This paper discusses the distribution patterns of trace metals in sediments and suspended particulate matter (SPM) in the three main estuaries of the Todos os Santos Bay (BTS), Brazil, during dry and rainy seasons. Data available up to 2012 was also reviewed to assess the status of contamination. For most elements, metal concentrations in sediments decreased from the tidal limits to the lower estuary. Metals in SPM presented more complex distributions along the salinity gradient. Metal variability between rainy and dry conditions was only significant for SPM data. Of the BTS estuaries, the levels of Cd, Zn, Pb and Cu are highest in the Subaé estuary, and they seem to be promoting harmful biological effects in macrofauna, and also may pose potential human health risks. Despite the evidence of important localized contamination, much of the data compiled indicates that the bay and its estuaries are still relatively preserved.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were measured in plasma samples of 162 juvenile loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) from Canary Islands, and 205 adult nesting loggerheads from Cape Verde. All the 367 samples showed detectable values of some type of PAH. Phenanthrene was the PAH most frequently detected and at the highest concentration in both populations. Median concentrations of ∑PAHs in the plasma of loggerheads from the Canary Islands and Cape Verde were similar (5.5 and 4.6ng/ml, respectively). Di- and tri-cyclic PAHs were predominant in both populations suggesting petrogenic origin rather than urban sources of PAHs. In the group of turtles from Canary Islands, there was evident an increasing level of contamination over the last few years. The present study represents the first data of contamination by PAHs in sea turtles from the studied areas.

Southern California is an increasingly urbanized hotspot for surfing, thus it is of great interest to assess the human illness risks associated with this popular ocean recreational water sport from exposure to fecal bacteria contaminated coastal waters. Quantitative microbial risk assessments were applied to eight popular Southern California beaches using readily available enterococcus and fecal coliform data and dose-response models to compare health risks associated with surfing during dry weather and storm conditions. The results showed that the level of gastrointestinal illness risks from surfing post-storm events was elevated, with the probability of exceeding the US EPA health risk guideline up to 28% of the time. The surfing risk was also elevated in comparison with swimming at the same beach due to ingestion of greater volume of water. The study suggests that refinement of dose-response model, improving monitoring practice and better surfer behavior surveillance will improve the risk estimation.

The geographical distributions of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), hexachlorobenzene, and 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)ethene (4,4′-DDE) were studied in the Berau delta (East Kalimantan, Indonesia), using sediment sampling and passive water sampling with semipermeable membrane devices. High concentrations of perylene were observed in sediments (54–580ngg⁻¹ dry weight), and water (1–680pgL⁻¹). Perylene accounted for about 60% of the total concentrations of PAHs in the sediment. The relative abundance of the other PAHs was indicative of petrogenic sources. Concentrations of PCBs, hexachlorobenzene, and 4,4′-DDE in sediments were below or close to the detection limit (∼0.02ngg⁻¹). The analysis of a sediment core revealed no appreciable changes in the concentration of target compounds over the past three decades. We show that sediment sampling and passive water sampling are complementary techniques, and propose to bring the results of both methods to the same concentration scale, using locally derived sediment–water partition coefficients.

Under certain circumstances vessels do not need to meet ballast water management requirements as stated in the International Convention for the Management and Control of Ballast Water and Sediments (BWM Convention). Besides exceptions to ensure e.g., (a) the safety of a ship, (b) discharge of ballast water for the purpose of avoiding or minimizing pollution incidents, (c) uptake and discharge on high seas of the same ballast water, the same location concept comes into play as ballast water discharges from a ship at the same location where it was taken up is also excepted from BWM requirements. The term same location was not defined in this instrument, hence it is exposed to different interpretations (e.g., a terminal, a port, a larger area where two or more ports may be located). As the BWM Convention is an instrument with biological meaning, the authors recommend a biologically meaningful definition of the same location in this contribution.

The extent of flood plume water over a 10year period was mapped using quasi-true colour imagery and used to calculate long-term frequency of occurrence of the plumes. The proportional contribution of riverine loads of dissolved inorganic nitrogen, total suspended sediments and Photosystem-II herbicides from each catchment was used to scale the surface exposure maps for each pollutant. A classification procedure was also applied to satellite imagery (only Wet Tropics region) during 11 flood events (2000–2010) through processing of level-2 ocean colour products to discriminate the changing characteristics across three water types: “primary plume water”, characterised by high TSS values; “secondary plume water”, characterised by high phytoplankton production as measured by elevated chlorophyll-a (chl-a), and “tertiary plume water”, characterised by elevated coloured dissolved and detrital matter (CDOM+D). This classification is a first step to characterise flood plumes.

Coastal and inshore areas of the Great Barrier Reef lagoon receive substantial amounts of material from adjacent developed catchments, which can affect the ecological integrity of coral reefs and other inshore ecosystems. A 5-year water quality monitoring dataset provides a ‘base range’ of water quality conditions for the inshore GBR lagoon and illustrates the considerable temporal and spatial variability in this system. Typical at many sites were high turbidity levels and elevated chlorophyll a and phosphorus concentrations, especially close to river mouths. Water quality variability was mainly driven by seasonal processes such as river floods and sporadic wind-driven resuspension as well as by regional differences such as land use. Extreme events, such as floods, caused large and sustained increases in water quality variables. Given the highly variable climate in the GBR region, long-term monitoring of marine water quality will be essential to detect future changes due to improved catchment management.

We investigated heavy metal concentrations of zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), chromium (Cr), and lead (Pb), their spatial distribution and enrichment factor index in surface sediments of the Gorgan Bay. Sediment Quality Guidelines were also applied to assess adverse biological effects of these metals. Heavy metals were determined by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS). The results indicated mean concentrations (ppm) of heavy metals were (mean±S.D.) Pb: 11.5±4.88, Cu: 18±8.83, Zn: 42±22.15 and Cr: 32±15.19. Based on Enrichment index, the Gorgan Bay is a low-enriched to non-enriched bay. Heavy metal contents were lower than the standard limits of PEL, ERL, and ERM that reveal no threatening influence of the metals in the Bay.

Little is known about engineered nanoparticles (NPs) exposures on oysters. As sessile filter feeders, oysters are likely to be exposed to NPs suspended in the water column with unknown effects of NP exposure on oyster functioning. Our study indicates that waterborne NPs alter oyster hemocyte phagocytosis dynamics, an indication of sub-lethal effects of NP exposures. Silver NPs, titanium dioxide (TiO₂) NPs, and silver nitrate exposures reduced phagocytosis compared to the control. Increasing TiO₂ NPs and silver nitrate concentrations reduced phagocytosis. Silver NPs, up to 120ppb, increased phagocytosis, but higher concentrations reduced phagocytosis.

To understand how polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) affect the hatching sensitivity of grass shrimp embryos in different developmental stages, the hatching rates of embryos were measured after PBDE exposure on the early- and late-stage embryo of grass shrimp. PBDEs had no clear influence on the hatching rate. Also, to investigate on the reproductive and genetic toxicities of UV-exposed PBDEs, the hatching rate and DNA damage of stage 7 embryos were also measured. PBDEs had no significant impact on the hatching rate and DNA damage of grass shrimp in most experimental conditions regardless of embryo developmental stage or UV exposure, but in the case of UV-exposed BDE-47, the hatching rate was decreased, suggesting a potential reproductive toxicity. This research is meaningful because it is the first study to propose that PBDEs can cause reproductive toxicity in marine organism, after flowing into the ocean and undergoing photochemical reactions stimulated by UV.