Enrichment of reef environments with dissolved inorganic nutrients is considered a major threat to the survival of corals living in symbiosis with dinoflagellates (Symbiodinium sp.). We argue, however, that the direct negative effects on the symbiosis are not necessarily caused by the nutrient enrichment itself but by the phosphorus starvation of the algal symbionts that can be caused by skewed nitrogen (N) to phosphorus (P) ratios. We exposed corals to imbalanced N:P ratios in long-term experiments and found that the undersupply of phosphate severely disturbed the symbiosis, indicated by the loss of coral biomass, malfunctioning of algal photosynthesis and bleaching of the corals. In contrast, the corals tolerated an undersupply with nitrogen at high phosphate concentrations without negative effects on symbiont photosynthesis, suggesting a better adaptation to nitrogen limitation. Transmission electron microscopy analysis revealed that the signatures of ultrastructural biomarkers represent versatile tools for the classification of nutrient stress in symbiotic algae. Notably, high N:P ratios in the water were clearly identified by the accumulation of uric acid crystals.

The necessity of having a process in place for adequate risk assessment of shipwrecks that pose a threat to the marine environment is today internationally acknowledged. However, retrieving the desired data for such a risk assessment can prove challenging. One means of addressing this problem is to make use of experts' knowledge and experience. The purpose of this paper is therefore to present and analyse data for risk assessment of shipwrecks derived by expert elicitation. The main outcome is the experts' estimations of (i) the generic probability of an opening in a shipwreck due to the occurrence of a number of activities and (ii) estimations of the degree to which site-specific and wreck-specific indicators affect the probability of opening. Results show that the derived information is applicable in probabilistic shipwreck risk assessment and that the VRAKA framework now contains needed information for integrating generic and site-specific information using Bayesian updating.

Smoke from agricultural waste burning causes hazardous haze pollution in Southeast Asian countries every year. Besides traces of a few toxic gases several persistent organic pollutants, natural, and anthropogenic emissions are released, resulting in adverse health effects. The study focuses on identification of sources of PM2.5-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) during the non-haze and haze seasons and investigates the concentration and toxicity of fine particulate matter, especially in the middle of biomass burning period. Totally, 12 fine particulate PAH congeners were selected and analysed at air quality observatory sites located in nine administrative provinces of Northern Thailand during four different sampling periods from 7th December 2012 to 27th March 2015. Nisbet and Lagoy's toxicity equivalent concentration (TEQ) equation revealed that the B[a]PEquivalent value for 2014–2015 roughly surpassed the value of 2012–2013 by a factor of 17. This can be attributed to the significant rise in five-to six-ring PAHs levels in the past two years. Diagnostic binary ratios and linear regression analysis highlight the roles of vehicular exhausts and biomass burning as two major contributors of PM2.5-bound PAHs. Interestingly, principal component analysis (PCA) reveals similar loading patterns for PC1 during the non-haze and haze periods, indicating that agricultural waste burning cannot be considered as the sole contributor of particulate PAHs in Northern Thailand.

The marine environment is a complex system formed by interactions between ecological structure and functioning, physico-chemical processes and socio-economic systems. An increase in competing marine uses and users requires a holistic approach to marine management which considers the environmental, economic and societal impacts of all activities. If managed sustainably, the marine environment will deliver a range of ecosystem services which lead to benefits for society. In order to understand the complexity of the system, the DPSIR (Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response) approach has long been a valuable problem-structuring framework used to assess the causes, consequences and responses to change in a holistic way. Despite DPSIR being used for a long time, there is still confusion over the definition of its terms and so to be appropriate for current marine management, we contend that this confusion needs to be addressed. Our viewpoint advocates that DPSIR should be extended to DAPSI(W)R(M) (pronounced dap-see-worm) in which Drivers of basic human needs require Activities which lead to Pressures. The Pressures are the mechanisms of State change on the natural system which then leads to Impacts (on human Welfare). Those then require Responses (as Measures). Furthermore, because of the complexity of any managed sea area in terms of multiple Activities, there is the need for a linked-DAPSI(W)R(M) framework, and then the connectivity between marine ecosystems and ecosystems in the catchment and further at sea, requires an interlinked, nested-DAPSI(W)R(M) framework to reflect the continuum between adjacent ecosystems. Finally, the unifying framework for integrated marine management is completed by encompassing ecosystem structure and functioning, ecosystem services and societal benefits. Hence, DAPSI(W)R(M) links the socio-ecological system of the effects of changes to the natural system on the human uses and benefits of the marine system. However, to deliver these sustainably in the light of human activities requires a Risk Assessment and Risk Management framework; the ISO-compliant Bow-Tie method is used here as an example. Finally, to secure ecosystem health and economic benefits such as Blue Growth, successful, adaptive and sustainable marine management Responses (as Measures) are delivered using the 10-tenets, a set of facets covering all management disciplines and approaches.

A fast (16min) procedure to assess the bioaccessible metallic fraction of Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn simultaneously extracted (SEM) from marine sediments plus an indirect approach to determine acid volatile sulfides (AVS) are presented. For the extraction process magnetic agitation was compared with ultrasonic stirring (using a bath and a probe), and several stirring times were assayed. The proposed SEM procedure uses an ultrasonic probe and 1mL of HCl. It dramatically minimizes the turnaround time and the residues. AVS were evaluated as the difference between the amounts of sulphur in the solid residue after the extraction and total sulphur in the original sample. These procedures are fast, easy to implement and cost-effective to assess the potential risk posed by metals in marine sediments. They were tested using several CRMs and applied to sediments from two Galician Rias (NW Spain); their SEM-AVS differences indicated no biological risk.

The Yellow Sea is a shallow marginal sea with a large tidal range. In this study, ten areas located along the western coast of the Korean Peninsula are investigated with respect to remotely sensed water quality indicators derived from NASA MODIS aboard of the satellite Aqua. We found that there was a strong seasonal trend with spatial heterogeneity. In specific, a strong six-month phase-lag was found between chlorophyll-a and total suspended solid owing to their inversed seasonality, which could be explained by different dynamics and environmental settings. Chlorophyll-a concentration seemed to be dominantly influenced by temperature, while total suspended solid was largely governed by local tidal forcing and bottom topography. This study demonstrated the potential and applicability of satellite products in coastal management, and highlighted find that remote-sensing would be a promising tool in resolving orthogonality of large spatio-temporal scale variabilities when combining with proper time series analyses.

Microplastics in the marine environment are known as a global ecological problem but there are still no standardized analysis procedures for their quantification. The first breakthrough in this direction was the NOAA Laboratory Methods for quantifying synthetic particles in water and sediments, but fibers numbers have been found to be underestimated with this approach. We propose modifications for these methods that will allow us to analyze microplastics in bottom sediments, including small fibers. Addition of an internal standard to sediment samples and occasional empty runs are advised for analysis quality control. The microplastics extraction efficiency using the proposed modifications is 92±7%. Distribution of microplastics in bottom sediments of the Russian part of the Baltic Sea is presented. Microplastic particles were found in all of the samples with an average concentration of 34±10 items/kg DW and have the same order of magnitude as neighbor studies reported.

Seawater samples from 50 sites in the BS and YS were collected to investigate the spatial distribution of 7 OPs. Concentrations of the total OPs (ƩOPs) in the BS and YS ranged from 8.12ngL−1 to 98.04ngL−1 with a geometric mean (GM) of 23.70ngL−1. Tris(1-chloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TCPP) was the dominant compound, followed by tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP) and triphenylphosphine oxide (TPPO). The ƩOPs together with the most commonly detected individual OPs (TCPP, TCEP, tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TDCPP), tri-iso-butyl phosphate (TiBP), triphenyl phosphate (TPhP), and TPPO) tended to decrease from nearshore to offshore and from the surface to the bottom seawaters, indicating major land-based sources. Furthermore, the Yellow Sea Cold Water Mass (YSCWM), Changjiang Diluted Water (CDW), Taiwan Warm Current (TaWC), and Subei Coastal Water (SCW) influenced the horizontal and vertical distributions of the OPs in the study area.

This study investigates living benthic foraminiferal assemblages as bio-indicators of anthropogenic activities in a coastal area within the Gulf of Palermo (Sicily, Italy), affected by industrial and urban activities, and evaluates the environmental quality through the calibration of a Tolerant Species index (%TSstd).Sediments from 6 stations were sampled along a bathymetric transect from the coast to offshore. Sediment grain size, TOC, major, minor and trace elements and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were compared to benthic foraminiferal assemblages and species at each station.Diversity and density of benthic foraminiferal assemblages were not affected by the presence of pollutants, while tolerant species increased with organic (TOC and PAHs) or chemical (As and Pb) concentrations. Moreover, the calibration of the %TSstd formula to >125μm foraminiferal assemblage, gives a detailed description of environmental quality along the transect, representing a good and sensitive tool to evaluate marine coastal environment.

The port sector critically needs improved management techniques to evaluate its environmental performance. In the present study, we conducted an exploratory research to understand the metrics used in the Brazilian public ports to assess their environmental performance. We considered two state agencies and two port authorities of southern Brazil. As preliminary results, we found that economic factors are excluded in the tools for measuring environmental performance. A system of indicators to address this shortcoming was then proposed, but it could not be applied because of data deficiencies. Thus, the system was divided into two parts: a simplified system with 7 indicators (measuring costs related to criteria were measured only technically) and an advanced system with 5 indicators (approaching costs were currently difficult to measure). Thus, the proposed indicators can be applied by port authorities to facilitate decision-making related to environmental management. As suggestions for further work, we propose research that includes more ports, both public and private, to provide an overview at the national level.