An activity–based emission model was developed to determine cruise–ship emissions. Calculated emissions depend on cruise–voyage data (position, cruise speed, operation mode) and the ships’ characteristics (engine power, size, fuel– type, maximum cruise–speed). Cruise–ship emissions of particulate matter (PM) and its precursors were determined for the 2008 cruise season and for two proposed management actions: a prescribed speed in Glacier Bay, and implementation of an Emission Control Area (ECA) in Alaska at–large. The Weather Research and Forecasting model inline coupled with chemistry served to assess the impact of these management actions on air quality and visibility. On season–average, ships emitted ~2.5 µg/m2/s PM in Glacier Bay. Cruising at constant 6.69m/s anywhere in Glacier Bay decreased PM–emissions by 32% and marginally increased mean visibility. Altered cruise speeds strongly changed the spatial emission and concentration distributions of all species in and up to 30 km downwind of Glacier Bay. Changes differed among species. An ECA reduced PM–emissions from cruise ships by 74% and their impacts on visibility by 0.1, 0.2 and 0.1 deciview for the 10%, 50% and 90%–percentiles of best–visibility–days in Glacier Bay.

The natural petroleum hydrocarbon degrading capacity of the Archipelago Sea water in S-W Finland was studied in a microcosm experiment. Pristine and previously oil exposed sites were examined. Bacterial community fingerprinting was performed using terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) and samples from selected microcosms were sequenced. The abundance of PAH degradation genes was measured by quantitative PCR. Bacterial communities in diesel exposed microcosms diverged from control microcosms during the experiment. Gram positive PAH degradation genes dominated at both sites in situ, whereas gram negative PAH degrading genes became enriched in diesel microcosms. The dominant bacterial groups after a 14 days of diesel exposure were different depending on the sampling site, belonging to the class Actinobacteria (32%) at a pristine site and Betaproteobacteria (52%) at a previously oil exposed site. The hydrocarbon degrading bacteria in the Baltic Sea differ from those in the oceans, where most hydrocarbon degraders belong to Gammaproteobacteria.

To investigate the upwelling influence on Hg biogeochemical cycles and the sedimentological changes during the previous ∼150years, four sediment box-cores were sampled along an inshore offshore transect on the Southeastern Brazilian continental shelf. Mercury values were found to be relatively low, with means ranging between 8.08 and 30.4ngg−1. Mercury fluxes along the sediment cores are directly related to the well documented historical regional activity and global atmospheric deposition. The narrow relationship between mercury and organic carbon suggest that upwelling phenomenon and primary production may play an important role on Hg input and distribution along continental shelf depositional settings.

The Bay of Bakar is one of the most heavily polluted bays at the Eastern Adriatic. Three major industrial companies potentially endanger the bay. The concentration of major, minor and trace elements in surface sediments from thirteen stations was discussed in relation to the sediment type and foraminiferal assemblages. The distribution of major elements in the bay is influenced by geological nature of surroundings. Heavy metal distribution depends on pollution sources and on amount of mud fraction: fine-grained sediments are enriched by them in comparison with coarse-grained ones. Different sediment quality criteria complicate the pollution assessment in the bay. Heavy metal concentrations generally fall into allowed depositional values for marine environments; only area in front of the coke plant and the City of Bakar harbor is heavily polluted. Stress-tolerant foraminiferal species dominate at stations with higher concentrations of heavy metals and coarse-grained sediments consist of larger number of epifaunal taxa.

The impacts of pollution on marine organisms are often investigated using the viability of their haemocytes. Although this assay is routinely used in monitoring, field and laboratory experimentation, there has been less effort in further optimizing procedures to reduce artefacts and facilitate sampling over large geographic areas.Using the oyster Saccostrea glomerata as a model species, we investigated the effects of different techniques for extracting haemolymph, period of incubation with dye and emersion-time (e.g. tidal-state) on the viability of haemocytes. Collecting haemocytes with a syringe, through a drilled hole in the shell, increased the viability of haemocytes by almost 50%. While emersion-time and incubating haemocytes with the dye for up to 4h did not affect viability.This simple in situ approach provides a less destructive method for extracting haemocytes, allowing their viability to be measured as part of large-scale experiments without jeopardizing the surrounding assemblage of animals and plants.

The incorporation of quantitative trophic level analysis in ecotoxicological studies provides explanatory power to identify the factors, trophic or environmental, driving population-level variation in mercury exposure at large geographic scales. In the Antarctic marine ecosystem, mercury concentrations and stable isotope values in Adélie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae) were compared between the Antarctic Peninsula and the Ross Sea. Correcting tissue δ15N values for baseline δ15N values revealed population-level differences in trophic position which contributes to differences in mercury. Data from Thick-billed murres (Uria lomvia) were synthesized from published values from Baffin Bay and Svalbard to demonstrate the utility of baseline δ15N values in identifying differences in environmental mercury exposure independent of diet. Here, we demonstrate the importance of calculating population-specific trophic level data to uncover the source of variation in mercury concentrations between geographically distinct populations of marine predators.

As an unwanted by-product in the power plants, cooling water (CW) discharge may induce harmful effects on the coastal environment. In this paper, to accurately predict the CW transport in the Daya Bay, China, we develop a three-dimensional hydrodynamic and temperature model to simulate the transport of the CW from nuclear power plant into coastal waters. Specifically, we use the flow velocity produced by the model to locate Lagrangian coherent structures (LCSs) hidden in ocean surface currents. Result show that the transport of the CW is quite strongly tied to the simulated LCSs. The LCSs constitute fluid barriers that accurately demarcate potential pathway for CW transport. Thus, LCSs in velocity fields from a coastal model is an extremely useful way to monitor and interpret the transport of CW.

Nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from marine diesel engines pose a hazard to human health and the environment. From 2021, demanding emissions limits are expected to be applied to sea areas that the Royal Navy (RN) accesses. We analyze how these future constraints affect the choice of NOx abatement systems for RN ships, which are subject to more design constraints than civilian ships. A weighted matrix approach is used to facilitate a quantitative assessment.For most warships to be built soon after 2021 Lean Nitrogen Traps (LNT) in conjunction with Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) represents a relatively achievable option with fewer drawbacks than other system types. Urea-selective catalytic reduction is likely to be most appropriate for ships that are built to civilian standards. The future technologies that are at an early stage of development are discussed.

A novel floatable and biodegradable carrier material was made by coating puffed foxtail millet (PFM) with a calcium alginate (CA)-chitosan compound membrane. A diesel oil-degrading marine bacterial strain, Acinetobacter sp. F9, was immobilized on the carrier material. The number of viable F9 cells immobilized on the carrier material reached approximately 5×109CFU/g. This formulation could be stored at −20°C and 4°C for 10weeks without a significant decrease in the number of viable immobilized cells. SEM results showed that the coating membrane was porous and that F9 cells were immobilized on the walls of the pores. The immobilized F9 cells were able to remove more than 90% of the diesel oil by the second day, while free F9 cells did not remove 90% of the diesel oil until the seventh day. GC–MS analysis indicated that the immobilized F9 cells could remove diesel oil more completely than free cells. The immobilization of the F9 cells enhanced their ability to biodegrade diesel oil.

Based on an understanding of energy, empirical formulas of hourly PAR (photosynthetically active radiation) under all sky conditions in North China were introduced and applied. An interesting and important phenomenon of the absorption of “water vapor factor” in 400–700 nm was studied and its real mechanism can be explained by the energy consumption of the substances (gas, liquid, solid–phase) through OH radicals during chemical and photochemical reactions. The PAR at the top of the atmosphere was estimated with good agreement. PAR losses in the atmosphere associated with “photochemical factor” and other materials in North China are spatial and seasonal dependence; their “annual” averages were 15.33 and 309.30 W m–2 in North China, respectively. The energy loss related to the “photochemical factor” should be considered in all kinds of basic processes in the atmosphere and model studies, including radiation transmission, photochemistry, air motion, and climate.