To manage trace metal pollution it is critical to determine how much temporal trends can be attributed to local or large-scale sources. We tracked changes in metal content in the seagrass Posidonia oceanica, along the NW Mediterranean from 2003 to 2010. While Cu, Cd and Ni showed a large inter-site variation, likely due to local factors, Fe, Mn and Pb showed little local variation and synchronous interannual variability across sites, most likely due to large-scale sources. Zn showed equal importance of local and large-scale sources of variation. Temporal trends of Ni, Zn, Cd, Cu remained almost stable. In contrast, Fe, Mn and Pb slightly increased in the last decade. These trends suggest that metals like Cu, Cd, Ni can be effectively managed at local scale. Whereas, elements like Fe, Mn and Pb have an important large-scale component that needs to be managed across the frontiers of national jurisdictions.

We surveyed the abundance and accumulation patterns of mesoplastic marine debris (5–25mm) on 20 beaches in Korea. The mean abundance of it was 13.2items/m2, and the mean weight was 1.5g/m2. Hard plastic and Styrofoam were the dominant types. The proportions of hard plastic and Styrofoam were highly variable among the beaches, each accounting for 0–100% of the total debris on a given beach with 32% and 48.5% (by number) on average, respectively. Relatively lower abundances of mesoplastic marine debris compared with our previous studies were likely due by differences of the sampling areas within the beach. The samples of this research were selected from backshore, middle line, and water edge whereas they were selected from high strandline and backshore in our previous studies. It should be considered when discussing the level of mesoplastic marine debris.

Ethylene is a ubiquitous industrial gas that is emitted by a wide variety of biogenic, biomass burning, and anthropogenic sources, so the opportunity for human exposure is widespread. We believe that a comprehensive exposure assessment of ethylene from emissions sources has not specifically been evaluated so this study was conducted to estimate the relative contribution of different sources on atmospheric concentrations in the Greater Houston area.Source attribution modeling shows that when averaged over the full modeling domain, inclusive of industrial, urban, rural and water areas, ethylene concentrations are dominated by natural source emissions (fires and biogenic) with an annual mean of 69% of total ethylene concentration. Of the anthropogenic sources, which account for the remaining 31% of the annual ethylene concentration, the largest contribution was from area/non-road sources (annual mean of 16%) with industrial source (annual mean of 11%) and on-road motor vehicle (annual mean of 4%) sources showing relatively lower concentration contributions.

Ballast water is taken on-board vessels into ballast water tanks to maintain vessel draft, buoyancy, and stability. Unmanaged ballast water contains aquatic organisms that, when transported and discharged to non-native waters, may establish as invasive species. Technologies capable of achieving regulatory limits designed to decrease the likelihood of invasion include onboard ballast water management systems. However, to date, the treatment development and manufacturing marketplace is limited to large vessels with substantial ballast requirements. For smaller vessels or vessels with reduced ballast requirements, we evaluated the feasibility of meeting the discharge limits by generating ballast water using onboard potable water generators. Case studies and parametric analyses demonstrated the architectural feasibility of installing potable water generators onboard actual vessels with minimal impacts for most vessel types evaluated. Furthermore, land-based testing of a potable water generator demonstrated capability to meet current numeric discharge limits for living organisms in all size classes.

Hypoxia is associated with mass mortality in estuaries, but a direct causal relationship has not been proven to date. This study aimed to demonstrate this relationship and to evaluate how the duration of hypoxia affects the survival of ark shells (Anadara kagoshimensis) using mathematical modeling. The dissolved oxygen concentration was monitored at two stations in the innermost area of Ariake Bay, Japan, to calculate the duration of hypoxia. This was then included in a mathematical model to simulate the population density with sequential computation. The population density decreased with prolonged hypoxia, reaching a value close to the observed population density, indicating that hypoxia is the main cause of mass mortality in ark shells. Furthermore, the ark shell population disappeared in 8days with constant hypoxia but persisted when hypoxia was alternated with normoxia every 6 h. Therefore, mass mortality is caused by the duration rather than the frequency of hypoxia.

Here we present the large-scale distribution of microplastic contamination in beach sediment across Europe. Sediment samples were collected from 23 locations across 13 countries by citizen scientists, and analysed using a standard operating procedure. We found significant variability in the concentrations of microplastics, ranging from 72±24 to 1512±187 microplastics per kg of dry sediment, with high variability within sampling locations. Three hotspots of microplastic accumulation (>700 microplastics per kg of dry sediment) were found. There was limited variability in the physico-chemical characteristics of the plastics across sampling locations. The majority of the microplastics were fibrous, <1mm in size, and blue/black in colour. In addition, using Raman spectrometry we identified particles as polyester, polyethylene, and polypropylene. Our research is the first large spatial-scale analysis of microplastics on European beaches giving insights into the nature and extent of the microplastic challenge.

A comprehensive review is reported on the extent of release of ultrafine and nanoparticles from vehicular exhaust on Indian roads, the mechanism of evolution of these particles and the influence of key fuel and meteorological parameters on their evolution and dispersion. Consolidated understanding developed based on the available literature on nanoparticle formation and transformation processes is presented pictorially in the form of a schematic diagram. Influence of various parameters on the evolution of nanoparticles is elaborated using the present scientific understanding of dispersion mechanisms in the near and far field of vehicular exhausts. Inferences are drawn for the influence of Indian road conditions and atmospheric conditions on the dispersion of these evolved nanoparticles. Broad based suggestions are outlined for the Indian regulatory authorities so as to minimize the hazardous influence of such particulate emissions to urban population.

The south-eastern Black Sea coast in Turkey was evaluated for marine litter composition and density covering nine beaches during four seasons. The marine litter (>2cm in size), was collected from the coast and categorized into material and usage categories. The data analysis showed that plastic was the most abundant litter (≥61.65%) by count and weight followed by styrofoam and fabric. The marine litter density ranged from 0.03 to 0.58 with a mean (±SD) of 0.16±0.02 items/m2 by count. Based on weight, it varied between 0.44 and 14.74g/m2 with 3.35±1.63. The east side had a higher marine litter density than the west side with significant differences between beaches. The variations due to different seasons were not significant for any beach. The results of this study should provide baseline information about the coastal marine pollution and will assist the mitigation strategies.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) have been detected around the globe in drinking water, in various media at release sites, in human blood serum, and in non-human biota tissue. These compounds are emerging contaminants due to the rapidly evolving regulatory landscape, which is driven by advances in toxicological and risk assessment knowledge emanating from academia and government research organizations. A robust understanding of these developments is required to appreciate the basis, present state, and future direction of regulation and management of PFASs. This paper summarizes recent toxicological and ecological risk assessment information, ongoing research, and current guidelines governing PFASs for the protection of non-human biota.

To remove benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) that has accumulated in the Jiaozhou Bay wetland sediment, two strains (JB1 and JB2) were selected from the BaP-contaminated the wetland sediment and immobilized in coal cinder and chitosan beads using entrapping and surface adsorption methods. Biodegradation of BaP in sediment was carried out in pots. The results showed that, supported by the coal cinder and chitosan beads, 71.9, 65.5, 58.9 and 66.1% of the BaP in the immobilized cells was degraded after 40d. These percentages were clearly higher than the 47.7% that degraded from free cells. Kinetic analysis indicated that the immobilized gel-beads might remove BaP by multiple control steps. Compared to the chitosan, coal cinder-entrapping beads exhibited a higher removal rate for BaP; however, the degradation rates from coal cinder- and chitosan-surface adsorption beads were almost the same. This result indicates that in addition to the BaP-degrading bacteria, carrier materials and immobilizing methods play an important role in determining the success of a biodegradation strategy.