Contaminant concentrations are reported for surface water, sediment, flora and fauna collected during 2010–2011 from the mangrove fringe along eastern Tampa Bay, Florida. Concentrations of trace metals, chlorinated pesticides, atrazine, total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and polychlorinated biphenyls were species-, chemical- and location-specific. Contaminants in sediments did not exceed proposed individual sediment quality guidelines. Most sediment quality assessment quotients were less than one indicating the likelihood of no inhibitory effect based on chemical measurements alone. Faunal species typically contained more contaminants than plant species; seagrass usually contained more chemicals than mangroves. Bioconcentration factors for marine angiosperms were usually less than 10 and ranged between 1 and 31. Mercury concentrations (ppm) in blue crabs and fish did not exceed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency fish tissue criterion of 0.3 and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration action level of 1.0. In contrast, total mercury concentrations in faunal species often exceeded guideline values for wildlife consumers of aquatic biota.

We examined the synergistic effects of CO2 injection on electro-chlorination in disinfection of plankton and bacteria in simulated ballast water. Chlorination was performed at dosages of 4 and 6ppm with and without CO2 injection on electro-chlorination. Testing was performed in both seawater and brackish water quality as defined by IMO G8 guidelines. CO2 injection notably decreased from the control the number of Artemia franciscana, a brine shrimp, surviving during a 5-day post-treatment incubation (1.8 and 2.3 log10 reduction in seawater and brackish water, respectively at 6ppm TRO+CO2) compared with water electro-chlorinated only (1.2 and 1.3 log10 reduction in seawater and brackish water, respectively at 6ppm TRO). The phytoplankton Tetraselmis suecica, was completely disinfected with no live cell found at >4ppm TRO with and without CO2 addition. The effects of CO2 addition on heterotrophic bacterial growth was not different from electro-chlorination only. Total residual oxidant concentration (TRO) more rapidly declined in electro-chlorination of both marine and brackish waters compared to chlorine+CO2 treated waters, with significantly higher amount of TRO being left in waters treated with the CO2 addition. Total concentration of trihalomethanes (THMs) and haloacetic acids (HAAs) measured at day 0 in brackish water test were found to be 2- to 3-fold higher in 6ppm TRO+CO2-treated water than in 6ppm TRO treated water. The addition of CO2 to electro-chlorination may improve the efficiency of this sterilizing treatment of ballast water, yet the increased production of some disinfection byproducts needs further study.

‘Collect once, use often’ is a frequently cited principle in both national and international efforts to promote the collection, archiving and sharing of marine monitoring data. Since the implementation of the Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ) evidence collection programme, 67 recommended MCZ sites have been visited and a suite of marine data collected. Here we present how this dataset was utilised outside of the MCZ programme to identify occurrences of non-indigenous species (NIS) around the UK coast. One hundred and thirty-five aquatic species from the Non-native Species Information Portal (NNSIP) register were used to produce a standard list of NIS against which, infauna and epifaunal data records from the MCZ project were compared. A total of 20 NIS were identified across 42 of the 67 sites surveyed. This study demonstrates that with sufficient coordination and management data collected for other purposes can be easily utilised to address additional policy requirements.

In New Caledonia, semi-intensive shrimp farms release untreated effluents into the mangrove. Foraminiferal assemblages were analyzed for assessing the impact of effluent release on the benthic compartment. Comparison was made between samples collected (1) in an effluent receiving mangrove before and after the rearing cycle, and (2) for one-year monitoring an effluent receiving and a control mangrove. The distribution of foraminiferal assemblages was primarily driven by the gradient between Rhizophora stands and salt-flats, related to salinity and tidal elevation, and by seasonal cycles. The potential impact of effluent release was due to the combined effects of normal-saline effluents on surface salinity, and of nutrient input and microbial stimulation on food availability. Foraminiferal assemblages did not indicate a substantial impact of farm effluents and suggest that semi-intensive shrimp farming using mangrove for effluent discharge may appear as a sustainable solution in New Caledonia, when considering only the impact on the mangrove itself.

Persistent organic pollutants (i.e. PCBs, DDTs, and HCHs) were analyzed along Australia and New Zealand North Island coastlines. PCB concentrations were high in urban areas (107–294ng/g-pellet), with Sydney Harbour the most polluted. Hepta-chlorinated PCB was abundant, with ~30% in urban areas suggesting legacy pollution. DDT concentrations showed similar pattern except in rural agricultural sites, Taupo Bay and Ahipara, New Zealand (23 and 47ng/g-pellet). p,p′-DDE predominance at these 2 sites suggested historical input; they also had high HCH concentrations (17 and 29ng/g-pellet). The role of International Pellet Watch (IPW) in science communication was studied through feedbacks from IPW volunteers, case studies and examples. IPW data were categorized into understandable terms and tailored reports based on volunteers' backgrounds complemented with pollution maps. The effectiveness of IPW science communication has led to its use in awareness and education activities focusing on both POPs and plastic debris issues.

The level of fecal pollution in 17 sites in Puerto Rico was determined by Escherichia coli (E. coli) enumeration using an enzyme substrate medium and Quanti-Tray®/2000. Human fecal pollution was identified using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the detection of carbamazepine (CBZ) and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) detection of the human Bacteroides marker, HF183. Carbamazepine was detected in 16 out of 17 sites, including Condado Lagoon, a popular recreational area. Elevated E. coli levels (>410CFU100mL−1) were detected in 13 sites. Average CBZ concentrations ranged from 0.005μgL−1 to 0.482μgL−1 and 7 sites were positive for HF183. Higher CBZ concentrations were associated with the detection of HF183 (Mann–Whitney test; U=42.0; df=7; 1-tailed P value=0.013). This was the second study to determine surface water concentrations of CBZ in the Caribbean and the first in Puerto Rico.

Estrogenic activity of 12 sediment samples from Liaohe River protected areas was evaluated by the recombinant yeast bioassays. The bioassay-derived 17β-estradiol equivalents of crude extracts (Bio-EEQcrudes) were between 52.2 and 207.6pg/g dry weight. The most concerned estrogenic receptor (ER) agonists including estrone (E1), 17β-estradiol (E2), estriol (E3), 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2), 4-nonylphenols (4-NP), bisphenol A (BPA), and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) were determined. The concentrations of E1, E2, E3, EE2, BPA, andΣ10OCPs ranged up to 203.3pg/g, 185.8pg/g, 237.7pg/g, 188.5pg/g, 51.0ng/g, and 3.6ng/g, respectively. Taken together with polarity-based fractionation, in vitro bioassay and chemical analysis, it indicated that E1, E2, and EE2 were the predominant ER agonists and were mainly from the discharge of domestic wastewater and breeding wastewater. Meanwhile, this study showed that the establishment of protected areas had not obviously reduced the ecological risk caused by ER agonists in Liaohe River protected areas sediments.

Cu smelting has had a severe impact on the environment around the town of Karabash, Russia. Dispersion modelling has been carried out to estimate atmospheric fallout of metals and metalloids (henceforth termed metals for brevity) from the copper smelter, calibrated and ground-truthed using metal concentrations in transplanted and naturally growing lichens.Lichens (Hypogymnia physodes) were transplanted in June 2011 from a relatively little impacted ‘reference site’ to stations in NE–SW and W–E transects centred on the smelter at Karabash. The transplants were removed during September 2011 and then analysed for As, Cu and Pb. The results were compared with deposition loads estimated using TAPM modelling which was carried out for particles of various sizes, and with simple chemistries, and with the smelter conceptualised as a continuously emitting point source.Variation in the ratio of lichen divided by modelled concentrations was lowest for Pb, ranging from 30.3 to 939.9 and 4.9–107.8 for PM2.5 and PM10, respectively, across eight sample points.The TAPM modelling is in agreement with previous studies that smelter emissions are the major source of environmental Pb deposition around Karabash. Further modelling will be required to determine whether the Pb in the lichens is largely sourced from current smelter airborne emissions or windblown soil particles containing historic additions of Pb.

Biological effects of wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents were investigated in Baltic mussels (Mytilus trossulus) caged for one month 800m and 1100m from the WWTP discharge site and at a reference site 4km away. Significant antioxidant, genotoxic and lysosomal responses were observed close to the point of the WWTP discharge. Passive samplers (POCIS) attached to the cages indicated markedly higher water concentrations of various pharmaceuticals at the two most impacted sites. Modeling the dispersal of a hypothetical passive tracer compound from the WWTP discharge site revealed differing frequencies and timing of the exposure periods at different caging sites. The study demonstrated for the first time the effectiveness of the mussel caging approach in combination with passive samplers and the application of passive tracer modeling to examine the true exposure patterns at point source sites such as WWTP pipe discharges in the Baltic Sea.

A methodology for quantifying areas of spatial representativeness of air quality monitoring station is here proposed, exploiting the wide spatial and temporal coverage of chemical transport models results. The method is based on the analysis of time series of model concentrations, extracted at monitoring sites and around, by means of a Concentration Similarity Function (CSF). The method was tested on AMS-MINNI model results, covering Italy and three reference years (2003, 2005, 2007), for assessing the spatial representativeness of PM2.5 and O3 rural background monitoring stations. The CSF methodology shows good performances in describing both the extension and the shape of representativeness areas, taking into account the difference between pollutants and the dependence on averaging time and temporal interval of concentration data. Results show a large variability in the size and shape of the selected stations in Italy, ranging from 220 to 4500 km2. This confirms the importance of carrying out ad-hoc analyses on monitoring stations, as general a priori classifications and qualitative assessments of spatial representativeness are not able to fully capture the complexity of different territorial contexts.