Ambient air and deposition samples were collected in the period of July 2004-May 2005 in an industrial district of Bursa, Turkey and analyzed for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) compounds. The overall average of fourteen bulk deposition fluxes for PAHs was 3300 ± 5100 ng m-2 d-1. PAH depositions showed a seasonal variation and they were higher in winter months. This was probably due to increases in residential heating activities and decreases in atmospheric mixing layer levels. Ambient air samples, measured with a high volume air sampler, were collected from the same site. The average total concentration including gas and particulate phase was about 300 ± 420 ng m-3 and it was in the range of previously reported values. Some of the ambient air and bulk deposition samples were collected simultaneously in dry periods. Both concurrently measured values were used to calculate the dry deposition velocities whose overall average value was 0.45 ± 0.35 cm s-1. Bulk deposition fluxes of PAHs were measured in an industrial area and deposition velocities of PAHs were reported.

Accumulation of mercury in wetland ecosystems has raised concerns about impacts on wetland food webs. This study measured concentrations of mercury in invertebrates of the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia, focusing on levels in amphipods, odonates, and crayfish. We collected and analyzed total mercury levels in these invertebrates from 32 sampling stations across commonly occurring sub-habitats. Sampling was conducted in December, May, and August over a two-year period. The highest levels of mercury were detected in amphipods, with total mercury levels often in excess of 20 ppm. Bioaccumulation pathways of mercury in invertebrates of the Okefenokee are probably complex; despite being larger and higher in the food chain, levels in odonates and crayfish were much lower than in amphipods. Mercury levels in invertebrates varied temporally with the highest levels detected in May. There was a lack of spatial variation in mercury levels which is consistent with aerial deposition of mercury. This study measured mercury levels in invertebrates and found the highest levels in amphipods.

A field intercomparison experiment of the disjunct eddy covariance (DEC) and the conventional eddy covariance (EC) techniques was conducted over a grass field. The half-hourly water vapor fluxes measured by the DEC were within the estimated uncertainty from the fluxes measured by the EC. On the average there was a slight overestimation (<10%) of the fluxes measured by the DEC during the day and underestimation during the night as compared to the fluxes measured by the EC. As this bias does not appear in the simulated DEC measurements it is likely to be due to instrumental problems. The insensitivity of the quality of the fluxes measured by the DEC method to the deficiencies in the gas analysis shows the robustness of this new approach for measuring the surface-atmosphere exchange of trace gases. Results from the first field intercomparison between a new state-of-the-art trace gas flux measurement technique and the direct eddy covariance measurements are reported in this paper.

Two types of polar organic chemical integrative samplers (pharmaceutical POCIS and pesticide POCIS) were examined for their sampling efficiency of selected endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs). Laboratory-based calibration of POCISs was conducted by exposing them at high and low concentrations of 14 EDCs (4-alkyl-phenols, their ethoxylate oligomers, bisphenol A, selected estrogens and synthetic steroids) for different time periods. The kinetic studies showed an integrative uptake up to 28 days. The sampling rates for the individual compounds were obtained. The use of POCISs could result in an integrative approach to the quality status of the aquatic systems especially in the case of high variation of water concentrations of EDCs. The sampling efficiency of POCISs under various field conditions was assessed after their deployment in different aquatic environments. Calibration and field performance of polar organic integrative samplers for monitoring EDCs in aquatic environments.

Soil and sediment samples from James Ross Island were analyzed for their PCB, OCP and PAH contents. Soil concentrations ranged between 0.51 and 1.82 ng g-1 for seven indicator PCB congeners, between 0.49 and 1.34 ng g-1 for HCH congeners, between 0.51 and 3.68 ng g-1 for the sum of p,p'-DDT, DDE, and DDD, and between 34.9 and 171 ng g-1 for the sum of 16 EPA PAHs. Sediment levels from 0.32 to 0.83 ng g-1 were found for PCBs, from 0.14 to 0.76 ng g-1 for HCHs, from 0.19 to 1.15 ng g-1 for DDTs, and from 1.4 to 205 ng g-1 for PAHs. A prevalence of low-mass PAHs, less chlorinated PCBs, and more volatile chemicals indicates that the long-range atmospheric transport from populated areas of Africa, South America, and Australia is the most probable contamination source for the solid matrices in James Ross Island. A survey of soil, sediment and air contamination in James Ross Island, Antarctica serves as a baseline study for evaluation of an anthropogenic impact of the new research facility.

Management of ambient concentrations of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) is essential for maintaining low ozone levels in urban areas where its formation is under a VOC-limited regime. The significant decrease in traffic-induced VOC emissions in many developed countries resulted in relatively comparable shares of traffic and non-traffic VOC emissions in urban airsheds. A key step for urban air quality management is allocating ambient VOC concentrations to their pertinent sources. This study presents an approach that can aid in identifying sources that contribute to observed BTEX concentrations in areas characterized by low BTEX concentrations, where traditional source apportionment techniques are not useful. Analysis of seasonal and diurnal variations of ambient BTEX concentrations from two monitoring stations located in distinct areas reveal the possibility to identify source categories. Specifically, the varying oxidation rates of airborne BTEX compounds are used to allocate contributions of traffic emissions and evaporative sources to observed BTEX concentrations. BTEX sources are identified from temporal variations of ambient concentration.

The effect of Cd on woody fleabane (Dittrichia viscosa (L.) Greuter) and white birch (Betula celtiberica Rothm. & Vasc.) was examined. Woody fleabane and white birch were grown in vitro in Murashige, T., Skoog, F., [1962. A revised medium for rapid growth and bioassays with tobacco tissue cultures. Physiol. Plant. 15, 473-479] (MS) plus Cd (10 mg Cd kg-1) and except for root length in white birch, plant development was inhibited when Cd was added. Cd accumulation in above-ground tissues showed differences among clones, reaching 1300 and 463 mg Cd kg-1 dry wt. in selected clones of woody fleabane and white birch, respectively. Tolerance of Paxillus filamentosus (Scop) Fr. to Cd was also examined before mycorrhization. Plants of mycorrhized white birch grown in the presence of Cd had a better development and accumulated more Cd in their shoots than the non-mycorrhized ones. The use of selected clones of woody fleabane and the mycorrhization of white birch enhance extraction efficiency from contaminated soils in phytoremediation programs. The high accumulation of Cd observed in selected clones of Dittrichia viscosa and mycorrhized Betula celtiberica grown in vitro implies a potential application for phytoextraction.

We examined the short-term separate and combined effects of simulated nitrogen (N) deposition (fertilization) and ozone (O3) exposure on California black oak seedlings (Quercus kelloggii Newb.), an ecologically important tree of the San Bernardino Mountains downwind of Los Angeles. Realistic concentrations of O3 were found to cause statistically and biologically significant negative effects on plant health, including lowered photosynthetic ability, lowered water use efficiency, and increased leaf chlorosis and necrosis. When subjected to abrupt changes in light levels, O3-exposed plants showed both a slower and smaller response than O3-free plants. Fertilized plants exhibited a significantly greater pre-to post-treatment decline in A at saturated [CO2] and a significantly lower level of post-treatment chlorosis than unfertilized plants. Fertilization tended to reduce plant sensitivity to O3.

The water used by 85% of the Asian population originates in Tibetan Plateau. During April and May of 2006, water samples were collected from four major Asian rivers in the Plateau (i.e. the Salween, Mekong, Yangtze River and Yarlung Tsangpo) and analyzed for Cu, Pb, Zn, Ag, Mo, Cd, Co, Cr, Ni, Li, Mn, Al, Fe, Mg and Hg. The results showed that elements such as Mg were rather high in Tibetan rivers, giving a mean electrical conductance of 36 mS/m. In a few locations, the results also showed relatively high concentrations of Al and Fe (>1 mg/L). However, the concentrations of Cu, Zn, Ag, Cd, and Cr were generally low. Contamination with Pb was identified at a few locations in the Salween and Ni at a few sites in the Yangtze River. For the first time, total dissolved metal contents in source water of four major Asian rivers were evaluated at the same time.

Despite global occurrence of several perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) the potential ecological effects of such substances on natural populations are not known. In endangered lesser black-backed gulls (Larus fuscus fuscus) on the Norwegian Coast, the blood concentrations of PFCs were as high as legacy organochlorines (OCs), and here we examined whether PFCs show associations similar to those of OCs to factors potentially affecting population growth, by evaluating relationships between contaminant concentrations and demographic parameters (reproductive performance and the probability of adults returning between breeding seasons). PFCs were not adversely associated with demographic parameters, while the most persistent OCs; notably PCB and p,p′-DDE, were adversely associated with early chick survival, and adult return rate. This study thus suggests that when the concentrations of PFCs and OCs are of similar magnitude in a gull population, OCs are more likely to cause adverse ecological effects. When the concentrations of PFCs and OCs are of similar magnitude in a population of gulls, OCs seem to have a stronger propensity for causing adverse ecological effects.