Since the 1980’s, within the Geneva Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution, European countries have joined their efforts to abate atmospheric acid pollution. Nevertheless, nitrogen emissions and depositions remain significant under ongoing climate change. Nitrogen atmospheric deposition is known to severely impact ecosystem functioning by influencing soil biogeochemistry, nutrients balance and, consequently, tree growth, forest health and biodiversity. The concept of “critical loads” was used and models were improved to mitigate the impacts of N deposition, by considering conjointly effects of climate change and N atmospheric deposition, to assess the evolution of forest ecosystem status over time. The purpose of this study is to predict forest vegetation response to the combine effects of nitrogen atmospheric deposition and climate change by using a dynamic coupled biogeochemical-ecological model (ForSAFE-Veg). The Veg module is composed of 476 understory plant species representative of the main French forest ecosystems, and parameterized for a set of environmental factors based on expert advices. In this study, we propose a new parameterization for six main factors using statistical regressions models based on measured data for about 4000 forest sites. After validation using another independent set of vegetation relevés, the biogeochemical model ForSAFE-Veg was run using the most appropriate Veg module, on three forest sites from the french ICP Forest network. Changes in biodiversity were estimated by analysing the evolution of plants cover over100 years, and considering the impacts of climate change and atmospheric nitrogen deposition scenarios separately and conjointly. The modelling outputs were considered at both species and ecological functional groups scales, to evaluate their relevance in characterizing nitrogen deposition influence on biodiversity. This will allow generalizing this approach to other species for which environmental factors are not easy to parameterize.

Since the 1980’s, within the Geneva Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution, European countries have joined their efforts to abate atmospheric acid pollution. Nevertheless, nitrogen emissions and depositions remain significant under ongoing climate change. Nitrogen atmospheric deposition is known to severely impact ecosystem functioning by influencing soil biogeochemistry, nutrients balance and, consequently, tree growth, forest health and biodiversity. The concept of “critical loads” was used and models were improved to mitigate the impacts of N deposition, by considering conjointly effects of climate change and N atmospheric deposition, to assess the evolution of forest ecosystem status over time. The purpose of this study is to predict forest vegetation response to the combine effects of nitrogen atmospheric deposition and climate change by using a dynamic coupled biogeochemical-ecological model (ForSAFE-Veg). The Veg module is composed of 476 understory plant species representative of the main French forest ecosystems, and parameterized for a set of environmental factors based on expert advices. In this study, we propose a new parameterization for six main factors using statistical regressions models based on measured data for about 4000 forest sites. After validation using another independent set of vegetation relevés, the biogeochemical model ForSAFE-Veg was run using the most appropriate Veg module, on three forest sites from the french ICP Forest network. Changes in biodiversity were estimated by analysing the evolution of plants cover over100 years, and considering the impacts of climate change and atmospheric nitrogen deposition scenarios separately and conjointly. The modelling outputs were considered at both species and ecological functional groups scales, to evaluate their relevance in characterizing nitrogen deposition influence on biodiversity. This will allow generalizing this approach to other species for which environmental factors are not easy to parameterize.

In order to determine the source of organic matter and the fingerprint of the oil components, 50 samples collected from the near-surface sediments of the oil spill area in Bohai Sea, China, were analyzed for grain size, total organic carbon, aliphatic hydrocarbons (AHs), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The concentrations of C15–35 n-alkanes and 16 United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) priority pollutant PAHs were found in the ranges of 0.88–3.48μg g−1 and 9.97–490.13ng/g, respectively. The terrestrial organic matters characterized by C27–C35 n-alkanes and PAHs, resulting from the combustion of higher plants, are dominantly contributed from the transportation of these plants by rivers. Marine organic matters produced from plankton and aquatic plants were represented by C17–C26 n-alkanes in AHs. Crude oil, characterized by C17–C21 n-alkanes, unresolved complex mixture (UCM) with a mean response factor of C19 n-alkanes, low levels of perylene, and a high InP/(InP+BghiP) ratio, seeped into the oceans from deep hydrocarbon reservoirs, as a result of geological faults.

A geographically extensive baseline survey of sediment contamination was undertaken at twenty nine locations around Kuwait. Samples were assessed in relation to a wide range of industrial pollutants, including metals, PAHs, PCBs, PBDEs and HBCDs. The data generated indicated that levels of pollutants were generally low and below commonly applied sediment quality guidelines (SQGs). However, naturally high background concentrations of certain metals present in sediment from the region may prohibit the direct assessment against some of the routinely applied SQGs. Hot spots of contamination were identified for PAHs, PCBs and PBDEs, that were mainly associated with the Shuaiba Industrial Area, located south of the city, and known to contain a diverse mix of both light and heavy industry.

This paper reports the impact of oil spills and tar-ball pollution on the coastal ecosystem of Goa. The factors responsible for degrading the marine ecosystem of the Goan coastline are analyzed. Uncontrolled activities were found to degrade the marine and coastal biodiversity, in turn polluting all beaches. This had a direct impact on the Goan economy through a decline in tourism. The government must adopt the necessary control measures to restore Goan beaches and the surrounding coastal areas.

A one-dimensional wave model is combined with an analytical sediment transport model to investigate the likely influence of sea-level rise on net cross-shore sediment transport on fetch-limited barrier reef and lagoon island beaches. The modelling considers if changes in the nearshore wave height and wave period in the lagoon induced by different water levels over the reef flat are likely to lead to net offshore or onshore movement of sediment. The results indicate that the effects of SLR on net sediment movement are highly variable and controlled by the bathymetry of the reef and lagoon. A significant range of reef-lagoon bathymetry, and notably shallow and narrow reefs, appears to lead hydrodynamic conditions and beaches that are likely to be stable or even accrete under SLR. Loss of reef structural complexity, particularly on the reef flat, increases the chance of sediment transport away from beaches and offshore.

Due to the rapid population growth, anthropogenic activities result in agricultural, industrial, and urban diffuse runoffs that elevate the level of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus in coastal waters. Currently there is no integrated analysis for coastal eutrophication in Taiwan. A comprehensive analysis of the coastal eutrophic status was performed in this study based on decade-long coastal water quality monitoring data from Taiwan’s Environmental Protection Administration. A 3-tiered monitoring strategy is recommended based on the severity of the current eutrophication state. Results indicate that the most problematic area of coastal eutrophication is located in the estuary of the Donggang River (DGR) and its adjacent coastal waters, i.e., the Kao-Ping mouth (KPM) and Dapeng Bay (DPB) in south-western Taiwan. With a worsening eutrophic status, these areas demand intensive monitoring and research with higher spatial and temporal resolutions to evaluate the stresses of nutrient forcing and predict possible future responses.

This paper reports on the distribution of three natural radionuclides 238U, 232Th and 40K in coastal sediments from Pattipulam to Devanampattinam along the East coast of Tamilnadu to establish baseline data for future environmental monitoring. Sediment samples were collected by a Peterson grab samples from 10m water depth parallel to the shore line. Concentration of natural radionuclides were determined using a NaI(Tl) detector based γ-spectrometry. The mean activity concentration is ⩽2.21, 14.29 and 360.23Bqkg−1 for 238U, 232Th and 40K, respectively. The average activity of 232Th, 238U and 40K is lower when compared to the world average value. Radiological hazard parameters were estimated based on the activity concentrations of 238U, 232Th and 40K to find out any radiation hazard associated with the sediments. The radiological hazard parameters such as radium equivalent activity (Raeq), absorbed gamma dose rates in air (DR), the annual gonadal dose equivalent (AGDE), annual effective dose equivalent (AEDE), external hazard index (Hex) internal hazard index (Hin), activity utilization index (AUI) and excess lifetime cancer (ELCR) associated with the radionuclides were calculated and compared with internationally approved values and the recommended safety limits. Pearson correlation, principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) have been applied in order to recognize and classify radiological parameters in sediments collected at 22 sites on East coast of Tamilnadu. The values of radiation hazard parameters were comparable to the world averages and below the recommended values. Therefore, coastal sediments do not to pose any significant radiological health risk to the people living in nearby areas along East coast of Tamilnadu. The data obtained in this study will serve as a baseline data in natural radionuclide concentration in sediments along the coastal East coast of Tamilnadu.

Particle number concentrations and size distribution of atmospheric aerosol particles were measured in the range 6560nm by a fast mobility particle sizer in Toledo, Spain, and in the outskirts of nearby small villages within the area of influence of a cement factory, quarries and ceramic industries. Several measurement campaigns have been carried out in different days in Toledo (April, May and July) and one campaign in “Comarca de la Sagra” in July. In each campaign, measurement of 10–15 min has been achieved in several different points. In addition, a campaign of continuous measurements has been carried out in Toledo. The average number concentration in Toledo are consistent with other urban measurements, with lower values during the night–time ranging from 3×103 to 1×104 particles/cm3 and higher average levels during daytime ranging from 5×103 to 4×104 particles/cm3 depending on the measurement site and date. The measurement sites show similar background profiles of the particle size distributions with two clear particle modes centered in the sizes ranges 10–15 and 40–50nm. Road traffic is postulated as the main source of submicron particles, giving lower level of particles during the summer time. Results from continuous measurements have been analyzed. On the other hand, the low total concentrations obtained in the “Comarca de la Sagra” campaign, ranging from 1.5×103 to 3.1×103 particles/cm3 with an average value of 2.3×103 particles/cm3, show a negligible influence of the different building materials industries on the total submicron particle concentration in the surrounding area and in Toledo.