Physical and biological seabed impacts can persist long after the cessation of marine aggregate dredging. Whilst small-scale experimental studies have shown that it may be possible to mitigate such impacts, it is unclear whether the costs of restoration are justified on an industrial scale. Here we explore this question using a case study off the Thames Estuary, UK. By understanding the nature and scale of persistent impacts, we identify possible techniques to restore the physical properties of the seabed, and the costs and the likelihood of success. An analysis of the ecosystem services and goods/benefits produced by the site is used to determine whether intervention is justified. Whilst a comparison of costs and benefits at this site suggests restoration would not be warranted, the analysis is site-specific. We emphasise the need to better define what is, and is not, an acceptable seabed condition post-dredging.

The concentrations of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were determined in mullet (Liza klunzingeri), water and sediment from northern part of Hormuz strait (Persian Gulf). The concentration levels of total PAHs in L. klunzingeri, water and sediment were 133.99–268.57ngg−1dry weight, 3.12–5.88ngl−1 and 42.29–228.9ngg−1 dry weight, respectively. Based on isomer ratios, analysis of the PAHs source in the sediment demonstrated that the PAHs come from pyrogenic and petrogenic origin. Risk assessment showed PAHs threshold concentrations to occasionally be exceeded in the study area.

We report a large cyst bed of the potentially toxic and bloom-forming dinoflagellate Alexandrium tamarense species complex in bottom sediments from the port of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The average cyst concentrations of that species ranged from 4033±2647 to 220872±148086cystsg−1 of dry sediments and the highest concentrations were found near ship terminals in Bedford Basin. Although this species is endemic to this region, our work strongly suggests that some of the cysts of A. tamarense species complex found in the port of Halifax were introduced through discharged ballast water and sediments.

Total concentrations, chemical fractions by BCR procedure and enrichment factors of nine potential harmful elements (V, Cr, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Mo, Cd and Pb) in surface sediments of the East China Sea (ECS) were investigated. Spatial distributions illustrated that PHEs (potential harmful elements) were mainly from the Changjiang River and the Jiangsu coastal current, except Pb which was influenced by atmospheric input. Sediments in the ECS were moderately polluted with Cd, Pb, Zn and Cu according to their enrichment factors (EFs). Distributions of EFs and labile fractions revealed that anthropogenic Cd and Cu were mainly input though the Changjiang, Pb pollutant was delivered from the Changjiang and atmosphere, while Zn was impacted by terrestrial pollution from the Changjiang and the Hangzhou Bay. Budget calculation showed that the Changjiang contributed 82–90% of PHE influxes. Thirty-eight to 77% of PHEs were buried in sediment, mainly along the inner shelf.

Certain coral reef systems north of the Arabian Gulf are characterized by corals with a unique ability to thrive and flourish despite the presence of crude oil continuously seeping from natural cracks in the seabed. Harboring oil-degrading bacteria as a part of the holobiont has been investigated as a potential mechanism of adaptation and survival for corals in such systems. The use of conventional and molecular techniques verified a predominance of bacteria affiliated with Gammaproteobacteria, Actinobacteria and Firmicutes in the mucus and tissues of Acropora clathrata and Porites compressa. These bacteria were capable of degrading a wide range of aliphatic (C9–C28) aromatic hydrocarbons (Phenanthrene, Biphenyl, Naphthalene) and crude oil. In addition, microcosms supplied with coral samples and various concentrations of crude oil shifted their bacterial population toward the more advantageous types of oil degraders as oil concentrations increased.

The impacts of pollution on marine organisms are often investigated using the viability of their haemocytes. Although this assay is routinely used in monitoring, field and laboratory experimentation, there has been less effort in further optimizing procedures to reduce artefacts and facilitate sampling over large geographic areas.Using the oyster Saccostrea glomerata as a model species, we investigated the effects of different techniques for extracting haemolymph, period of incubation with dye and emersion-time (e.g. tidal-state) on the viability of haemocytes. Collecting haemocytes with a syringe, through a drilled hole in the shell, increased the viability of haemocytes by almost 50%. While emersion-time and incubating haemocytes with the dye for up to 4h did not affect viability.This simple in situ approach provides a less destructive method for extracting haemocytes, allowing their viability to be measured as part of large-scale experiments without jeopardizing the surrounding assemblage of animals and plants.

The spatial pattern and seasonal variation of denitrification were investigated during 2010–2011 in the Jiulong River Estuary (JRE) in southeast China. Dissolved N2 was directly measured by changes in the N2:Ar ratio. The results showed that excess dissolved N2 ranged from −9.9 to 76.4μmolL−1. Tidal mixing leads to a seaward decline of dissolved gaseous concentrations and water–air fluxes along the river-estuary gradient. Denitrification at freshwater sites varied between seasons, associated with changes in N input and water temperature. The denitrification process was controlled by the nitrate level at freshwater sites, and the excess dissolved N2 observed at the tidal zone largely originated from upstream water transport. Compared to other estuaries, JRE has a relative low gaseous removal efficiency (Ed=12% of [DIN]; annual N removal=24% of DIN load), a fact ascribed to strong tidal mixing, coarse-textured sediment with shallow depth before bedrock and high riverine DIN input.

A simple and rapid method for the detection and extraction of oxolinic acid, flumequine, florfenicol and oxytetracycline from marine sediments was developed and validated. The analytes were extracted from the marine sediment using a solution of oxalic acid diluted in methanol with sonication before detection by HPLC using a diode-array detector (florfenicol and oxytetracycline) and fluorescence (oxolinic acid and flumequine). The quantification limits (QL) were 100ng/g for oxytetracycline and florfenicol and 5ng/g for oxolinic acid and flumequine. The coefficients of variation of the repeatability and intermediate precision were less than 10% in all of the analytes. The calibration curves were linear between 50 and 500ng/ml for oxytetracycline and florfenicol and 1 and 20ng/ml for oxolinic acid and flumequine. The recuperation rate for the analytes was above 86%.

The European seas are under anthropogenic pressures impacting the state of water quality, benthic habitats and species. The EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) requires the Member States to assess the impacts of pressures and make a programme of measures leading to good environmental status (GES) by 2020. This study presents a method for assessing the quantity and distribution of anthropogenic impacts on benthic habitats in the Baltic Sea by using spatial data of human pressures and benthic habitats. The southern sub-basins were more extensively impacted than the northern sub-basins. Over the entire sea area, deep sea habitats were more impacted than shallower infralittoral and circalittoral habitats. Sand and coarse sediments were the seabed types relatively most impacted in the Baltic Sea scale. A comparison against tentative thresholds for GES showed that in the sub-basin scale only one third of the habitat types was in GES.

MC252 oil:sand aggregates, termed surface residue balls (SRBs), were sampled for physical, chemical and microbial characteristics from different tidal zones on a coastal headland beach in Louisiana, USA. Supratidal SRBs were smaller, had low moisture content, and salinities that were <2ppt. Intertidal SRBs were hypersaline and had higher N and sulfate concentrations, consistent with regular tidal inundation. Crude oil components were highest in the intertidal “oil mat” SRBs with C1- and C2-phenanthrenes, C2- and C3-dibenzothiophenes comprising the majority of the PAH concentrations. In the other SRB categories, PAHs and alkanes were depleted and profiles were skewed toward higher molecular weight compounds. Oxygen microelectrode measurements demonstrated that saturated O2 is present immediately after wetting, but O2 consumption in the interior of the aggregate occurs after a few days. Microbial populations varied with position on the beach but sequences similar to known PAH-degrading taxa (Mycobacterium sp. and Stenotrophomonas sp.) were observed.