Fires impact atmospheric composition through their emissions, which range from long-lived gases to short-lived gases and aerosols. Effects are typically larger in the tropics and boreal regions but can also be substantial in highly populated areas in the northern mid-latitudes. In all regions, fire can impact air quality and health. Similarly, its effect on large-scale atmospheric processes, including regional and global atmospheric chemistry and climate forcing, can be substantial, but this remains largely unexplored. The impacts are primarily realised in the boundary layer and lower free troposphere but can also be noticeable in upper troposphere/lower stratosphere (UT/LS) region, for the most intense fires. In this review, we summarise the recent literature on findings related to fire impact on atmospheric composition, air quality and climate. We explore both observational and modelling approaches and present information on key regions and on the globe as a whole. We also discuss the current and future directions in this area of research, focusing on the major advances in emission estimates, the emerging efforts to include fire as a component in Earth system modelling and the use of modelling to assess health impacts of fire emissions.

Although considered pristine, Antarctica has not been impervious to hydrocarbon pollution. Antarctica’s history is peppered with oil spills and numerous abandoned waste disposal sites. Both spill events and constant leakages contribute to previous and current sources of pollution into marine sediments. Here we compare the response of the benthic diatom communities over 5years to exposure to a commonly used standard synthetic lubricant oil, an alternative lubricant marketed as more biodegradable, in comparison to a control treatment. Community composition varied significantly over time and between treatments with some high variability within contaminated treatments suggesting community stress. Both lubricants showed evidence of significant effects on community composition after 5years even though total petroleum hydrocarbon reduction reached approximately 80% over this time period. It appears that even after 5years toxicity remains high for both the standard and biodegradable lubricants revealing the temporal scale at which pollutants persist in Antarctica.

The removal of ammonium (NH4+), nitrite (NO2−), nitrate (NO3−), and phosphate (PO4−3) in a closed silvofishery system was examined using three mangrove species (i.e., Avicennia germinans, Laguncularia racemosa, and Rhizophora mangle). Specifically, six closed tanks were installed for this experiment with a population of 60 Dormitator latifrons fishes per tank. We planted 40 seedlings in each of three experimental tanks separated by species, while the remaining tanks were used as control. During 15weeks, nutrient concentrations among the three mangrove systems presented no significant differences (P>0.05). However, nutrient removal variability was minimum during the last 2–5weeks. Mangroves presented an average efficiency of 63% for the removal of NH4+ and NO2−. Contrary, the average removal potential of NO3− and PO4−3 was 50%. Results from this study suggest that the three mangrove species could be used in a closed silvofishery systems for the biological removal of NH4+, NO2−, NO3−, and PO4−3.

One-hundred and thirty-four samples of mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) collected along Central Adriatic Sea in 2013 were examined to determine the levels of fifteen congeners of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). The purified samples were analysed by gas-chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) applying the isotopic dilution. Only four congeners (PBDE 47, PBDE 99, PBDE 49 and PBDE 100) were present above the established limits of quantification with mean concentrations equal to 73, 30, 19 and 18pgg−1, respectively. The concentrations of PBDEs (sum) ranged from 27 to 386pgg−1, with the highest levels around the coastal area of Ancona town. The here found levels were comparable to those measured in mussels collected along Southern Adriatic Sea.

Benthic indices are commonly used tools for assessing the environmental quality, because they represent a simple source of scientific information. However, their performance could vary depending on the application area and perturbation types, thus they should be tested before used in other remote geographic regions. This study aims to test the use of some of the most widely common benthic biotic indices for assessing the environmental quality of Montevideo’s coastal zone at a seasonal scale against many physicochemical variables. From all the evaluated indices, AMBI appears to be the most suitable one to assess the environmental quality. The study also allowed us to infer the most relevant physicochemical variables: protein, lipid and heavy metal sediment concentration. Additionally, site-specific threshold effect levels for heavy metals and biopolymers were established, which appear to be useful to determine tolerable levels of such stressors in future assessments or monitoring programs for the study area.

The intrinsic features of the temporal evolution of the air pollution are of crucial importance for its reliable modeling. In this regard, Varotsos et al. (2012) suggested that the surface ozone fluctuations at Athens since 1900, exhibit long-range dependence (long-memory), despite its present-day doubling. We herewith establish the long-memory in surface ozone concentrations that assumed in Varotsos et al. (2012), by employing recent analytical tools.

‘Collect once, use often’ is a frequently cited principle in both national and international efforts to promote the collection, archiving and sharing of marine monitoring data. Since the implementation of the Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ) evidence collection programme, 67 recommended MCZ sites have been visited and a suite of marine data collected. Here we present how this dataset was utilised outside of the MCZ programme to identify occurrences of non-indigenous species (NIS) around the UK coast. One hundred and thirty-five aquatic species from the Non-native Species Information Portal (NNSIP) register were used to produce a standard list of NIS against which, infauna and epifaunal data records from the MCZ project were compared. A total of 20 NIS were identified across 42 of the 67 sites surveyed. This study demonstrates that with sufficient coordination and management data collected for other purposes can be easily utilised to address additional policy requirements.

Eighteen different perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) were investigated in 35 river water samples and 34 sediment samples collected from rivers in the Liaodong Bay basin containing two fluorine industry parks. Perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) were the predominant PFASs in freshwater, with median concentrations of 26.5ng/L and 1.87ng/L, respectively. However, perfluorobutane sulfonate (PFBS) had the highest maximum concentration (up to 124.1ng/L, approximately two orders of magnitude higher) in water at a site which is the nearest to the industrial source of PFASs. Total PFASs in water at this site were also the highest. In contrast, PFOA and perfluorooctadecanoate (PFOcDA) were the most abundant PFASs in sediment, with median concentrations of 1.19ng/g and 0.35ng/g, respectively. Total PFAS concentrations in sediment from the site near to the industrial park were significantly higher than the other rivers. Mass loading of total PFASs from the rivers flowing into Liaodong Bay was estimated to be 506kg/year.

In the marine environment, underwater noise is one of the most widespread input of man-made energy. Recently, the European Commission has stressed the necessity of establishing threshold levels as a target for the descriptor 11.2.1 “Continuous low frequency sounds” in the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). In 2012, a monthly underwater noise monitoring programme was conducted in the Gulf of Trieste (Northern Adriatic Sea, Italy); the collected acoustic samples (frequency range: 10–20,000Hz) were analysed in the 1/3 octave bands. The stations have been further clustered following the 63 and 125Hz bands noise levels. Average SPL levels resulted similar to those previously computed for proximate areas, indicating that the Adriatic Sea sub-region experiences high noise pressure in the marine waters. In its turn this claims for a scientific and technical international cooperation, as requested by the EU programme. No seasonal variation in local noise levels has been found.

Contaminant concentrations are reported for surface water, sediment, flora and fauna collected during 2010–2011 from the mangrove fringe along eastern Tampa Bay, Florida. Concentrations of trace metals, chlorinated pesticides, atrazine, total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and polychlorinated biphenyls were species-, chemical- and location-specific. Contaminants in sediments did not exceed proposed individual sediment quality guidelines. Most sediment quality assessment quotients were less than one indicating the likelihood of no inhibitory effect based on chemical measurements alone. Faunal species typically contained more contaminants than plant species; seagrass usually contained more chemicals than mangroves. Bioconcentration factors for marine angiosperms were usually less than 10 and ranged between 1 and 31. Mercury concentrations (ppm) in blue crabs and fish did not exceed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency fish tissue criterion of 0.3 and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration action level of 1.0. In contrast, total mercury concentrations in faunal species often exceeded guideline values for wildlife consumers of aquatic biota.