The concentrations of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were determined in mullet (Liza klunzingeri), water and sediment from northern part of Hormuz strait (Persian Gulf). The concentration levels of total PAHs in L. klunzingeri, water and sediment were 133.99–268.57ngg−1dry weight, 3.12–5.88ngl−1 and 42.29–228.9ngg−1 dry weight, respectively. Based on isomer ratios, analysis of the PAHs source in the sediment demonstrated that the PAHs come from pyrogenic and petrogenic origin. Risk assessment showed PAHs threshold concentrations to occasionally be exceeded in the study area.

Many oil and HNS spill accidents occur in the waters surrounding the Korean Peninsula because Korea is one of the biggest trading partners in the world. In this study, we analyzed the oil and HNS spill accidents that occurred between 1994 and 2005 and created risk matrices to assess these accidents. The worst scenarios of future oil and HNS spill accidents were established, and the maximum spill amounts were estimated using historic accident data and a correlation from IPIECA. The maximum spill amounts are estimated to be between 77,000 and 10,000tons of oil and HNS, respectively. One third of the spill materials should be removed using recovery equipment within three days of the spill event, according to the national measure plan. The capability of recovery equipment to remove spill materials can be estimated, and the equipment should then be prepared to mitigate the harmful effects of future oil and HNS accidents on humans and marine ecosystems.

The aim of this work was to test the efficiency of statistical methods as compared to the traditional diagnostic ratios to improve hydrocarbon source identification in sediments subjected to multiple inputs. Hydrocarbon determination in Guanabara Bay sediments pointed out high degradation and ubiquitous petrogenic pollution through the presence of high unresolved complex mixture. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs) ratios suggested pervasive contamination derived from combustion in all sediments and failed discriminating samples despite the specificity of sources in different sampling sites. Principal component analysis (PCA) effectively distinguished the petrogenic imprint superimposed to the ubiquitous combustion contamination, since this technique reduces the influence of PAHs distribution which is common to all samples. PCA associated to multivariate linear regression (MLR) allowed a quantitative assessment of sources confirming predominance of the pervasive contaminant component superimposed to a generalized petrogenic imprint. The pervasive component derives from combustion contributions as well as from differential PAHs degradation.

In the heavily industrialized Masan Bay of southern coast, Korea, the potential harmful effects of heavy metals (Cd, Co, Cu, Ni, Pb, Sn, Zn, and Hg) were evaluated in terms of the pollution load index (PLI) and ecological risk assessment index (ERI) methods, and the results obtained were considered alongside the health of the macrobenthic fauna communities. The results revealed that the bay sediments, especially in the inner bay and the outfall area of a sewage treatment plant, are exposed to moderate to serious levels of metal pollution. Hg and Cd contributed the most to the potential toxicity response indices in sediments recently deposited in the bay. The potential ecological risk assessment of heavy metals in the bay was highlighted by the use of the benthic biological pollution index (BPI), suggesting that the ERI is a useful toxicity response index, which can quantify the overall ecological risk level to a target environment.

The Batu Hijau copper–gold mine on the island of Sumbawa, Indonesia operates a deep-sea tailings placement (DSTP) facility to dispose of the tailings within the offshore Senunu Canyon. The concentrations of trace metals in tailings, waters, and sediments from locations in the vicinity of the DSTP were determined during surveys in 2004 and 2009. In coastal and deep seawater samples from Alas Strait and the South Coast of Sumbawa, the dissolved concentrations of Ag, As, Cd, Cr, Hg, Pb and Zn were in the sub μg/L range. Dissolved copper concentrations ranged from 0.05 to 0.65μg/L for all depths at these sites. Dissolved copper concentrations were the highest in the bottom-water from within the tailings plume inside Senunu Canyon, with up to 6.5μg Cu/L measured in close proximity to the tailings discharge. In general, the concentrations of dissolved and particulate metals were similar in 2004 and 2009.

Breakwaters and related structures dominate near-shore environments in many Persian Gulf countries, but little is known of their ecology. To examine the influence of wave exposure on fish communities we surveyed exposed and sheltered breakwaters seasonally over 2years and compared these with natural reef assemblages. Species richness and adult, juvenile, and total abundance were generally comparable among the three habitat types each season. However, differences in multivariate community structure indicated that each habitat contained a distinct assemblage, with strongest difference between sheltered breakwaters and the exposed natural reef. All communities were characterized by marked seasonality; abundance and richness were generally higher in the warmer seasons (summer, fall) than during cooler periods (winter, spring), and there were related seasonal changes in community structure, particularly on the natural reef. Results indicate that breakwaters are important fish habitats, but that breakwater communities vary with wave exposure and are distinct from natural reefs.

Imam Khomeini Port (IKP) is the largest Iranian commercial port. Because of many petrochemical industries and urban areas are located around this port and also having heavy ship traffic, concentrations of PAHs, mercury and other heavy metals were measured as the first time in surface sediment of the jetties. The highest concentrations of PAHs, Hg, Cu, Pb and Fe were recorded at Site 1, located in the vicinity of the petrochemical industrial zone, where ships are repaired. The highest concentration of Zn was found at Site 4, which is the jetty for loading mineral materials. The comparison between measured values in this study and some sediment quality guidelines indicated that the concentrations of mercury and PAHs are much higher than other studies. Also, the ratios of PAHs in the stations showed a mixture of both of pyrolytic and petrogenic sources with a dominance of pyrolytic sources.

The recent Deepwater Horizon disaster resulted in a dispersed oil plume at an approximate depth of 1000m. Several methods were used to characterize this plume with respect to concentration and spatial extent including surface supported sampling and autonomous underwater vehicles with in situ instrument payloads. Additionally, echo sounders were used to track the plume location, demonstrating the potential for remote detection using acoustic backscatter (ABS). This study evaluated use of an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) to quantitatively detect oil-droplet suspensions from the ABS response in a controlled laboratory setting. Results from this study showed log-linear ABS responses to oil-droplet volume concentration. However, the inability to reproduce ABS response factors suggests the difficultly in developing meaningful calibration factors for quantitative field analysis. Evaluation of theoretical ABS intensity derived from the particle size distribution provided insight regarding method sensitivity in the presence of interfering ambient particles.

Spatial trends of polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) congeners were examined by using high resolution gas chromatography – low resolution electron impact mass spectrometry (GC-EIMS) in 414 samples of young-of-the-year (YOY) bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix) collected from a total of 29 nursery habitats along the US Atlantic coastline from Massachusetts to Florida. Of the 26 target PBDE congeners, BDE-47 (4 Br), BDE-100 (5 Br), BDE-49 (4 Br), BDE-99 (5 Br), and BDE-154 (6 Br) were the five most frequently detected congeners in the order of decreasing importance. The sum of the concentrations of five major PBDE congeners, referred to as ΣPBDEs, varied between estuaries and also among samples from a given estuary. ΣPBDEs were lowest in YOY bluefish from Vineyard Sound, Nantucket Sound, Great Bay, Delaware Bay, Lynnhaven Bay, Cape Lookout, and Crescent Beach, with maximum ΣPBDE concentrations below 10ng/g wet weight. ΣPBDEs in three bluefish samples from Stamford Harbor were detected at relatively high to unusually high concentrations of 69.1, 205, and 561ng/g wet weight. ΣPBDE values for other Stamford Harbor bluefish were generally low. Highest PBDE concentrations were detected in the vicinity of industrial and urban locations within the New York – New Jersey metropolitan complex. Among them, bluefish from Newark Bay were generally the most contaminated with an average ΣPBDE value of 56.6±30.8ng/g wet weight. ΣPBDEs in bluefish from Newark Bay were numerically greater than ΣPBDEs in bluefish from all locations, however these differences were not statistically significant. Modest to good correlations between ΣPBDEs and lipids were observed for YOY bluefish from Buzzards Bay, Upper New Bedford Harbor, Lower New Bedford Harbor, Outer New Bedford Harbor, Providence Harbor, Housatonic River, Norwalk Harbor, Little Neck Bay, Newark Bay, Sandy Hook Bay, Great Bay, Delaware Bay, Patuxent River and Crescent Beach. Poor correlations between ΣPBDE and lipids were observed for bluefish from other estuaries. ΣPBDEs were not always correlated with fish length or weight. ΣPBDEs in YOY bluefish along the US Atlantic coastline modestly paralleled ΣPBDEs in mussels and oysters, from not exact but geographically loosely similar locations, reported in the NOAA Mussel Watch Program. A number of researchers who used the high resolution mass spectrometry reported additional PBDE congeners. Although PBDE congeners we report do appear to be the prominent congeners in these studies, it is likely that the comparisons will be skewed in certain instances.

Sediment contamination poses a potential risk for both ecosystems and human health. Risk assessment is troublesome as sediments contain complex mixtures of toxicants, and traditional chemical analyses can neither provide information about potential hazards to organisms nor identify and measure all present contaminants. This work combines the use of the PLHC-1 cell line and the recombinant yeast assay (RYA) to assess the environmental quality of estuarine and coastal sediments. The application of multiple endpoints (cytotoxicity, generation of oxidative stress, presence of CYP1A inducing agents, micronucleus formation and estrogenicity) revealed that the organic extracts of those sediments affected by industrial activities or collected near harbours and untreated urban discharges showed significant cytotoxicity, micronuclei and CYP1A induction. The study highlights the usefulness of the applied bioassays to identify those sediments that could pose risk to aquatic organisms and that require further action to improve their environmental quality.