Unusually large amounts of marine snow, including Extracellular Polymeric Substances (EPS), were formed during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The marine snow settled with oil and clay minerals as an oily sludge layer on the deep sea floor. This study tested the hypothesis that the unprecedented amount of chemical dispersants applied during high phytoplankton densities in the Gulf of Mexico induced high EPS formation. Two marine phytoplankton species (Dunaliella tertiolecta and Phaeodactylum tricornutum) produced EPS within days when exposed to the dispersant Corexit 9500. Phytoplankton-associated bacteria were shown to be responsible for the formation. The EPS consisted of proteins and to lesser extent polysaccharides. This study reveals an unexpected consequence of the presence of phytoplankton. This emphasizes the need to test the action of dispersants under realistic field conditions, which may seriously alter the fate of oil in the environment via increased marine snow formation.

The EU directive to quantify ecological quality by deviation from pre-impacted conditions often fails to be implemented because past information is usually incomplete or missing. Molluscan death assemblages, representing long-term accumulation of shells on the sea floor, average out short-term variability and can serve as a baseline for quality assessment. AMBI, Bentix and Shannon–Wiener indices were calculated for live and dead assemblages from polluted and control stations on the highly oligotrophic Levantine shallow shelf of Israel. Bentix successfully tracked deterioration over time, from moderate EcoQS in the dead to poor in the live assemblage. Additional modification of the ecological classification of species by scoring the naturally abundant Corbula gibba as pollution-sensitive improved the utility of the Bentix index in monitoring in this part of the Mediterranean. This adjustment of Bentix, and use of death assemblages for an ecological baseline, should therefore be incorporated in monitoring for compliance with EU directives.

Daily mass concentrations and chemical compositions (elemental carbon, organic carbon, water soluble ions, chemical elements and organic species) of PM were measured continuously in Beijing for one year from June 2010 to June 2011 (365 samples). The seasonal variation of PM mass concentration followed the order of spring 2011 > winter 2010 > summer 2010 > autumn 2010. Organic matter (OM) and secondary inorganic aerosol components (SNA: SO42−, NO3− and NH4+) were the two major fractions of PM during the whole year. Source apportionment by PMF performed on the basis of a full year of data, including both inorganic and organic species, showed that biomass burning, secondary sulfate and nitrate formation, mineral dust, industry, coal combustion and traffic were the main sources of PM in Beijing during 2010–2011. Specifically, comparison among the four seasons shows that the contribution of secondary sulfate and biomass burning, secondary nitrate formation, mineral dust, and coal combustion were the dominating sources of PM in summer, autumn, spring and winter, respectively. The contributions of industry to PM was distributed evenly in four seasons, while traffic contributed more in summer and autumn than in winter and spring. Backward trajectory analysis was applied in combination with PMF and showed that air flow from the South contributed mostly to high PM mass concentrations in Beijing. Meteorological parameters (temperature, wind speed, wind direction, precipitation and mixing layer height) influence such a variation. In general, high relative humidity and low mixing layer height can raise PM mass concentration, while high wind speed and precipitation can reduce pollutants. In addition, wind direction also plays a key role in influencing PM because different wind directions can bring different pollutants to Beijing from different regions.

Atmospheric dry deposition samples were collected in urban and suburban areas of Beijing during a coal-burning period. Chemical characteristics of lanthanoid elements (La–Lu) and five heavy metals (Cr, Co, Mo, Cd, and Pb) were analyzed to determine the variation in spatial scale and deposition provenances. Factor analysis and ternary diagrams were used to identify principle pollution sources. The LaCeSm ternary diagram was used to identify oil refineries using fluid catalytic converters and steel plants, but could not differentiate crustal materials. Lanthanoid characteristic parameters showed similarity between deposition and soil in the local and southwest area in the vicinity of Beijing. Analysis of the five heavy metals enabled discrimination of contaminants originating from human activities. Cd, Pb, and Mo were found to originate from vehicular traffic, whereas Co and Cr originated from industrial emissions and coal combustion. Discriminant analysis established the causes of spatial variation. The result shows that Co, Mo, and Pb can mark the differences between urban and suburban sites. From the PbMoCo plot, it was inferred that the different chemical characters are mainly due to the differing origins of depositions. Deposition samples in suburban areas are principally influenced by soil, chimney soot, and fertilizer, whereas those in urban area are mainly affected by traffic emissions.

The ambient and personal air concentrations of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes (BTEX) and carbonyl compounds (CCs) were investigated in Pathumwan district, Bangkok (Thailand), a congested area with a high level of traffic-related air pollution. The potential health risk of three representative groups of street workers (street vendors, motorcycle taxi driver and security guards) exposed to these substances was estimated. The personal air exposure and ambient air samples were collected in the rainy (September 2012) and summer (March 2013) seasons. The 8-h average formaldehyde and acetaldehyde exposure levels for both personal and ambient air concentrations were found to be the major CCs. The highest mean ambient air level of formaldehyde (20.1 μg/m3) was found at the roadside at a busy intersection next to department stores. The highest level of acetaldehyde (9.17 μg/m3) was found in a location with a high traffic load close to the hospital and university. For BTEX, the greatest average concentration was observed around the site located near a bus stop (45.5 μg/m3). In terms of the personal exposure concentrations of CCs and BTEX, no statistically significant differences were found among all sampled locations for street vendors and motorcycle taxi drivers. With respect to the health risk assessment, at a 95% confidence interval (CI) of cancer risk, benzene posed the highest risk followed by formaldehyde and then acetaldehyde (5.36E-06–1.48E-05, 5.58E-06–1.91E-05 and 1.03E-05–5.93E-05 for street vendors, motorcycle taxi driver and security guards) while the 95% CI non-cancer risk values were at an acceptable level. Nevertheless, there were no significant differences in the total cancer risk among the different groups of workers. From the health risk assessment, benzene and formaldehyde were the major traffic related air pollutants that likely affected the human health in this area.

This research applies an integrated sediment quality assessment method using a weight of evidence approach to Cadiz and Algeciras Bays (southern Spain). The method is composed of several analyses (particle size profile, aqua regia extractable metals, acid labile metals, total organic carbon, toxicity bioassay with Photobacterium phosphoreum and macrobenthic community alteration).The proposed method provides a single result, the environmental degradation index (EDI). EDI defined samples as low degraded (outer areas of both bays) and moderately degraded (Inner Bay of Cadiz Bay, the surroundings of Algeciras port and the northern part of Algeciras Bay). These samples showed the highest concentration of aqua regia extractable metals, which exceeded effects range-low (ERL) for Zn (51–176mg/l), Cu (11–54mg/l), As (4.3–9.5mg/l), Hg (0.17–0.28mg/l), Ni (23–82mg/l), and. Cr (37–134mg/l). They also exceeded some quality criteria for total organic carbon (4.0–6.5%) and toxicity (120–240TU/g) and showed poor results for macrobenthic community.

To better explore the concentration of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the sediments of the Yangtze River Estuary (YRE), 16 priority PAHs were analyzed based on sampling data obtained in February 2011. The results showed that the total concentrations of PAHs in sediments of the YRE varied from 65.07 to 668.98ng·g−1. The results of toxic equivalent quantities of benzo[a]pyrene and the sediment quality guideline quotient suggested that PAHs had little or no adverse effects on the environment. The cancer risk results showed that the cancer risk at all sites exceeded 10−6, with 73% of sites exceeding 10−4, suggesting that people remain at risk of cancer as a result of their exposure to carcinogenic PAHs. However, the result of hazard index results showed that the non-cancer risks were substantially lower than one, indicating that PAHs in these sediments likely pose little or no adverse health threats to local inhabitants.

Superstorm Sandy generated huge quantities of debris in the Long Island, NY coastal zone. However, little appears to have been washed offshore to eventually be returned to Long Island's beaches as marine debris wash-ups. Information for our analysis includes debris collection statistics, very high resolution satellite images, along with wind and sea level data. Rigorous debris collection efforts along with meteorological conditions following the storm appear to have reduced the likelihood of debris wash-ups.

The predicted expansion of oil and gas (O&G) activities in the Arctic urges for a better understanding of impacts of these activities in this region. Here we investigated the influence of location, feeding strategy and animal size on the bioaccumulation of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs), Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) and Hexachlorobenzene (HCB) by three Arctic benthic species in Kongsfjorden (Svalbard, Norway). No toxicity was expected based on biota PAH critical body residues. Biota PCB levels were mainly below limit of detection, whereas samples were moderately polluted by HCB. PAH concentrations in biota and Biota Sediment Accumulation Factors (BSAFs) were generally higher in Blomstrandhalvøya than in Ny-Ålesund, which was explained by a higher abundance of black carbon in Ny-Ålesund harbour. BSAFs differed significantly among species and stations. We conclude that contaminant body residues are a less variable and more straightforward monitoring parameter than sediment concentrations or BSAFs in Arctic benthos.

A total of 112 bottom water and sediment samples collected at fixed stations in pre-monsoon and post-monsoon from four estuaries (Pennar, Uppateru, Swarnamukhi, and Kalangi) showed foraminiferal test abnormalities in heavy metal concentrations (Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, and Pb). Low diversity of fauna was due to the predominance of a limited number of opportunistic species capable of achieving high densities in adverse environmental conditions and the reduction in the number of species intolerant of such conditions. In this study, classification of 54 common species according to their distribution is presented. Approximately 15 species showed quite low diversities at stations 23–27 and 44–51. Because of the effect of heavy metal pollution in these estuaries, drastic changes in the number of species and diversity of foraminifera were observed. These changes in foraminiferal species and the increase in test abnormalities are proxies of environmental stress on the estuarine ecosystem.