The aim of this study was to determine the spatial distribution, potential risks and sources of seven heavy metals in sediments of the Yangtze River Estuary. Analyses of 55 sediment samples revealed that the distributions of metals within the YRE were determined by the combined effects of their sources, hydrodynamic conditions, pH and Eh. According to the geoaccumulation index (Igeo) and sediment quality guidelines, Pb, Cd and Cr were present at low levels of pollution, with Cd posing the largest ecological risk. Positive Factor Matrix (PMF) results indicated that Hg, Zn, As, Pb and Cr mainly originated from natural geological background sources, while Cu originated from anthropogenic activities and atmospheric deposition was the source of Cd. These three sources contributed to 53.0%, 32.8% and 14.2%, respectively of total heavy metal concentrations. These results suggest that reducing the emission of Cd would promote a reduction of potential risks in sediments of the YRE.

The present study reports metal and arsenic contamination in sediments, as well as element accumulation and partitioning in the polychaete Diopatra neapolitana in the Ria de Aveiro lagoon (Portugal). The polychaetes biochemical performance and tissue regenerative capacity were also evaluated. The concentration of elements in sediments showed an increase of contamination among areas (areas A–G), but higher bioaccumulation was observed in organisms from a less contaminated area (area C, BAF>1). This study evidenced that individuals with higher elements bioaccumulation presented higher LPO and lower GSH/GSSG and also exhibited lower capacity for body regeneration. Polychaetes biotransformation capacity as well as antioxidant defense mechanisms were not sufficiently efficient to withstand the excess of ROS leading to increased LPO when organisms presented higher bioaccumulation levels. Additionally, an increase of methalotionines was also observed in individuals with higher bioaccumulation of metals and As, suggesting an induction of detoxification processes.

An integrated indicator system was developed for determining synthetic environmental responses under multiple types of coastal reclamation engineering in the Yellow River estuary, China. Four types of coastal engineering works were analyzed, namely port construction, petroleum exploitation, fishery and aquaculture, and seawall defense. In addition, two areas with limited human disturbances were considered for comparison. From the weights of the response value for each indicator, port construction was determined to be the primary impact contributor among the four engineering works studies. Specifically, hydrodynamic conditions, ecological status, economic costs, and engineering intensity were on average 72.78%, 65.03%, 75.03%, and 66.35% higher than those of other engineering types. Furthermore, fishery and aquaculture impact on water quality was 42.51% higher than that of other engineering types, whereas seawall defense impact on landscape variation was 51.75% higher than that of other engineering types. The proposed indicator system may provide effective coastal management in future.

A Before/During/After Control-Impact approach is used to assess the effects of Port 2000 on the suprabenthos in the North Channel (NC) of the Seine estuary during the period from September 2001 to October 2015. Since the beginning of Port 2000 construction (2002–2005), the NC is affected by an increase of salinity (marine influence) and input of sand. The suprabenthos changes are mainly characterised by an increase in species richness in the upper part of the NC and a decrease in species density and biomass of the dominant mysid species over time. Multiple stressors (natural and anthropogenic) have been operating simultaneously (hydrological changes, construction of Port 2000, supplementary dredging) rendering the interpretation of the biological changes difficult. Thus, the present results evidenced a combination of changes in the Seine Estuary not only attributed to the impact of the Port 2000 construction.

Being regarded as a problem of global dimensions, marine litter has been a growing concern that affects human beings, wildlife and the economic health of coastal communities to varying degrees. Due to its involvement with human behavior, marine littering has been regarded as a cultural matter encompassing macro and micro level aspects. At the micro or individual level, behavior and behavioral motivation of an individual are driven by perception of that person while at the macro or societal level, aspects including policies and legislations influence behavior. This paper investigates marine littering through the macro-micro level lenses in order to analyze and recommend how anti-littering behavior can be improved and sustained. Using Coleman's model of micro-macro relations, research questions are formulated and investigated through a social survey. Results showed important differences in perceptions among participating groups and to address key issues, potential actions are proposed along with a framework to sustain anti-littering behavior.

A next-generation sequencing (NGS) approach, in conjunction with culture-based methods, was used to examine fungal and prokaryotic communities for the presence of potential pathogens in beach sands throughout Portugal. Culture-based fungal enumeration revealed low and variable concentrations of the species targeted (yeasts and dermatophytes), which were underrepresented in the community characterized by NGS targeting the ITS1 region. Conversely, NGS indicated that the potentially pathogenic species Purpureocillium liliacinum comprised nearly the entire fungal community. Culturable fecal indicator bacterial concentrations were low throughout the study and unrelated to communities characterized by NGS. Notably, the prokaryotic communities characterized revealed a considerable abundance of archaea. Results highlight differences in communities between methods in beach sand monitoring but indicate the techniques offer complementary insights. Thus, there is a need to leverage culture-based methods with NGS methods, using a toolbox approach, to determine appropriate targets and metrics for beach sand monitoring to adequately protect public health.

Efficient ecological indices can reflect the differences between impacted and nonimpacted sites, leading to significant variations at the contamination spatial scale. Here, we evaluated the spatial-temporal variability of 3 ecological indices (AMBI, M-AMBI, and BENTIX) in response to the distinct levels of sewage contamination. The indices were evaluated in two different ways: including Brachidontes rodriguezii (IBR) and excluding B. rodriguezii (EBR). The fact that mussel beds create a secondary infaunal habitat allows us to test these indices for soft bottoms in areas with rocky bottoms. The effectiveness and the level of agreement of these indices were increased when they were calculated with EBR. BENTIX and M-AMBI produced under- and overestimations of the ecological status of the studied sites. AMBI (EBR) seems to be better suited for environmental quality assessment in the study area. This index reduces the processing time of samples; thus, the AMBI (EBR) index could be used as a robust management tool for monitoring programs in areas with hard substrate.

The ability to calculate the oil droplet size distribution (DSD) and its dynamic behavior in the water column is important in oil spill modeling. Breaking waves disperse oil from a surface slick into the water column as droplets of varying sizes. Oil droplets undergo further breakup and coalescence in the water column due to the turbulence. Available models simulate oil DSD based on empirical/equilibrium equations. However, the oil DSD evolution due to subsequent droplet breakup and coalescence in the water column can be best represented by a dynamic population model. This paper develops a phenomenological model to calculate the oil DSD in wave breaking conditions and ocean turbulence and is based on droplet breakup and coalescence. Its results are compared with data from laboratory experiments that include different oil types, different weathering times, and different breaking wave heights. The model comparisons showed a good agreement with experimental data.

Biomass burning is a major source of particulate matter pollution in Upper Southeast Asia (U-SEA), and accurate fire emissions estimates are of great importance in predicting air quality. In this work, we assess two global fire emission inventories, the Fire INventory from NCAR (FINN) and the Global Fire Assimilation System (GFAS), using the WRF-CMAQ modeling system to simulate aerosol in U-SEA. Simulated particulate matter is compared to observational data from satellites and ground measurements. This study investigates a biomass burning episode that occurred in March 2012. Both emission inventories show similar temporal and spatial variations in PM; however, the quantities of total PM10 emissions differ greatly between FINN and GFAS, with an approximate fivefold ratio of FINN/GFAS. In the source region, simulated PM10 using FINN (PM10FINN) is greatly overestimated, whereas simulated PM10 using GFAS (PM10GFAS) is considerably underestimated. The monthly PM10 averages of PM10FINN, PM10GFAS and observed PM10 in Northern Thailand are 312, 79 and 143 μg/m3, respectively. This study found considerable uncertainties in both FINN and GFAS emission inventories in U-SEA, and these uncertainties were analyzed in this paper. Fire emission estimations require improved specific calculation parameters (i.e. burned area and fuel loading factor for FINN, conversion factor to estimate dry matter burned from fire radiative power for GFAS, emission factors and plume height) to accurately estimate biomass burning emissions for the U-SEA region.

A comprehensive approach to chemical accumulation and biological effects of short-term Cu exposure in juveniles of European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) has been achieved. Fish were exposed to 0.01–10mgL−1 nominal Cu concentrations for 24–96h. Metal concentrations in water and gills, liver, muscle and brain tissues were studied along with oxidative stress biomarkers (superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, lipid peroxidation). Induction of oxidative damage was observed in all the organs with differential antioxidant responses; gills appearing as the most sensitive from low environmentally water Cu concentrations as 0.01mgL−1. Histopathological alterations were also observed in liver and gills, even without a significant Cu accumulation.The results show that the combination of oxidative stress parameters, particularly lipid peroxidation and glutathione peroxidase activities, and histopathological alterations provide a good model fish and reliable early biomarkers for monitoring Cu pollution in seawater and might call for the protection agencies to revise the Cu environmental standards.