Juvenile flounders (Platichthys flesus), collected in two estuaries with similar temperature regimes (the heavily polluted Seine and the moderately contaminated Vilaine), were submitted to a common garden experiment. After an acclimation period, both populations were challenged by a thermal stress (9–24°C for 15days, then maintenance at 24°C for 19days). The condition factor of the Vilaine fish increased in both conditions, while it decreased for the heated Seine flounders after 34days. The expression of genes related to the energetic metabolism was measured in the liver. The expression levels for ATP-F0 and COII were significantly reduced for heated vs. standard fish from both estuaries, while a decrease of the 12S expression was detected only in heated vs. standard fish from the Seine estuary. Thus, it is suggested that highly contaminated fish from Seine could display a lower tolerance to thermal stress, compared to moderately contaminated fish from Vilaine.

Indices based on macrobenthic responses to disturbance remain to be adequately tested for the detection of spatial variability by robust sampling designs. We present herein a congruence test to real-world data of the widely used indices AMBI, M-AMBI and BENTIX in tidal flats of a subtropical estuary. We used a hierarchical sampling design to evaluate the spatial variability of the indices in response to distinct levels of sewage contamination. Indices were then tested for correlations with chemical proxies of contamination and for the similarity of responses. BENTIX and M-AMBI produced over- and underestimations of ecological status. We found a low degree of similarity among indices as an expression of the spatial variation of macrofaunal assemblages on their performances. Only AMBI varied at the contamination scale (103m) and was congruent with physical–chemical proxies. Ambiguous responses indicated effects of natural inputs of organic matter rather than environmental quality associated to sewage.

To determine biotransformation of components in crude oil dispersions in the presence of feces from marine copepods, dispersed oil was incubated alone, with the addition of clean or oil-containing feces. We hypothesized that the feces would contribute with nutrients to bacteria, and higher concentrations of oil-degrading bacteria, respectively. Presence of clean feces resulted in higher degradation of aromatic oil compounds, but lower degradation of n-alkanes. Presence of oil-containing feces resulted in higher degradation of n-alkanes. The effect of clean feces on aromatic compounds are suggested to be due to higher concentrations of nutrients in the seawater where aromatic degradation takes place, while the lower degradation of n-alkanes are suggested to be due to a preference by bacteria for feces over these compounds. Large aggregates were observed in oil dispersions with clean feces, which may cause sedimentation of un-weathered lipophilic oil compounds towards the seafloor if formed during oil spills.

Mercury (Hg) and selenium (Se) concentrations were evaluated in a planktivorous fish and four size classes of organisms (FSCO), collected at an oligotrophic bay in the Southeastern Brazilian coast. No significant spatial differences between Hg and Se were found in the FSCO within the five sampling points in the bay. Hg and Se concentrations increased with successive increases in the size class of the analyzed plankton, i.e. approximately 3-and 2-fold, respectively, from microplankton to macroplankton. Hg and Se biomagnified throughout the planktonic food web. The smallest size class of organism, seston, composed of both biotic and abiotic portions, and fish showed the highest Hg concentrations. This indicates that Hg is not biomagnifying in the base of the bay food web. Selenium concentrations in fish were approximately 5.9 times higher than those in seston. Hg and Se concentrations in fish were approximately 3.5 and 14.6 times higher than those found in the plankton, respectively.

Jiaozhou Bay has recently suffered from serious problems with pollution and eutrophication. Thus, land-based pollutant load must be reduced through a national control program. In this study, we developed a 3D water quality model to determine the environmental capacity of nitrogen and phosphorus in Jiaozhou Bay. A 3D hydrodynamic model (the estuarine, coastal, and ocean modeling system with sediments) was coupled with a water quality model, which was adapted from the dynamic model of nitrogen and phosphorus for a mesocosm near Jiaozhou Bay. The water quality model is divided into seven components: dissolved inorganic nitrogen, phosphate, phytoplankton, zooplankton, detritus, dissolved organic nitrogen, and dissolved organic phosphorus. Furthermore, it was calibrated based on data collected from Jiaozhou Bay in 2003. The proposed model effectively reproduced the spatiotemporal variability in nutrient concentration, thus suggesting that a reasonable numerical representation of the prototype system must be developed for further evaluation of environmental capacity.

Remediation of soil and groundwater contaminated with toxic metals has been a major environmental challenge for decades. Yet, cost-effective and sustainable in situ remediation technologies remain lacking. Over the last 15 years or so, an innovative in situ remediation strategy has shown promising by means of stabilized nanoparticles. Stabilized nanoparticles are prepared using novel stabilizers that facilitate the deliverability and transport of nanoparticles in the subsurface. This study reviews synthesis and characterization of some model stabilized nanoparticles and their application for remediation of metal-contaminated soil and water. Fate and transport of these stabilized nanoparticles in groundwater and soil are also examined. Lastly, this review identifies the key knowledge gaps such as lack of field data pertaining to the long-term effectiveness of the immobilized metals and impacts of the delivered nanoparticles on the biogeochemical conditions in the subsurface. The information may facilitate further development of this promising remediation technology.

To assess the public's understanding of the main sources of air pollution in Nanchang and factors influencing their perceptions of Nanchang's air quality status, a face–to–face survey data was collected at the provincial children's hospital and four kindergarten classes in Nanchang. A total of 989 parents with children between the ages of 2 to 10 years old participated in the survey. Among which 69% of respondents believed that the current air quality was worse than three years ago. This study reveals that parents who were under 40 years old of age with higher education level and international travel experience, had higher level awareness of air pollution. Men tend to have lower knowledge of air pollution as compared to women. The top three selected sources of air pollution were motor vehicles (78.5%), waste burning (56.3%) and industrial facilities (53.7%). In addition, 79.8% of respondents believed that the government did not spend enough on environmental protection and 96.8% suggested to increase government funding to improve air quality. The majority of respondents (>90%) strongly urges the Nanchang government to prioritize environmental protection. The findings from this study suggest the need for the government to improve the awareness of the main sources of air pollution, especially to residents of rural areas with lower levels of education, to more effectively and efficiently control air pollution in Nanchang.

The oxidizing capacity of the atmosphere, defined as the global mean tropospheric abundance of the hydroxyl radical (OH·), strongly influences air pollution by controlling the lifetimes of gaseous pollutants and the production of particulate matter. Predicting future changes in OH· due to anthropogenic emissions and climate change is of interest to air quality managers, but it is difficult because of multiple competing effects. Models of atmospheric chemistry suggest that these competing effects buffer significant change in OH· in the past and in the near future. However, proxy-based observations for past changes in OH· and other oxidants over the preindustrial-industrial and glacial-interglacial time scales suggest much larger changes than models estimate. Model sensitivity studies show that variability in past and future OH· is highly sensitive to relative emissions of reactive nitrogen and carbon, water vapor, lightning, and stratospheric ozone, implying that one or more of these variables is highly sensitive to climate.

The blowout of the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) drill-rig produced a surface oil layer, dispersed micro-droplets throughout the water column, and sub-surface plumes. We measured stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes in mesopelagic fishes and shrimps in the vicinity of DWH collected prior to, six weeks after, and one year after the oil spill (2007, 2010 and 2011). In 2010, the year of the oil spill, a small but significant depletion of δ13C was found in two mesopelagic fishes (Gonostoma elongatum and Chauliodus sloani) and one shrimp (Systellaspis debilis); a significant δ15N enrichment was identified in the same shrimp and in three fish species (G. elongatum, Ceratoscopelus warmingii, and Lepidophanes guentheri). The δ15N change did not suggest a change of trophic level, but did indicate a change in diet. The data suggest that carbon from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill was incorporated into the mesopelagic food web of the Gulf of Mexico.

The distribution of different forms of phosphorus in surface sediment from 17 sites were investigated by SEDEX method. The sites were divided into three sectors: Santos Channel (SC – influenced by harbour, fertilizers plants and phosphogypsum mountains), São Vicente Channel (SVC– domestic waste) and Santos Bay (SB – sewage outfall). The average percentage of each P fraction of the surface sediments in this region followed the sequence P–Fe (38%)>Porg (27%)>Pexch (13%)>Detrital – P (12%)>Auth – P (10%). Ptotal varied from 3.57 to 74.11μmolg−1 in both seasons. In SVC, Pexch ranged from 13% to 27% and Porg varied from 12% to 56%. These high percentages of Pexch/Ptotal (greater than 20%) may be related to low oxygen resulting from oxygen consumed by intensive organic matter decomposition as well as the salty water that leads to cation and anion flocculation. Also, the possibility of an influence related to the industrial source of Pexch is not ruled out. No significant seasonal differences were found among sites, except for sewage outfall, with changing in the grain size and hence, the P geochemistry. During the summer in the sewage outfall station, Porg represented 37% of Ptotal, which decreased to 13% in the winter. These results suggest that high percentages of organic phosphorus cannot be attributed only to autochthonous and allochthonous organic matter, but also to detergents and/or domestic waste. In contrast, spatial differences among sectors were observed, with the highest values of each fraction associated with sites near industrial and domestic waste activities.