Identifying terrestrial sources of debris is essential to suppress the flow of plastic to the ocean. Here, we report a novel source of debris to the marine environment. From May 2016 to June 2018, we collected golf balls from coastal environments associated with five courses in Carmel, California. Our 75 collections recovered 39,602 balls from intertidal and nearshore environments adjacent to, or downriver from, the golf courses. Combining our collections with concurrent efforts of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and the Pebble Beach Corporation, we report the retrieval of 50,681 balls, totaling approximately 2.5 tons of debris. We also examined decomposition patterns in the collected balls, which illustrate that degradation and loss of microplastic from golf balls to the marine environment may be of concern. Our findings will help to develop and direct mitigation procedures for this region and others with coastal golf courses.

Marine litter is a threat to marine life and an economic burden for coastal communities, but efforts to address the issue are hampered by the lack of data for many countries. We performed the first harmonized assessment of seafloor litter (trawl and visual surveys) in six countries of the Adriatic-Ionian macroregion. Seafloor litter showed an uneven distribution throughout the area, with large differences in litter densities and composition among countries and locations. An emerging problem in the area resulted in short-term & single-use objects that represented the largest fraction of litter. Packaging was the economic sector contributing most to seafloor litter on the continental shelf and upper slope, while in some areas aquaculture (mussel farming) represented a key activity producing marine litter. In coastal areas and bays (e.g. Boka Kotorska bay, Montenegro), seafloor litter was mainly related to construction activities and electronic goods, which are a consequence of fly-tipping/illegal dumping.

Selected blood biochemical parameters (Glutathione S transferase: GST; Alanine aminotransferase: ALT; Aspartate aminotransferase: AST; Lactate dehydrogenase: LD and glucose) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were measured in blood samples from 18 green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) from the Iranian coastline on the northern shore of the Sea of Oman. Mean total PAH concentration in the blood samples was 17.802 ± 1.006 ng/gdw. The study found no significant correlation between blood biochemical parameters and PAHs (p > 0.01), however significant correlations were found between total PAHs and GST activity (p < 0.01). The GST activity measured in this study was useful as a first investigation into the biological effects of PAH pollution as well as in determining the bioavailability of pollution. The results suggest that PAHs might be a factor influencing a reduction in green sea turtle egg fertilization and hatching success. Further study is needed concerning the effects of PAHs and other pollutants on green sea turtles, and specifically on the potential impact on the fetal development of green sea turtles.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are toxic and ubiquitous in the environment and pose great risks. Bioaccumulation by plankton is the outset for PAHs entering marine food web. The long-term driving environmental factors for bioaccumulation of PAHs in zooplankton have not been well investigated. In this study, high variation of PAH concentrations in zooplankton (5 to 5440 ng g⁻¹ dry weight) was found, with the highest PAH levels near the transect Kaohsiung Harbor. Precipitation significantly enhances the PAH concentration in zooplankton and affects the PAH distribution in the water column, indicating PAH input from terrestrial runoff. The sources of PAHs in the coastal waters are a mixture of petroleum and combustion. Biomass dilution dominates bioaccumulation of PAHs in zooplankton, especially for the dominant species, copepods. This study provides the first information on PAH bioaccumulation in zooplankton to understand PAH transport in the plankton food web in subtropical coastal waters.

This study examines the extent of macroplastic pollution on Samandağ beach and the potential effects on green sea turtles during nesting. For this purpose, a total of 39 different turtle tracks were studied. Mean plastic concentration was found to be 19.5 ± 1.2 pcs m−2. Among the different types of crawling, the highest concentrations of plastics were found on the tracks of turtles that did not attempt to dig nests (25.9 ± 8.4 pcs m−2). In total, 7 different types of plastics (disposable, film, fishing-related, foam, fragments, miscellaneous, and textile) were found, with film-type plastics being the most prevalent (11 pcs m−2). Samandağ beach was found to be greatly more polluted than any other beach in the Mediterranean Sea. We concluded that this pollution can cause negative effects, especially entanglement and entrapment, on green sea turtle females and hatchlings.

Microbes capable of degrading hydrocarbons in oil are present in low abundances in coastal waters, but quickly respond to oil following a spill. When estimating potential biodegradation rates in the laboratory, high concentrations of inorganic nutrients are often added to prevent nutrient limitation. In this study, we tested the short term response of coastal microbes to fresh diluted bitumen under varying nutrient conditions in a cold water regime. Total hydrocarbon concentrations changed minimally over five days; however, oil composition changed over time and the abundance of microbes increased in all treatments. Addition of phosphate, with or without nitrogen, resulted in rapid changes in community composition, but after three days treatments no longer differed. Nutrients were never depleted in any treatment suggesting that, even at low inorganic nutrient concentrations, microbial communities can quickly respond to hydrocarbons following a spill.

Macrozoobenthos living around several pipelines placed at different depths and sediment types in the Western Adriatic Sea was investigated for three years after structures' deployment to detect possible effects due to their installation and presence. Three environmental habitats were considered based on the grain size (silty clay, clayey silt and sand). Samplings were taken within a radius of 100 m from the pipelines and at control sites. Multivariate and univariate analysis showed peculiarities of the three habitats due to the different sediment type, without differences between pipelines and controls inside each group. Silty clay and clayey silt communities appeared quite similar, being mainly represented by opportunistic species typical of the Adriatic coastal area. Benthic populations found at the offshore relict sand were characterized by a higher percentage of sensitive species. Independently of sediment typology, pipelines' installation seems to not affect the benthic populations that appear more influenced by environmental features.

Despite the beneficial aspect of aquatic food's consumption, bioaccumulation of toxic metals in fish can enhance the health risk for the consumers. Heavy metals were measured from editable tissues of some commercial fish species like Latis calcarifer, Silonia silondia, Clupisoma garua, Planiliza subviridis, Otolithoides pama, Tenulosa ilisa, Rhinomugil corsula, and Aila coila in the Meghna river estuary in Noakhali district. Heavy metals such as As, Pb, Cd, Cu, and Cr were detected by ICP-MS, which were significantly different (p ≤ 0.01), and the hierarchy of all mean concentrations were: Cu (5.14 mg/kg) > Pb (3.79 mg/kg) > As (1.08 mg/kg) > Cr (0.78 mg/kg) > Cd (0.12 mg/kg). The mean concentration of Cu (6.62 mg/kg) imparted to the maximum level in L. calcarifer, which slightly exceeded the Bangladesh food safety guideline. The mean BAFs of the contaminants were found as: Pb (1042.29) > Cr (1036.47) > As (934.84) > Cd (832.77) > Cu (772). Further, L. calcarifer, S. silondia, C. garua, and P. subviridis showed the bioaccumulative status. To assess the health risk effects, estimated daily intake (EDI), target hazard quotient (THQ) and carcinogenic risk (CR) were conducted. THQs for both adult and children consumers were <1, indicating that, consumers would not experience the non-carcinogenic health effects. Although children were more susceptible than adults, CR for all the consumers was found in the acceptable range (10⁻⁶ to 10⁻⁴).

Microplastics are widely existed in marine and coastal environments, which aroused global concern in recent years. This review mainly summarized the interactions of organic pollutants and metals with microplastics based on environmental monitoring results and laboratory results reported by literatures. Firstly, the type, properties, and distribution of microplastics in the environment were briefly reviewed. Secondly, the property changes of microplastics after degradation were discussed. Thirdly, the concentrations of pollutants on microplastics in global environments were summarized. Then the effect of the factors (e.g. types and properties of microplastics, types of pollutants, and environmental conditions) on the sorption behaviors of microplastics were discussed in detail. Finally, the influences of microplastics on marine organisms were briefly evaluated.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Recognizing health effects of changes in temperature caused by climate change and changes in air pollution affected by temperature changes on human health, predicting the health effects of both future temperature changes and air quality changes caused by climate change is critical to adopting a range of measures to respond to future climate change. The purpose of this review is to summarize studies on the health effects of temperature and air quality changes affected by climate change directly or indirectly, and to summarize the limitations of these studies. RECENT FINDINGS: After summarizing the main methods and results, we conclude that past temperature changes and air pollution caused by climate change directly or indirectly have a serious impact on the mortality or morbidity of human diseases, and climate change does impact human health and will exacerbate these effects. Moreover, it may have spatial and socioeconomic differences in the world. Nonetheless, these studies also indicate that policies about climate change and emission reduction can reduce these effects. The evaluation focuses on the interaction between temperature change and air quality caused by climate change and assesses the impact of both on human health. There are still some uncertainties in existing research, and future health predictions related to climate change should focus on quantitative exploration of temperature and air pollution changes, eliminate interference caused by factors such as industrialization, and demographic changes, while the choice of meteorological conditions should be further extended, not just limited to the temperature and air quality.