In this study, twenty seven surface sediments were collected off Pushpavanam, Nagapattinam coast, southeast coast of India for understanding the sedimentological and geochemical behaviour after the Cyclone Gaja. The sediment samples were analysed for texture, organic matter (OM), carbonates, and trace metals such as Cr, Cu, Zn, Ni, Co including Fe and Mn. The Geoaccumulation index, contamination factor, enrichment factor and pollution load index revealed that Cu, Zn, Ni and Co is highly contaminated in the study area. Fe and Cr are moderately to considerably contaminated, while Mn shows uncontaminated.The principal component analysis also confirms the concentration of Cu, Zn, Ni and Co were mainly derived from the anthropogenic sources and related activities. Since Cyclones like Gaja often causes frequent ecological disturbance to the coastal environments and it distributes pollutants such as trace elements from localized area of contamination to offshore.

Pollution by microplastics (MPs) is currently a global problem in the coastal and marine environment. Transfer of MPs from land to sea and their inclusion in the food web has a significant adverse effect on the marine life and human health. The present study was carried out at the fishing harbour of Chennai, southeast coast of India. The possible MPs were isolated from the soft tissues of the commercially important bivalve Perna viridis and examined by microscopic and DXR Raman spectroscopic methods. The MPs were identified as to be polystyrene polymers in the soft tissues. This investigation revealed that size and color are the major factors affecting the bioavailability of MPs to bivalves in the study area. The presence of colorants in organisms revealed an anthropogenic origin through the use of a wide array of applications. Hence, coastal zones are a hotspot for pollution by MPs, and filter feeding bivalves are at the highest risk. Therefore, further studies are required to understand the accumulation rates and residence time of MPs across the food webs.

Trophodynamics and risks of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in organisms from the Zhoushan fishing ground (ZFG), China were studied. Σ₂₂PCBs varied from 1.36 to 36.75 ng/g wet weight, which were far below the maximum residue levels allowed in fishery products. However, estimated daily intake and hazard ratio calculations present possible adverse effects due to PCB pollution. Significantly positive correlations appeared between wet-weighted concentrations of target chemicals and trophic levels (TLs) of the organisms, with trophic magnification factors (TMFs) from 1.15 to 9.72. The TMF values first increased with an increase of compound's KOW values, and then decreased, with log KOW around 7.0 as an inflection point. TL is suggested as the key factor controlling contaminant burden among the species for only PCBs 105, 138, 153, and 171. For the remaining PCBs, lipid content of the organism or metabolite capacity of the compound may be more important influence on their bioaccumulation.

Much marine litter comes from land-based sources, with a significant amount coming from activities on bathing beaches. Thus, the overall focus of this exploratory research is to identify elements important for the design of beach infrastructure (i.e., trash cans (TCs)) to reduce littering behaviors. We base our investigation on principles of a relatively new approach, called Design for Sustainable Behavior. In doing so, we consider design for two user groups: bathing beachgoers and beach managers. We examined these users' perceptions of beach TCs through the use of an on-line survey of beachgoers, in-depth interviews with Israeli beach managers, a survey of international Blue Flag beach managers and a design ‘ideation’ workshop. Most importantly, we found that there is interest on the part of beach managers and other stakeholders in applying design principles to improve TCs. The findings of this study have implications for further interdisciplinary – and multidisciplinary – research on this topic.

Coastal water clarity varies at high temporal and spatial scales due to weather, climate, and human activity along coastlines. Systematic observations are crucial to assessing the impact of water clarity change on aquatic habitats. In this study, Secchi disk depths (ZSD) from Boston Harbor, Buzzards Bay, Cape Cod Bay, and Narragansett Bay water quality monitoring organizations were compiled to validate ZSD derived from Landsat 8 (L8) imagery, and to generate high spatial resolution ZSD maps. From 58 L8 images, acceptable agreement was found between in situ and L8 ZSD in Buzzards Bay (N = 42, RMSE = 0.96 m, MAPD = 28%), Cape Cod Bay (N = 11, RMSE = 0.62 m, MAPD = 10%), and Narragansett Bay (N = 8, RMSE = 0.59 m, MAPD = 26%). This work demonstrates the value of merging in situ ZSD with high spatial resolution remote sensing estimates for improved coastal water quality monitoring.

Marine protected areas (MPAs) provide multiple conservation benefits, thus raising the question of how good and consistent they are at their roles. Here, we quantified three components, namely, diversity, biomass, and other relevant variables, in numerous protected and unprotected areas across four marine ecoregions in south-western Europe. We created a “global conservation status index” (CSIglobal) as the sum of CSIdiversity, CSIbiomass, and CSIrelevant. We then tested whether CSI and its three components varied as a function of protection and marine ecoregion. MPA efficiency, defined as the effect size of protection on CSIglobal, was unreliable and varied with geography. CSIbiomass and CSIrelevant contributed to the unreliability of MPA efficiency, while CSIdiversity was reliable. CSIbiomass showed the major efficiency in protected areas (60%). Biomass of threatened species was the single largest variable that contributed to MPA efficiency. Our easy-to-use approach can identify high- and low-efficient MPAs and help to clarify their actual roles.

Skin is the body's first line of defense against invading microorganisms. The skin microbiome has been shown to provide immunity against exogenous bacterial colonization. Recreational water exposures may alter the skin microbiome and potentially induce skin infections. This study explored the link between ocean water exposures and the human skin microbiome. Skin microbiome samples were collected, using swabs, from human participants' calves before and after they swam in the ocean, and at 6 hour and 24 hour post-swim. Genomic analysis showed that skin microbiomes were different among individuals before swimming. But after swimming, microbial communities were no longer different, which was demonstrated by a decrease in inter-sample diversity. Taxonomic analysis showed that ocean bacteria, including potential pathogens, replaced the native skin bacteria and remained on the skin for at least 24 hour post-swim. This research provides insight into the relationship between the human skin microbiome and the environment.

Organotin compounds (OTCs) are persistent pollutants and are considered as chemicals of environmental concern. They enter the marine environment from the antifouling paints containing organotin compounds on the hulls of ships and boats. We report the results of a study conducted in 2015 on the level of butyltins (TBT, DBT, and MBT) and phenyltins (TPhT, DPhT, and MPhT) in the sediments collected from three fishing harbors (Jubail, Khobar, and Qatif) and a reference site (Half Moon Bay). The concentrations of OTCs in the sediments vary widely among the different sampling locations. Overall, the phenyltins contribute more than the butyltins and the order of the abundance is: MPhT > DPhT > MBT > DBT > TPhT. In most stations, the concentrations of MBT are higher than DBT. The sediments from Khobar and Qatif are moderately polluted, whereas those from the Jubail are ranked as highly polluted. The concentrations of TBT at all study sites are less than the detection limit, and hence, the environmental and ecotoxicological risks are low.

Microplastics (MPs) are contaminants of environmental concern that represent a threat to marine systems. Here we report data on the abundance and characteristics of MPs collected from surface waters of the urban Guanabara Bay. Samples were collected, by horizontal trawling of a plankton net on two occasions (summer of 2016). The MPs were obtained from samples by sieving and particles were manually sorted with microscope. Characterization of MPs was accomplished by gravimetry and digital image processing (for quantification and morphology categorization), and chemical composition identified by infrared spectroscopy and elemental analyses. Total MPs ranged from 1.40 to 21.3 particles/m3, which places Guanabara Bay amongst the most contaminated coastal systems worldwide by microplastics. Polyethylene and polypropylene polymers ≤1 mm were the most abundant particles. Therefore, the occurrence of MPs in Guanabara Bay is relevant to understand ecological hazards of exposition to marine biota and merits further investigation.

The annual sea surface temperature increased at a rate of 0.038 to 0.074 °C/year in recent decade, and pH decreased at a rate of 0.012–0.014/year in two coastal waters of the South China Sea. Therefore, a culture experiment was conducted to study the effects of acidification and warming on coral calcification rates. The calcification of three coral species were significantly reduced during the exposure to elevated CO₂, while other three coral species were not significantly affected. The reef coral Pocillopora damicornis was resistant to high CO₂, but was not able to survive during the exposure to 33 °C in our culture experiments. Our findings suggested that some corals might not survive in tropical areas if coral could not adapt to warming rapidly, and subtropical coastal waters with temperature of <30 °C will serve as refugia for the corals resistant to high CO₂ at the end of this century.