Following the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) spill, oil residues were found in all five Gulf states of the United States (Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida). However, only a small amount was found in Texas, leading to speculation that it may have arrived there via ship through bilge water instead of naturally via currents. We report on a numerical modeling effort to simulate surface drifters during and after the DWH spill to demonstrate that surface water parcels – and therefore oil carried by those parcels – could reasonably have reached Texas waters at the appropriate time and location from known oiled locations without human interference. We additionally give context for the conditions in 2010 through a study of summer connectivity with the Galveston Bay coastline, which shows that in some years oil from the DWH pipe likely would not have reached Texas.

In this study, we used flow cytometry to examine how incubation in dark versus light affects the vitality and viability of UV-irradiated Tetraselmis suecica. High UV doses (300 and 400 mJ/cm²) affected the esterase activity, membrane permeability, and chlorophyll content more when the subsequent incubation took place in light. For non- or low UV dose (100 and 200 mJ/cm²)-treated cells, incubation in light resulted in cell regrowth as compared to incubation in dark. Damaged cells (enzymatically active but with permeable membranes) did not recover when incubated under light or dark conditions.Exposure to light reduces the evaluation time of any given ballast water treatment, as viable cells will be detected at an earlier stage and the vitality is more affected. When evaluating the performance of UV-based ballast water treatment systems (BWTS), these results can be useful for type approval using T. suecica as a test organism in the test regime.

We investigated the environmental partitioning and particle characteristics of macro-, meso- and microplastics and their uptake into the mussel, Mytilus edulis. Sediment samples, overlying seawater and mussels from 9 intertidal locations in the South West of England were analysed for abundance and type of microplastic. Micro- and mesoplastic-like particles were found in 88.5% of the 269 mussels sampled, ranging from 1.43 to 7.64 items per mussel. Of these plastic particles, 70.9% were identified as semi-synthetic (mainly modified-cellulose). Mussel microplastic abundance, but not polymer type, was correlated with that of their surrounding sediment, but not with sea-surface microplastic concentration or mussel size for our study sites. We found significant differences in the relative abundance of polymer types and particle sizes between seawater, sediment, and mussels, with mussels over-representing modified-cellulose fibre abundance but under-representing polyvinyl. Mussels contained significantly smaller plastic fragments than their surrounding sediment and shorter fibres than their overlying seawater.

Silver (Ag) is a non-essential metal known to bioaccumulate in aquatic organisms. We determined Ag concentrations in five false killer whales stranded in South America. Silver concentrations (in dry weight basis) range as 6.62–10.78 μg g⁻¹ in liver, 0.008–7.41 μg g⁻¹ in spleen, 0.004–5.71 μg g⁻¹ in testis, 0.757–1.69 μg g⁻¹ in kidney, 0.011–0.078 μg g⁻¹ in lung and < 0.01–0.038 μg g⁻¹ in muscle, whereas in the single samples of uterus and ovary were 0.051 and 0.023 μg g⁻¹; respectively. Overall, Ag concentration in liver and kidney exceeded the cetacean toxic thresholds, proposed as “unhealthy concentrations” and “critically dangerous” in liver and kidney. These results warrant further eco-toxicological studies, to examine biological effects of elevated silver levels for individuals and to assess the species' conservation status with respect to marine pollution.

We studied the bioaccumulation of metals and PAHs, the pathological conditions, regressive phenomena and pathogens in wild Mytilus galloprovincialis taken along the North Pier facing the former second Italian largest steelworks of Bagnoli. There was no Cd and Pb bioaccumulation with respect to the EU role 221/2002. Metal shell index decreased as follows: Pb > Ni > Zn > Cu and correlates with the pollution state. The level of BaP was up to thirtysixfold higher the EU rule 835/2011. The sum of 4 hydrocarbons, PAH4, were up to seventeen-fold the rule. PAH levels increased toward the coast. Prevalence values of tissue necrosis and inflammatory lesions were between 50 and 100%. In May animals showed lesion like granulocytomas and inflammatory capsules. Signs of atresia, necrotic oocytes and diffused cases of hermaphroditism were detected. An appropriate localization of farming to avoid contamination from sediment turbulence and risks for consumer health is needed.

Microplastic (MP) pollution was investigated, for the first time, in six commercial molluscs collected from the lagoon of Bizerte during March 2018. The objective of this study was to determine the bioavailability of MPs to marine organisms and their risk for consumers of seafood. MP concentrations varied from 703.95 ± 109.80 to 1482.82 ± 19.20 items kg⁻¹ wet weight. Three types of coloured MPs, including fibres, fragments and films were recovered. Fibres were the most common MP type isolated in each species. The most common size class was 0.1–1 mm. The FTIR-ATR analysis confirmed the presence of two polymer types polyethylene and polypropylene. Our results suggest that MP pollution was widespread and exhibited a relatively high level in commercial molluscs collected from Bizerte lagoon, suggesting trophic transfer in the food web and human exposure risks by diet. More investigations on MPs should be conducted in seafood and other marine organisms.

An Eulerian passive tracer model coupled with a quadruple-nested 3D circulation model was used to assess the coastal dispersal of treated wastewater effluent from a sewage treatment plant and the associated impacts on an adjacent seaweed farm using three different operational scenarios. When the discharged volume and source effluent fluxes were decreased by ~16.7%, the accumulated effluent in the farm was reduced by ~25.4%. A tracer flux budget analysis revealed the apparent predominance of the transient component that accounts for the nonlinear interactions primarily from tidal currents and eddies. The transient flux promoted the effluent influx to impede effluent accumulation in the farm, whereas the mean flux contributed to the outgoing flux. A source flux reduction caused a remarkable decrease in the transient flux and thus an even greater effluent accumulation reduction. In turn, a modified source density scenario without total effluent volume change did not work as expected.

Antifouling coatings are used to protect boat hulls from fouling organisms. The paints are designed to release biocides and by this prevent fouling organisms to attach. Until now the simultaneous release of the bulk plastic material has been over-looked. In this study the amount of antifouling paints on ships and leisure boats in Scandinavian countries and Germany has been compared and a calculation of the release of micro plastics has been performed. The result shows that use of a biocide-free hard coating will completely reduce outlet of biocides and the input of polymers will dramatically be reduced from at the most 5% in comparison to traditional paints where the release rate of plastics is estimated to be 70–85%. The advantage for the boat owners will be large since the hard maintenance work will be reduced, release of micro plastics will be low and thus lead to an improved environment.

Environmental concentrations of Pb have been increased due to anthropogenic activities, which have provoked the released of this element to the environment in large amounts. To understand how Pb behaves in remote southern marine ecosystems, we measured Pb concentrations and isotope ratios in biota from coastal marine ecosystems of the Chilean Patagonia and the Antarctic Peninsula area. Lead concentrations in the aquatic organisms ranged from 0.02 to 1.19 mg kg−1 d.w. In Patagonia, higher Pb levels were found in fish than in invertebrates (crab, shrimp, porifera, limpet and shellfish). In comparison with the baseline reference values from other parts of the world, fishes exhibited lower Pb levels. The results of Pb isotopic compositions indicated that the bioaccumulation of Pb in marine organisms come from different anthropogenic sources. These Pb levels might be useful for further studies that allow a deeper evaluation of sources for Pb contamination in these remote ecosystems.

Seagrass meadows are declining at alarming rates globally due to both anthropogenic activities and natural threats. Seagrasses play key ecological roles in coastal ecosystems as primary producers and providers of habitat and environmental structure. Therefore, mapping seagrass beds is indispensable for the effective monitoring and management of coastal vegetated habitats. In contrast to direct sampling techniques and optical remote sensing, active hydroacoustic techniques are relatively inexpensive and efficient for the detection of seagrass. We used a single beam echosounder to detect the spatial and temporal distribution characteristics of the eelgrass Zostera marina L. in an important overwintering habitat for the whooper swan Cygnus cygnus (Swan-Lake lagoon), northern China. We also distinguished echograms of the macroalgae Chaetomorpha linum K. and outlined its threat to seagrass. We also propose a method for calculating the accuracy of interpolation analyses. Results showed that: (1) The distribution of seagrass in Swan Lake varies with seasons, with maximum distribution area in summer. The maximum distribution area of seagrass beds in Swan Lake was 199.09 ha–231.67 ha, accounting for 41.48%–48.26% of the area of Swan Lake; (2) C. linum is a growing threat for seagrass beds of Swan-lake, with distribution area as high as 129.28 ha in May 2018. The invasion and competition by C. linum against seagrass beds could be one of the reasons for the decline in seagrass beds in Swan-Lake; (3) Topo to Raster has the highest interpolation accuracy and is the most conservative among three interpolation methods. Topo to Raster was the most suitable interpolation method for the sonar detection of seagrass beds. The findings may facilitate the application of sonar technology in seagrass monitoring and provide data for the formulation of appropriate seagrass bed management and restoration strategies and policies.