 79 to 381 g m−2 year−1. With increasing distance from the dry lake bed, dust deposition gradually decreases. The salinity of the dust ranges from about 43 to 185 g kg−1 and the mass-soluble salt fluxes range from 4 to 61 g m−2 year−1. The types of water-soluble salt are different at different sampling sites. In all samples, the major types of water-soluble salts in the dust are sulfates and chlorides. Sulfate and chloride are the major anions while sodium and calcium are the main cations, and nitrate was not found in any dust samples. Potentially toxic trace elements such as Cd, Cr, Pb, Mn, As, Cu, and Ni are present in all samples, with high levels of Cr, Pb, Mn, Cu, and Ni. The dust is a chemical dust in that it consists of dense fine sulfates, chlorides and potentially toxic elements, and causes serious air pollution, resulting in soil salinization and vegetation degradation and accelerating snow/ice melt.

The Illinois River Watershed is a multi-facet basin with ecological and economic importance to its local stakeholders in northwest Arkansas and northeast Oklahoma, USA. The numbers, transport and sources of fecal bacteria in streams was identified as a research priority of the USDA NRI Water and Watershed Program in 2006, and the objective of this study was to evaluate the relation between fecal bacteria and other measured physicochemical parameters in water samples collected from selected sites throughout the Illinois River Watershed. An existing database (i.e., National Water Information Systems, NWIS) from the US Geological Survey (USGS) was used in this project. The data obtained includes discharge, pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen, Escherichia coli (E. coli), fecal coliform, and fecal streptococci among several other physic-chemical parameters. A synthetic model, based on multi-regression analysis, was developed to predict fecal bacteria numbers at these selected sites based on available USGS NWIS data, and the multiple regressions were significant at almost every site for all three bacteria groups. However, the physicochemical parameters used in the equations were very different across sites and fecal bacteria groups, suggesting that the development of such predictive models is site and bacteria group specific even within one watershed.