Geochemical speciation of As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, V and Zn were determined in the surface sediments of the southern Caspian Sea. A five-step sequential extraction technique was used to determine the chemical forms of metals. Mean concentrations (ppm) of heavy metals were (mean±S.D.) As: 9.94±1.71, Cd: 0.87±0.23, Co: 14.85±2.80, Cr: 72.29±19.48, Cu: 18.91±4.48, Ni: 32.87±5.25, Pb: 12.48±3.22, V: 86.07±20.71 and Zn: 66.85±10.11. Among the metals, Cu, As, Pb and Zn exhibited relatively higher mobility, while Cd, Co, Cr, Ni and V were found mainly in the residual fractions. Cu and As showed the highest percentages in the exchangeable phase while Co and Cr had the lowest percentages in the phase. The Risk Assessment Code (RAC) values indicated that As, Cu and V had medium risk at some sampling sites. According to pollution load index (PLI), sediments from some sampling sites were polluted.

In this study the online meteorological and chemical transport model “Weather Research and Forecasting coupled with Chemistry” (WRF/Chem) is implemented over Cyprus and evaluated against ground-based air quality and meteorological observations. Hourly O3 concentrations are strongly overestimated and a reduction in the lateral boundaries of ozone by 30% improved model agreement with observations. Utilization of grid spacing closer to the resolution of the emission data leads to an improvement in the simulation of air pollutants, while further reduction of the grid spacing mostly impacts the model performance related to meteorological parameters. The method of speciation of volatile organic compounds can also affect model results. Reduction of NOx emissions can reduce fine particulate (PM2.5) levels relatively effectively due to the important role of nitrate over Cyprus. The present case study indicates that the performance of the WRF/Chem model is reasonable for air quality and meteorological variables over Cyprus when boundary conditions are cautiously adjusted or improved, while there is a need to pursue a high-resolution local emission inventory.

Currently little is known about the prevalence of plastics and microplastics (MPs) in the Persian Gulf. Five sampling stations were selected along the Strait of Hormuz (Iran) that exhibited different levels of industrialization and urbanization, and included a marine protected area. Debris was observed and sediments were collected for MPs extraction via fluidization/floatation methodology. The order of MP abundance (par/kg) generally reflected the level of anthropogenic activity: Bostanu (1258±291)>Gorsozan (122±23)>Khor-e-Yekshabeh (26±6)>Suru (14±4)>Khor-e-Azini (2±1). Across all sites fibers dominated (83%, 11% film, 6% fragments). FT-IR analysis showed polyethylene (PE), nylon, and PET (polyethylene terephthalate) were the commonly recovered polymers. Likely sources include beach debris, discarded fishing gear, and urban and industrial outflows that contain fibers from clothes. This study provides a ‘snapshot’ of MP pollution and longitudinal studies are required to fully understand plastic contamination in the region.

Plastic debris is ubiquitous in the marine environment and the world's shores represent a major sink. However, knowledge about plastic abundance in remote areas is scarce. Therefore, plastic abundance was investigated on a small island of the Maldives. Plastic debris (>1mm) was sampled once in natural long-term accumulation zones at the north shore and at the high tide drift line of the south shore on seven consecutive days to quantify daily plastic accumulation. Reliable identification of plastic debris was ensured by FTIR spectroscopy. Despite the remoteness of the island a considerable amount of plastic debris was present. At both sites a high variability in plastic abundance on a spatial and temporal scale was observed, which may be best explained by environmental factors. In addition, our results show that snapshot sampling may deliver biased results and indicate that future monitoring programs should consider spatial and temporal variation of plastic deposition.

This study reports plastic ingestion in various fish found from coastal and offshore sites in Scottish marine waters. Coastal samples consisted of three demersal flatfish species (n=128) collected from the East and West coasts of Scotland. Offshore samples consisted of 5 pelagic species and 4 demersal species (n=84) collected from the Northeast Atlantic. From the coastal fish sampled, 47.7% of the gastrointestinal tracts contained macroplastic and microplastic. Of the 84 pelagic and demersal offshore fish, only 2 (2.4%) individuals from different species had ingested plastic identified as a clear polystyrene fibre and a black polyamide fibre. The average number of plastic items found per fish from all locations that had ingested plastic was 1.8 (±1.7) with polyamide (65.3%), polyethylene terephthalate (14.4%) and acrylic (14.4%) being the three most commonly found plastics. This study adds to the existing data on macroplastic and microplastic ingestion in fish species.

Numerous countries have been confronted with infectious diseases in mariculture activities, including fungi infections, although reports in scallops are scarce. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the occurrence of filamentous fungi in Nodipecten nodosus specimens from three marine farms in Southeastern Brazil. Eight fungi genera were observed in the branchial arches, intestine and muscle tissue of the scallop specimens. These include potentially toxin-producing species, such as Aspergillus, Penicillium and Fusarium. Their presence may lead to potential public health concerns, since all sampling sites showed the presence of fungi in all scallop organs, with special concern regarding edible muscle tissue. A significant number of species was observed at one of the study areas, which could indicate a previously unknown source of contamination, since increases in fungi species richness in polluted coastal waters have been reported. This is also, to the best of our knowledge, the first report of Pestalotiopsis in shellfish.

To reduce negative environmental impacts from human aquaculture activities, the red alga Gracilaria lemaneiformis was co-cultured with the fish Pseudosciaena crocea in an integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) system for 35d in Yantian Bay. The eutrophication index value decreased from 14.5 to 8.4 after seaweeds were co-cultured in cage farming areas, which indicated that the eutrophic water column in Yantian Bay could be mediated by IMTA. Total DIN and DIP of the tidal input and output were 9.23kg, 0.19kg and 11.08kg, and 0.27kg, respectively. Total 5.24kg of dissolved N and 0.81kg of dissolved P were released from IMTA system. These results indicate that G. lemaneiformis co-cultured in IMTA system could not completely remove all excess nutrients. In theory, at least 324.48kg of seaweed seedlings would be required to balance excess nutrients generated from fish cages.

Among various cavitand molecules, cyclodextrins are extensively studied due to their ability to form host-guest complexes with small hydrophobic molecules. Aiming to explore cyclodextrin implementation on the scopes related to the environmental pollution monitoring or remediation, extensive studies for understanding the cyclodextrin-based host-guest complex formation with selected targeted substances are conducted. In this context, two polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, naphthalene and fluoranthene as well as toluene as a member of volatile organic compounds, were studied regarding their ability to encapsulate into cyclodextrin cavities. Synthesised complexes were examined by thermogravimetric analysis combined with Raman spectroscopy. The obtained results demonstrated that the size between targeted molecules and the cyclodextrin cavities strongly correlates with its ability to engage in complexation. Thus, this latter parameter plays an important role in the inclusion complex formation as well as in the strength of the interaction between the molecules.

We report a novel and inexpensive method to provide high resolution vertical measurements of temporally integrated organic contaminants in surface and sub-surface waters in polluted coastal environments. It employs a strip of polyethylene deployed as a passive sampler. Verifications are confirmed via conventional spot sample analyses and against Performance Reference Compound (PRC) calibration methods. Analytes targeted include 16 Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons, 15 personal care products, 8 organophosphorus flame retardants, 4 antifouling 'booster' biocides and 15 n-alkanes. Whilst all contaminants typically revealed homogeneous concentrations from 10 cm to 3 m depth in the selected harbour (<30% variations), many increased sharply at the air-sea interface. The passive sampler was shown to afford better resolution than could be achieved using conventional analytical techniques at the surface microlayer (SML). Whilst hydrophobicity appeared to be a key factor for the enrichment of many determinants, less correlation was found for the emerging contaminants.