Samplers made with different materials were tested for the quantitative collection and recovery of mercury halides from the atmospheric air. The tested adsorbent materials included zirconia (ZrO2), titania (TiO2), melted SiO2 (quartz wool) and potassium chloride (KCl). Different processes affecting the sampler efficiency were investigated specifically: breakthrough during sampling because of the surface passivation and loss of already collected mercury halides due to spontaneous reduction or due to the reaction with ozone. Reduction of mercury because of reaction with the atmospheric ozone appeared to be the major cause of the sample loss and it was inherent in all tested materials at a comparable extent. We hypothesized the zirconia layer covered on a ceramic substrate (patented) to be less sensitive to the ozone-caused reduction, inert to gaseous elemental mercury and completely insensitive to atmospheric humidity. In addition, zirconia samplers were highly resistant to heating and they could be used for multiple adsorption/desorption cycles avoiding degradation in the atmospheric air. Key results of the zirconia sampler tests with mercury halides were: the collection efficiency of >98%; reduction with 50 ppb ozone in the first 4 min of exposition to the atmospheric air ─ 6% ±1%; spontaneous reduction at 50 °C in the first 4 min after spiking ─ <0.6%. Along with the above experimental results, some insights into the possible mechanism of interaction of ozone with mercury halides have been provided.

This study reports the occurrence of some endocrine disrupting chemicals in red mullet samples and sediments collected in two representative sites of the northern Sicilian coast (Italy). For this purpose, an improved method, using solid extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography analyses for the simultaneous determination of bisphenol A (BPA), 4-nonylphenol (4-NP) and 4-t-octylphenol (4-t-OP) in fish tissues and sediments, has been developed and validated. Method performance was demonstrated over the concentration range 0.1–200ng/mL, with detection limits from 0.06 to 0.1ng/mL. Recoveries ranged from 83.4% to 102.6%, with relative standard deviations of 7.7–14.0% for the entire procedure.Results showed that BPA, 4-t-OP and 4-NP were detected in all fish samples and sediments from two sampling sites, indicating that these chemicals have contaminated Mediterranean aquatic ecosystem and have accumulated in fish. The study provided more comprehensive fundamental data for risk assessment and contamination control of phenolic EDCs in aquatic environment.

Coolia are marine benthic dinoflagellates which are globally distributed and potentially toxic. This study provides the first investigation of species diversity and toxicity assessment of Coolia in Hong Kong waters. Fifty-one strains of four Coolia species, including C. malayensis, C. canariensis, C. tropicalis, and C. palmyrensis, were isolated from twelve sub-tidal habitats, and identified phylogenetically using 28S rDNA sequences. Exposure experiments (48-hour) demonstrated that the algal lysates extracted from the four Coolia species exhibited different toxic effects on the lethality and abnormality of two invertebrate larvae, i.e., brine shrimp Artemia franciscana and sea urchin Heliocidaris crassispina. Heliocidaris crassispina was more sensitive to the toxic effects of Coolia species than A. franciscana. Toxicity tests from both larvae revealed that C. malayensis was generally more toxic, and caused higher mortality rates when compared with the other three species. The emerging threat of harmful benthic dinoflagellates to marine environments and sensitive biota is discussed.

Aerobic respiration and nitrification are important processes for dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) composition change and CO2 production in human-perturbed coastal waters. On-site incubations and field investigations were conducted in the eastern Jiaozhou Bay, a high-urbanization region, from May to August 2014. Results show that aerobic respiration rates reached 15.58μmolO2L−1d−1, and NH4+ and NO2− oxidation rates were 0.53 and 0.13μmolNL−1d−1, respectively, in the human-perturbed northeastern area. The intense aerobic respiration there contributed to high-concentration NH4+, and meanwhile caused a pH decrease of 0.042units and a pCO2 increase of 166μatm per day. Moreover, the linear relationship between excess CO2 and apparent oxygen utilization suggested that the excess CO2 in the entire eastern Jiaozhou Bay was mainly from the aerobic respiration. This study may help us better understand the role of aerobic respiration in DIN composition and CO2 sink/source pattern in coastal waters.

Reductions of zooplankton biomasses and grazing pressures were observed during overfishing-induced trophic cascades and concurrent oil spills at global scales. Recent phytoplankton increments followed, once Fe-, P-, and N-nutrient limitations of commensal diazotrophs and dinoflagellates were also eliminated by respective human desertification, deforestation, and eutrophication during climate changes. Si-limitation of diatoms instead ensued during these last anthropogenic perturbations of agricultural effluents and sewage loadings. Consequently, ~15% of total world-wide annual asthma trigger responses, i.e. amounting to ~45 million adjacent humans during 2004, resulted from brevetoxin and palytoxin poisons in aerosol forms of western boundary current origins. They were denoted by greater global harmful algal bloom [HAB] abundances and breathing attacks among sea-side children during prior decadal surveys of asthma prevalence, compiled here in ten paired shelf ecosystems of western and eutrophied boundary currents. Since 1965, such inferred onshore fluxes of aerosolized DOC poisons of HABs may have served as additional wind-borne organic carriers of toxic marine MeHg, phthalate, and DDT/DDE vectors, traced by radio-iodine isotopes to potentially elicit carcinomas. During these exchanges, as much as 40% of mercury poisonings may instead have been effected by inhalation of collateral HAB-carried marine neurotoxic aerosols of MeHg, not just from eating marine fish. Health impacts in some areas were additional asthma and pneumonia episodes, as well as endocrine disruptions among the same adjacent humans, with known large local rates of thyroid cancers, physician-diagnosed pulmonary problems, and ubiquitous high indices of mercury in hair, pesticides in breast milk, and phthalates in urine.

Studies on the quality of marine environments in Italy have traditionally favoured heavily impacted areas, such as harbours and industrial areas, while there are few investigations aimed at the evaluation of the presence of organic pollutants in the areas of marine reserve. The aim of this study was to determine endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) in the liver of white seabreams (Diplodus sargus sargus) from the Natural Reserve of Torre Guaceto, Italy. Among EDCs, alkyl-phenols 2,6-DTBP, 2,4-DTBP, OP, and BPA were identified and quantified. The mean concentration of 2,6-DTBP, 2,4-DTBP, OP, and BPA were 2.2, 2.0, 1.2 and 3.6ng/g of liver, respectively, confirming the occurrence and transfer of these organic pollutants in the food web of marine organisms in marine reserves.

Understanding the mental constructs underlying people's social responses, decisions and behaviors is crucial to defining the governance challenges faced in dealing with marine anthropogenic litter. Using interactive governance theory, this study provides qualitative insights into how a small group of Arab-Israeli artisanal fishermen perceive marine litter and its impact (system to be governed) in the context of the socio-institutional structures (governing system) which manage waste and aim to protect the surrounding environment. It demonstrates that, until the relationships between local people and the various governing institutions are transformed, there is little hope for citizen cooperation in reducing marine litter long-term in the case-study site. More generally, underlying narratives and politics playing out at a local level need to be understood in order to identify which interventions are likely to be effective and which are not. An intervention checklist to assess the potential effectiveness of a marine litter intervention is proposed.

With anthropogenic changes, the structure and quantity of nitrogen nutrients have changed in coastal ocean, which has dramatically influenced the water quality. Water quality modeling can contribute to the necessary scientific grounding of coastal management. In this paper, some of the dynamic functions and parameters of nitrogen were calibrated based on coastal field experiments covering the dynamic nitrogen processes in Jiaozhou Bay (JZB), including phytoplankton growth, respiration, and mortality; particulate nitrogen degradation; and dissolved organic nitrogen remineralization. The results of the field experiments and box model simulations showed good agreement (RSD=20%±2% and SI=0.77±0.04). A three-dimensional water quality model of nitrogen (3DWQMN) in JZB was improved and the dynamic parameters were updated according to field experiments. The 3DWQMN was validated based on observed data from 2012 to 2013, with good agreement (RSD=27±4%, SI=0.68±0.06, and K=0.48±0.04), which testifies to the model's credibility.

Microplastics (MPs) are observed to be present on the seafloor ranging from coastal areas to deep seas. Because bioturbation alters the distribution of natural particles on inhabited soft bottoms, a mesocosm experiment with common benthic invertebrates was conducted to study their effect on the distribution of secondary MPs (different-sized pieces of fishing line<1mm). During the study period of three weeks, the benthic community increased MP concentration in the depth of 1.7–5.1cm in the sediment. The experiment revealed a clear vertical gradient in MP distribution with their abundance being highest in the uppermost parts of the sediment and decreasing with depth. The Baltic clam Macoma balthica was the only study animal that ingested MPs. This study highlights the need to further examine the vertical distribution of MPs in natural sediments to reliably assess their abundance on the seafloor as well as their potential impacts on benthic communities.

Three mangroves located in southern Brazil, Carijós (CA), Rio Tavares (RT) and Itacorubi (ITA), with distinct anthropogenic influences, were assessed with regard to the presence of aliphatic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). In this study, the n-alkane concentrations ranged from 1.9μg g−1 (CA) to 55.6μg g−1 (ITA) (dry weight). The carbon preference index (CPI) ranged from 2.1 to 7.9 and values for the terrestrial/aquatic ratio (TAR) were >1. Thus, both indexes indicated the predominance of sediment of terrestrial origin, mainly comprised of higher plants. Concentrations of total PAH ranged from 6.8ng g−1 (RT) to 437.3ng g−1 (ITA). The PAH isomeric ratios indicated that these compounds originated mainly from pyrogenic sources. Nevertheless, levels of n-alkanes in the three mangroves were relatively low and they are considered typical of uncontaminated surface sediments, while the level of contamination with PAH was classified as low to moderate.