Intensive fire ignition and cracker work activities takes place during the festival of light called Diwali in India, celebrated for a period of few days in the month of October or November every year. The firecracker releases several pollutants [such as particulate matter (PM), black carbon (BC), organics, trace gases] near the surface. The effect of firecrackers on the atmospheric constituents is evaluated over Dibrugarh by monitoring the concentrations of PM, PM10 (particle radius ≤10 µm), PM2.5 (particle radius ≤2.5 µm) and BC during the Diwali and post-Diwali days (5 days after the Diwali Festival) in the years 2009 and 2010. Monthly average concentrations of each species except for the Diwali and post Diwali days is considered as the background concentrations. The concentration levels of the pollutants as recorded on the Diwali days are found to be a number of times higher (5.33 and 2.50 times for PM10, 5.74 and 2.65 times for PM2.5, 1.21 and 1.66 times for BC for the year 2009 and 2010, respectively) than the background levels at the peak hours of the fire work activity. To delineate the contribution of fireworks to the high concentrations of the species we performed air mass back trajectory analysis using the NOAA–HYSPLIT model in order to examine the existence of the transported aerosols. The ten day accumulated MODIS fire maps are also analyzed to mark out the contribution of aerosols from biomass burning. These analyses reveal that the higher concentrations of near surface aerosols including BC during the festival is due to the local effect of firework activities, neither because of long–range transport nor due to biomass burning activities. However, the higher concentration of pollutants for short periods has not degraded air quality substantially to cause health risks to people exposed to the festival in this environment.

Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s broad-spectrum herbicide Roundup, consists of one of the most used pesticides worldwide, but its effects on the marine flora are still not well understood. Were examined Roundup toxic effects on Ruppia maritima specimens collected from Jansen Lagoon (São Luís, MA, Brazil) and acclimatized under laboratory conditions. The numbers of new and dead leaves, the root and leaf length, the chlorophyll a content, and the weight of R. maritima branches were determined before and after exposure to different Roundup concentrations for seven days. High concentrations caused a significant lethal effect. In addition, significant changes were observed in the wet and dry weights, the number and length of the leaves, and the chlorophyll a content. Leaf elongation was observed in the branches exposed to low concentrations, and this change was likely activated as a compensatory mechanism. The results indicate that high concentrations of this herbicide may compromise estuarine flora.

A comprehensive basin wide hydrodynamic evaluation has been carried out to assess the long term impacts of climate change and coastal effluents on the salinity and seawater temperature of the Arabian Gulf (AG) using Delft3D-Flow model. The long term impacts of climate change scenarios A2 and B1 of the IPCC-AR4 on the AG hydrodynamics were evaluated. Using the current capacity and production rates of coastal desalination, power, and refinery plants, two projection scenarios until the year 2080 with 30year intervals were developed namely the realistic and the optimistic discharge scenarios. Simulations of the individual climate change scenarios ascertained overall increase of the AG salinity and temperature and decrease of precipitation. The changes varied spatially with different scenarios as per the depth, proximity to exchange with ocean water, flushing, vertical mixing, and flow restriction. The individual tested scenarios of coastal projected discharges showed significant effects but within 10–20km from the outfalls.

Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) were first proposed in the 1980s for drinking water treatment and later were widely studied for treatment of different wastewaters. During the AOP treatment of wastewater, hydroxyl radicals (OH·) or sulfate radicals (SO₄ ·⁻) are generated in sufficient quantity to remove refractory organic matters, traceable organic contaminants, or certain inorganic pollutants, or to increase wastewater biodegradability as a pre-treatment prior to an ensuing biological treatment. In this paper, we review the fundamental mechanisms of radical generation in different AOPs and select landfill leachate and biologically treated municipal wastewater as model wastewaters to discuss wastewater treatment with different AOPs. Generally, the treatment efficiencies rely heavily upon the selected AOP type, physical and chemical properties of target pollutants, and operating conditions. It would be noted that other mechanisms, besides hydroxyl radical or sulfate radical-based oxidation, may occur during the AOP treatment and contribute to the reduction of target pollutants. Particularly, we summarize recent advances in the AOP treatment of landfill leachate, as well as advanced oxidation of effluent organic matters (EfOM) in biologically treated secondary effluent (BTSE) for water reuse.

We determined the contributions of photooxidation and biodegradation to the weathering of Light Louisiana Sweet crude oil by incubating surface water from the Deepwater Horizon site under natural sunlight and temperature conditions. N-alkane biodegradation rate constants were ca. ten-fold higher than the photooxidation rate constants. For the 2–3 ring and 4–5 ring polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), photooxidation rate constants were 0.08–0.98day−1 and 0.01–0.07day−1, respectively. The dispersant Corexit enhanced degradation of n-alkanes but not of PAHs. Compared to biodegradation, photooxidation increased transformation of 4–5 ring PAHs by 70% and 3–4 ring alkylated PAHs by 36%. For the first time we observed that sunlight inhibited biodegradation of pristane and phytane, possibly due to inhibition of the bacteria that can degrade branched-alkanes. This study provides quantitative measures of oil degradation under relevant field conditions crucial for understanding and modeling the fate of spilled oil in the northern Gulf of Mexico.

Coral skeletons record historical trace metal levels in the environment, however, the use of coral skeletal records for biomonitoring studies mostly fail to consider the influence of metal regulation by the living components of coral and subsequent incorporation into the skeleton. This study presents Exaiptasia pallida as a representative of the living components of coral and shows metal partitioning between the tissue and zooxanthellae after chronic exposure to Zn. A strong tendency for preferential accumulation in the zooxanthellae occurred after 32days exposure and Zn concentrations in tissue and zooxanthellae were 123.3±0.7mgkg−1 and 294.9±8.5 respectively. This study shows zooxanthellae density plays an important role in controlling Zn loading in whole anemones and must be considered when investigating metal uptake and loading in zooxanthellate organisms. Further studies that investigate links between aragonite deposition rates and zooxanthellae density and incorporation pathways of metals into skeleton are warranted.

Marine debris is a global issue that can have devastating impacts on marine mammals. To understand the types of materials that result in entanglement and thus the potential impact of entangling items on marine wildlife, we analysed data collected from items in which Australian fur seals had been entangled in southern Victoria, Australia over a 15year period. From 1997 to 2012, 138 entangling items were removed from seals. The majority of these entanglements were plastic twine or rope, and seals were entangled in green items more than in any other colour. In general, younger seals were more likely to be entangled than adults. Understanding the effects of marine debris entanglement on the Australian fur seal population can lead to more effective management of the sources of debris and the wildlife that interact with it.

To control algae bloom and eutrophication in the tropical semi-closed harbor of the Hongsha Bay in Sanya, China, polyculture systems with macroalgae Eucheuma gelatinae and bivalves Gafrarium tumidum were studied. First, nine polyculture combinations with E. gelatinae and G. tumidum were selected in a pool. Two combinations were then chosen by response surface analysis and used for further study to validate their effect on controlling the microalgae density and reducing the nutrition concentration in the pool. Subsequently, the two selected combinations were used to study the effect on the purification of eutrophic seawater and control of algae bloom in a sea mesocosm. The results indicated that polyculture with E. gelatinae and G. tumidum enhanced the purification of eutrophic seawater and control of algae bloom. These two polyculture combinations are considered suitable for the Hongsha Bay of Sanya in China. The two combinations present an excellent effect on controlling the microalgae density and reducing the nutrition concentration.

We investigated the bacterial accumulation and digestion capability of Polyandrocarpa zorritensis, a non-indigenous colonial ascidian originally described in Peru and later found in the Mediterranean. Microbiological analyses were carried out on homogenates from “unstarved” and “starved” ascidians and seawater from the same sampling site (Adriatic Sea, Italy). Culturable heterotrophic bacteria (22°C), total culturable bacteria (37°C) and vibrios abundances were determined on Marine Agar 2216, Plate Count Agar and TCBS Agar, respectively. Microbial pollution indicators were measured by the most probable number method. All the examined microbiological groups were accumulated by ascidians but differently digested. An interesting outcome is the capability of P. zorritensis to digest allochthonous microorganisms such as coliforms as well as culturable bacteria at 37°C, counteracting the effects of microbial pollution. Thus, the potential exploitation of these filter feeders to restore polluted seawater should be taken into consideration in the management of this alien species.

In 2011–2012, the concentrations of bisphenol A (BPA), 4-tert-octylophenol (OP) and 4-nonylphenol (NP) in surface and near-bottom water of the Gulf of Gdansk, as well as inflowing rivers, were similar to those in other regions of Europe; BPA from <5.0 to 277.9ngdm−3, OP from <1.0 to 834.5ngdm−3, and NP from <4.0 to 228.6ngdm−3. The atmospheric transportation of phenol derivatives and their deposition into the water of the gulf was indicated by high enrichment factor values (EF) in the sea surface microlayer in relation to the sub-surface layer.The main route of BPA, OP and NP transportation into the waters of the Gulf of Gdansk is the River Vistula. In spring, significant amounts of bisphenol A and 4-nonylphenol were introduced to the coastal zone with meltwater. The main factors affecting the variability of BPA, OP and NP concentrations in surface and near-bottom water, particularly in summer, were increased tourism in the coastal region, water temperature and dissolved oxygen concentration.