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.

Air quality management in urban areas requires the use of advanced modeling tools, able to predict and evaluate the pollution level under different traffic and meteorological conditions. In the present paper, the Artificial Compressibility version of the Characteristic Based Split algorithm (AC–CBS) was used to assess the performance of the Spalart–Allmaras based Detached Eddy Simulation (SA–DES) model, for the calculation of incompressible turbulent flow in different urban street canyon configurations. To our knowledge, the DES version of the SA turbulence model was applied in this work for the first time for the simulation of turbulent flow in a street canyon. The proposed DES model was able to accurately reproduce the turbulent characteristics of the flow compared with results from real street canyon experiments, wind tunnel experiments, and also to that obtained with RANS simulations. These results are very similar to the ones obtained from Large Eddy Simulation (LES) of street canyons flow reported in some recent publications, but with the potential characteristic of reduced computational costs. The DES approach is very promising for the simulation of transient turbulent flows in urban areas when complex three–dimensional domains are considered. The performance of the DES model evaluated for the mean dimensionless streamwise velocity profiles was comparable to that of Reynolds–Averaged Navier–Stokes RANS approach if referred to Hit Rate (HR) validation metric, and even better if referred to Factor of two observation (FAC2) validation metric. An accurate reproduction of the turbulent flow is crucial for urban pollutant dispersion simulations, since the distribution of the pollutant concentrations could differ by order of magnitude in the different points of the street canyon. DES approach results were able to accurately predict the unsteadiness characteristic of the flow, and to reproduce some minor vortex structures, which were not observed in the RANS cases, that will lead to a more accurate reproduction of the pollutant concentrations.

The term “Unresolved Complex Mixture” (UCM) has been used extensively for decades to describe a gas chromatographic characteristic indicative of the presence of fossil fuel hydrocarbons (mainly petroleum hydrocarbons) in hydrocarbons isolated from aquatic samples. We chronicle the origin of the term. While it is still a useful characteristic for screening samples, more modern higher resolution two dimensional gas chromatography and gas chromatography coupled with advanced mass spectrometry techniques (Time-of-Flight or Fourier Transform-Ion Cyclotron Resonance) should be employed for analyses of petroleum contaminated samples. This will facilitate advances in understanding of the origins, fates and effects of petroleum compounds in aquatic environments.

Effectiveness of oil spill dispersants containing lecithin/Tween 80 (L/T) blends in ethanol was measured as a function of L:T ratio, surfactant:solvent ratio, solvent composition, and dispersant:oil ratio (DOR) using baffled flask dispersion effectiveness tests. Optimal L:T ratios are between 60:40 and 80:20 (w/w); at higher L:T ratios, effectiveness is limited by high interfacial tension, while at lower L:T ratios, insufficient lecithin is present to form a well-packed monolayer at an oil–water interface. These optimal L:T ratios retain high effectiveness at low DOR: 80:20 (w/w) L:T dispersant is 89% effective at 1:25 DOR (v/v) and 77% effective at 1:100 DOR (v/v). Increasing surfactant:solvent ratio increases dispersant effectiveness even when DOR is proportionally reduced to keep total surfactant concentration dosed into the oil constant. Replacing some of the ethanol with octane or octanol also increases dispersant effectiveness, suggesting that ethanol's hydrophilicity lowers dispersant–oil miscibility, and that more hydrophobic solvents would increase effectiveness.

Synergetic use of in–situ measurements, remote sensing observations and model simulations can provide valuable information about atmospheric chemistry and air quality. In this work we present for the first time a qualitative comparison between modeled NO2 concentrations at ground level using dispersion model METI–LIS and tropospheric NO2 columns obtained by mobile DOAS technique. Experimental and modeling results are presented for a Romanian city, Braila (45.26 ° N, 27.95 ° E). In–situ observations of NO2 and meteorological data from four ground stations belonging to the local environmental agency were used to predict the concentration of NO2 at ground level by atmospheric dispersion modeling on two days when mobile DOAS measurements were available. The mobile DOAS observations were carried out using a UV–VIS spectrometer mounted on board a car. The tropospheric Vertical Column Density (VCD) of NO2 is deduced from DOAS observations. The VCD was obtained using complementary ground and space observations. The correlation between model and DOAS observations is described by a correlation coefficient of 0.33. Also, model results based on averaged in–situ measurements for a period of 5 years (2008–2012) are used for an overview of the background NO2 evolution in time and space for the selected urban area.

Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) from the photooxidation of aromatic compounds is a very complex mixture containing products with a different chemical nature that are dependent on aging processes. In this study, we focus on the chemical characterization of major products that are formed from the OH–initiated oxidation of 1,3,5–trimethylbenzene and subsequent aging through OH–initiated reactions in the presence of NOx.The chemical composition of aged particles were measured in real–time by an aerosol laser time of flight mass spectrometer (ALTOFMS) coupled with Fuzzy C–Means (FCM) clustering algorithm. Experimental results demonstrated that methyl glyoxylic acid, 2–methyl–4–oxo–2–pentenoic acid, 3,5–dimethylbenzoic acid, 2–methyl–2,3–dihydroxyl–4–oxo–pentanoic acid, dimethyl–nitrophenol, 3,4–dimethyl–2–hydroxy–3–oxo–pentandioic acid, 2,4–dimethyl–2,3–dihydroxy–6–oxo–4–heptenoic acid, 2,4–dimethyl–4–hydroxy–2,3–epoxy– heptylic acid, 2,4–dimethyl–2,3,4–trihydroxy–5,6–dioxo–heptylic acid, and oligomer components were the predominant products in the aging particles. The possible reaction mechanisms leading to these aged products were also discussed and proposed.

Intertidal benthic ecosystems in estuaries are productive sites where microbial processes play critical roles in nutrients mineralization, primary production and trophic web. In this groundwork study we analyzed the bacterial community of intertidal biofilms from Río de la Plata beaches with different anthropogenic impacts. Several environmental parameters were measured and bacterial assemblages were analyzed by 16S-rDNA pyrosequencing. The average OTU found per sample was 527.3±122.5, showing similar richness and diversity among them. However, sites having the highest and lowest salinity displayed higher bacterial diversity. Assemblages from a site nearby an oil refinery, showing the lowest salinity and oxygen concentration, were clearly distinct from the rest. The weight of this splitting relied on OTUs belonging to Thauera, known by its ability to metabolize aromatic compounds. Our results suggest that intertidal bacterial assemblages would be structured by major estuarine variables such as salinity, and that anthropogenic-induced environmental parameters might also be relevant.

Surface sediments from the central and coastal Beibu Gulf, southern China, were analyzed for persistent organic pollutants. The absence of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB; generally below detection limit), low concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH; 24–647ngg−1), and locally high contamination with organo-chloro pesticides (DDT; 0.03–92ngg−1) reflect the early stages of development in southwest China, with human activities dominated by agriculture and low impact of industry. Concentrations of PCB and PAH indicate no ecological risk, while DDT accumulation poses a probable toxic risk in coastal but not in shelf sediments. Diagnostic ratios suggest PAH originating mainly from combustion of biomass and diesel fuels, and recent DDT use in agriculture and antifouling paint. Distribution patterns along the coastal-shelf-gradient indicate mainly airborne transport of PAH and waterborne transport of DDT. In the central Gulf, also water column samples reveal low concentrations of PAH (1.7–7.8ngL−1) and DDT (0.006–0.053ngL−1).

Posidonia oceanica is a marine angiosperm endemic from the Mediterranean. Despite their protection, its meadows are regressing. The economic valuation of ecosystem services (ES) assesses the contribution of ecosystems to human well-being and may provide local policy makers help in territorial development. To estimate the economic value of P. oceanica seagrass and the meadows that it forms to better account its presence in coastal development, identification and assessment of ES provided are first performed. Then goods and benefits (GB) and their economical values are estimated. In total, 25ES are identified and 7GB are economically evaluated. The economic value of GB provided by P. oceanica ranges between 25.3 million and 45.9 million€/year which means 283–513€/ha/year. Because of the lack of existing available data, only 7GB linked to 11/25ES have been estimated. Despite this overall undervaluation, this study offers a value for coastal development policies to take into account.

This study quantifies the effect of oil layer thickness on entrainment and dispersion of oil into seawater, using a plunging jet with a camera system. In contrast to what is generally assumed, we revealed that for the low viscosity “surrogate MC252 oil” we used, entrainment rate is directly proportional to layer thickness. Furthermore, the volume of stably suspended small oil droplets increases with energy input (plunge height) and is mostly proportional to layer thickness. Oil pre-treated with dispersants (dispersant-oil ratio ranges from 1:50 to 1:300) is greatly entrained in such large amounts of small droplets that quantification was impossible with the camera system. Very low interfacial tension causes entrainment by even minor secondary surface disturbances. Our results indicate that the effect of oil layer thickness should be included in oil entrainment and dispersion modelling.