Despite many previous in situ estimates of horizontal diffusivity below the sea surface, horizontal diffusivity at the sea surface, which is a parameter required in the prediction of oil diffusion, has not been formulated. This study conducted in situ estimations to quantify horizontal diffusivity at the sea surface. To measure the horizontal diffusivity at and below the sea surface, clusters of thin sponge rubbers (simulating spilled oil), together with drifting buoys, were deployed on successive occasions in Sagami Bay, Japan. The experimental results revealed that horizontal diffusivity was larger at the sea surface than below. Based on the results, a procedure for estimating horizontal diffusivity at the sea surface was introduced to predict the diffusion of spilled oil, which was verified using numerical simulations. The simulation results showed good agreement with observations, suggesting the procedure is appropriate for the estimation of horizontal diffusivity at the sea surface.

Total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN) contents, their stable C and N isotope ratio (δ13C and δ15N), and chlorophyll a ([Chl a]sed) of surface sediments were investigated monthly to identify the seasonal variations and sources of organic matter in Tokyo Bay. The sedimentary TOC (TOCsed) and TN (TNsed) contents, and the sedimentary δ13C and δ15N (δ13Csed and δ15Nsed) values were higher in summer than other seasons. The seasonal variations were controlled by high primary production in the water column and hypoxic water in the bottom water during summer. The fraction of terrestrial and marine derived organic matter was estimated by Bayesian mixing model using stable isotope data and TOC/TN ratio. Surface sediments in Tokyo Bay are dominated by marine derived organic matter, which accounts for about 69±5% of TOCsed.

This work presents the results of observation and the numerical simulation relationship between columnar and surface aerosol optical properties. The presented data include sun photometer nephelometer, aethalometer, and ceilometer observation, as well as the Navy Aerosol Analysis and Prediction System (NAAPS) re-analysis obtained between 2013 and 2016. Measurements were made in Strzyzow station (south-eastern part of Poland), which belongs to the AERONET and Poland-AOD network. Observation and simulation data show that the correlation coefficient between aerosol optical depth and surface aerosol scattering coefficient depends on the averaging period. For the monthly mean both parameters are negatively correlated as a result of the seasonal variability of anthropogenic emission in Central Europe and long-range transport of natural aerosol, as well as the change of the meteorological conditions. Reduction of the averaging time leads to an increase in the correlation coefficient, which is almost zero for a 10-day period and 0.4 ± 0.05 when the six-hour data are selected. In addition, the correlation between columnar and surface aerosol optical properties shows significant variation with surface temperature gradient. During convective conditions the correlation coefficient between aerosol optical depth and aerosol scattering coefficient is as much as 0.89 ± 0.03 while during inversion it is approximately 0.48 ± 0.08.

New particle formation (NPF) has been expected to be less favored in the polluted atmosphere than in the clean atmosphere. However, highly polluted regions in developing countries like China and India are becoming hot spots of NPF. Understanding nucleation and growth mechanisms of aerosol particles in polluted environments have important implications in their global climate impact and health effect. This paper reviewed recent publications from atmospheric field and laboratory measurements under conditions relevant to the polluted atmosphere. NPF probability in polluted environments was discussed by exploring the uncertainties in coagulation sink and growth rate estimations. Future directions and challenges in understanding NPF in highly polluted environments are presented.

In this work, Erythromycin A(EA)- degrading bacteria was isolated from the contaminated soil obtained from a pharmaceutical factory in China. The isolate designated as strain WX-J1 was identified as Ochrobactrum sp. by sequence analysis of its 16S rDNA gene. It can grow in a medium containing EA as the sole source of carbon and its optimal growth pH and temperature were 6.5 and 32°C, respectively. Under these conditions, when the initial Erythromycin A concentration was 100mg·L−1, 97% of Erythromycin A has been degraded. HPLC–MS analyses indicated that Erythromycin A degradation produced intermediates contained the following three substances: 3-depyranosyloxy erythromycin A, 7,12-dyhydroxy-6-deoxyerythronolide B, 6-deoxyerythronolide B and propionaldehyde. Since Erythromycin A-degrading Ochrobactrum sp. strain rapidly degraded Erythromycin A, this strain might be useful for bioremediation purposes.

In this paper, we examined the ingestion of marine debris (MD) in South American fur seals (SAFS), Arctocephalus australis, found dead in coastal beaches of northern Argentina and southern Brazil. Seven percent of 133 SAFS analyzed presented marine debris in their stomach (n=10), with no differences between sampling countries (Brazil n=7, Argentina n=3) and sexes (female=3; male=6). However, significant differences were observed between ages classes, with MD exclusively present in stomach contents of young specimens. Plastics represents 90% of MD ingested by the SAFS, whereas regarding the source, fishery-related items (e.g. monofilament lines) were the main MD (70%), with a lesser proportion of packaging (e.g. pieces of bags). Low numbers but large size pieces of MD were found in each stomach affected. Negative effects on the individuals could not be fully evaluated. Therefore, the potential impacts of the marine debris to the SAFS deserve further elucidation.

Simulated column was applied to research forming progress of single oil droplet in submerged process, floating progress, and study effects of environment factors and dispersants on the concentration of oil hydrocarbon in water as well as changing rules of oil droplet sizes. As expected, particular formation mechanism of single oil droplet was presented. When necking down length L is 0.5 time of oil droplet diameter (d) after expansion phase, necking down becomes long and thin; when L=2d, necking down begins to break. In floating progress, the shape changes oval and its motion trail becomes an auger-type. Fluctuation occurs at horizontal direction. Dispersants decrease oil droplet size by its dispersion effect, and cut down effect of Van Der Waals force among oil droplets. More broadly, these findings provide rare empirical evidence expounding formation mechanism of single oil droplet to increasing ability of oil spill response.

Road traffic emission factors (EFs) are important parameters in managing air quality. Estimation typically requires data from advanced (and expensive) monitoring systems which remain unavailable in some regions (e.g. in developing countries). In this context, the use of simpler (lower-cost) systems may be more appropriate, but it is essential to guarantee the robustness of EF estimations. This article describes a methodology designed to estimate vehicle EFs from street canyon measurements of traffic fluxes, wind speed and direction, and pollutant concentration levels by using low-cost devices, all samples at a one-minute interval. We use different moving window filters (time periods) to average the raw measurements. Applying standard multiple linear regressions (MRL) and principal component regressions (PCR), we show that there is an optimal smoothing level that best relates traffic episodes and pollutant concentration measurements. An application for PM10's EFs on four vehicle categories of Havana's fleet shows a preference for PCR over MLR techniques since it reduced the collinearity effects that appear when traffic fluxes are naturally correlated between vehicle categories. The best regression fits (R > 0.5 and standard deviation of estimates < 15%) were obtained by averaging data between 40′ and 60’; within the boundaries of 95% confidence interval motorcycles have an EF = 111.1 ± 2.7 mg km−1 veh−1; modern, light vehicles have an EF = 90.6 ± 11.2 mg km−1 veh−1; old, light vehicles have an EF = 125.4 ± 18.5 mg km−1 veh−1 and heavy vehicles have an EF = 415.1 ± 31.2 mg km−1 veh−1. We showed that upgrading old light vehicles is a promising scenario for reducing PM10 air pollution in Havana by between 10 and 17%.

Levels of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and novel brominated flame retardants (NFRs) were measured in ambient outdoor air, indoor air and indoor dust collected in homes and offices at urban, semi-urban and rural locations in Istanbul, Turkey. Indoor air levels of Σ12PBDEs in homes and offices ranged from 36 to 730 pg/m3 and 160 to 10 100 pg/m3, respectively, while levels of Σ12NFRs ranged from 180 to 7600 pg/m3 and 180 to 42 400 pg/m3, respectively. Outdoor air levels ranged from 110 to 620 pg/m3 for Σ12PBDEs and 750 to 2800 pg/m3 for Σ12NFRs. I/O ratios that are greater than 1 suggest that air concentrations detected in indoor environments are mainly from indoor sources. Indoor dust levels in homes and offices of Σ12PBDEs ranged from 400 to 12 500 ng/g and 330 to 32 200 ng/g respectively and levels of Σ12NFRs ranged from 320 to 31 400 ng/g and 910 to 97 900 ng/g, respectively. The I/O ratios >1 for PBDEs and NFRs may indicate that emissions of these chemicals detected in homes and offices are mainly from indoor sources. Due to childrens' frequent hand-to-mouth behaviour, lower body weight and increased dust ingestion rate compared to adults, exposure rates to target chemicals for children were greater than those of adults. Based on median concentrations of chemicals of interest in dust and air samples from Istanbul, we estimate that exposure rates of children to PBDEs and NFRs are up to 160 times higher compared to adults but none of the estimated exposure rates results for children or adults were than the recommended daily oral reference dose values of certain analytes.

We examined spatiotemporal variations of metal levels and three growth related biomarkers, i.e., RNA/DNA ratio (RD), total energy reserve (Et) and condition index (CI), in green-lipped mussels Perna viridis transplanted into five locations along a pollution gradient in the marine environment of Hong Kong over 120days of deployment. There were significant differences in metal levels and biomarker responses among the five sites and six time points. Mussels in two clean sites displayed better CI and significantly lower levels of Ag, Cu, Pb and Zn in their tissues than the other sites. Temporal patterns of RD in P. viridis were found to be site-specific. Across all sites, Et decreased in P. viridis over the deployment period, though the rate of decrease varied significantly among the sites. Therefore, temporal variation of biomarkers should be taken to consideration in mussel-watch programs because such information can help discriminate pollution-induced change from natural variation.