The Ulsan metropolitan city in Korea includes two national industrial complexes [Ulsan Petrochemical Industrial Complex (UPIC) and On–San Industrial Complex (OSIC)] that produce various industrial products. Air pollution from these industrial complexes may pose potential health risks to nearby residential areas. Therefore, WRF–CALPUFF (Weather Research and Forecasting–California PUFF) modeling systems were used to simulate concentration distributions of typical air pollutants (PM10 and SO2), and statistics are computed to determine the models' ability to simulate observations. Finally, we classified the type of business and districts in the region and evaluated their contribution to air pollutant concentrations. Five statistical metrics [Index of Agreement (IOA), Fractional Bias (FB), Normalized Mean Square Error (NMSE), and Pearson correlation coefficient (R)] indicated that the simulated values using CALMET was determined to have sufficient reliability to predict CALPUFF, and simulated concentration field using CALPUFF showed a good agreement [typical values: IOA (0.284 to 0.850 for PM10, 0.412 to 0.895 for SO2), and FB (0.043 to 0.821 for PM10, –0.393 to 0.638 for SO2)] with the observed concentrations. The maximum concentrations of PM10 and SO2 using CALPUFF were predicted to be located around OSIC and UPIC, respectively. We compared the simulated values with observed values at 14 monitoring stations, and the SO2 tended to display better agreement to observed SO2 values than modeled and observed PM10. The source contribution analysis found that PM10 and SO2 were mostly influenced by group B (35.1%) including steel, machinery, and electronic industry nearby OSIC and group A (40.6%) including chemical industry nearby UPIC, respectively. Finally, the correlations between simulated concentrations of PM10 and SO2 and corresponding emission quantities were 0.663 and 0.528, respectively. Overall, the results of this study could be useful for designing appropriate seasonal regulations to reduce ambient concentrations of air pollutants and assisting environmental administrators to control the sources that contribute the most to degradation of air quality.

Total organic carbon (TOC) (in sediment) and dissolved organic matter (DOM) (in water column) play important roles in controlling the mercury sequestration process by the sediments from the central east coast of India. This toxic metal prefers to associate with finer size particles (silt and clay) of sediments. Increasing concentrations of DOM in overlying water column may increase complexation/reduction processes of Hg2+ within the water column and decrease the process of Hg sequestration by sediments. However, high concentrations of DOM in water column may increase Hg sequestration process by sediments.

Bonaire is considered to harbor some of the best remaining coral reefs of the Caribbean, but faces multiple pressures including eutrophication. We measured multiple water quality indicators twice annually, from November 2011 to May 2013, at 11 locations at the west coast of Bonaire. This study resulted in 834 data points. DIN concentrations ranged from below quantification to 2.69μmol/l, phosphate from below quantification to 0.16μmol/l, and chlorophyll-a from 0.02 to 0.42μg/l. Several indicators showed signs of eutrophication, with spatial and temporal effects. At southern and urban locations threshold levels of nitrogen were exceeded. This can be a result of brine leaching into sea from salt works and outflow of sewage water. Chlorophyll-a showed an increase in time, and phosphorus seemed to show a similar trend. These eutrophication indicators are likely to exceed threshold levels in near future if the observed trend continues. This is a cause for concern and action.

We explore the possibilities for spontaneous formation of surface patches with high concentrations of contaminants through time correlations of the convergence field and the Lagrangian transport. The test area is the Gulf of Finland, the Baltic Sea, where surface velocity fields show extensive convergence. The flow properties are extracted from 3D velocity fields simulated for 1987–1991 using the OAAS model with a resolution of 1mile. The focus is on the spatial distribution of the areas in which the values of finite-time flow compressibility of surface velocity fields exceed the threshold for clustering of floats. The distribution of such areas is asymmetric, with likely areas of patch formation located predominantly in the southern and eastern regions of the gulf. Out of nine areas of likely patch formation, six are located along the coast in regions of frequent downwelling, while three are identified in the central region of the gulf.

Thirteen sites in Deception Bay, Queensland, Australia were sampled three times over a period of 7months and assessed for contamination by a range of heavy metals, primarily As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb and Hg. Fraction analysis, enrichment factors and Principal Components Analysis–Absolute Principal Component Scores (PCA–APCS) analysis were conducted in order to identify the potential bioavailability of these elements of concern and their sources. Hg and Te were identified as the elements of highest enrichment in Deception Bay while marine sediments, shipping and antifouling agents were identified as the sources of the Weak Acid Extractable Metals (WE-M), with antifouling agents showing long residence time for mercury contamination. This has significant implications for the future of monitoring and regulation of heavy metal contamination within Deception Bay.

Frequency, duration and intensity of stresses like turbidity and sedimentation caused by dredging must be known to determine the environmental impact of dredging projects. These stresses depend on the amount of sediment spill from a dredger and on how much of this spill still is in suspension near environmentally sensitive areas. Near-field mixing close to a dredger influences the deposition behaviour of the sediment spill. This is investigated systematically with computational fluid dynamics simulations for 136 different conditions of trailing suction hopper dredger overflow sediment plume mixing. Most important influences are found for the ambient depth and the crossflow velocity (vector sum of the dredging speed and the ambient velocity), which can result in a completely different suspended sediment source flux behind the dredger. The simulation results are translated into mathematical relations to predict the suspended sediment source flux without computational effort.

The concentrations of metals in the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis (Lamarck, 1819) prevalent along the west coast of the Cape Peninsula, Cape Town are presented. The mussels were sampled during the routine “Mussel Watch Programme” (MWP) between 1985 and 2008. Levels of Cu, Cd, Pb, Zn, Hg, Fe and Mn at Cape Point, Hout Bay, Sea Point, Milnerton and Bloubergstrand were analysed for autumn and spring and showed consistent similar mean values for the five sites. There was a highly significant temporal (annual and seasonal) difference between all metals as well as a significant difference in metal concentrations between the five sites. The concentrations of Zn, Fe, Cd and Pb were higher than previous investigations and possibly indicative of anthropogenic sources of metals. The results provide a strong motivation to increase efforts in marine pollution research in the area.

The bioaccumulation of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in deep sea fish from the Rockall fishing area was investigated. Predator and prey species were analysed for stable isotopes, fatty acids, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). δ15N indicated that black scabbard was at the highest trophic level and the prey the lowest. The fatty acid signatures indicated that black scabbard and black dogfish fed at a higher trophic level compared to the roundnose grenadier. PCBs and PBDEs were detected in the liver of all three predator species. PCB concentrations were significantly higher in the roundnose grenadier, possibly due to their longer life span. PCB concentrations were compared to OSPAR assessment criteria, concentrations were above background but below Environmental Assessment Criteria for all but one congener. PCB concentrations were below food safety levels in the flesh, but exceeded the limit for liver in the roundnose grenadier and black dogfish.

A multispecies bloom caused by the centric diatoms, viz. Coscinodiscus radiatus, Chaetoceros lorenzianus and the pennate diatom Thalassiothrix frauenfeldii was investigated in the context of its impact on phytoplankton and microzooplankton (the loricate ciliate tintinnids) in the coastal regions of Sagar Island, the western part of Sundarban mangrove wetland, India. Both number (15–18 species) and cell densities (12.3×103cellsl−1 to 11.4×105cellsl−1) of phytoplankton species increased during peak bloom phase, exhibiting moderately high species diversity (H′=2.86), richness (R′=6.38) and evenness (E′=0.80). The diatom bloom, which existed for a week, had a negative impact on the tintinnid community in terms of drastic changes in species diversity index (1.09–0.004) and population density (582.5×103 to 50×103indm−3). The bloom is suggested to have been driven by the aquaculture activities and river effluents resulting high nutrient concentrations in this region. An attempt has been made to correlate the satellite remote sensing-derived information to the bloom conditions. MODIS-Aqua derived chlorophyll maps have been interpreted.

The dynamics of river plume in relation to harmful blooms of the raphidophycean flagellate, Chattonella antiqua in summer 2008–2010 in the Yatsushiro Sea, Japan were studied using a hydrodynamic model and monitoring data. In the southern area, the bloom formed in the waters stratified by a halocline caused by the southward expansion of riverine water from the Kuma River after the bloom initially forming in the northern area. The timing of the southward riverine water advection can be explained by the balance between the wind stress term and the pressure gradient term calculated from the horizontal density difference between the northern and southern areas. The wind stress and pressure gradient terms were evaluated using the sea surface temperature, salinity, wind speed and direction at two stations. Real time monitoring or continuous observations in these areas will enable nowcasts of bloom expansion when a bloom develops in the northern area.