Aliphatic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the surface sediments from the Eastern Aegean: assessment and source recognition of petroleum hydrocarbons

Materials and methods  

Aliphatic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were determined in surficial sediments from the Aegean Sea in the Eastern Mediterranean in 2008.     

Organochlorine residues (PCBs and DDTs) in two Torpedinid species liver from the Southeastern Mediterranean Sea

Purpose  

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and PCB congeners accumulation profile were measured in the liver of two torpedinid species (Torpedo nobiliana and Torpedo marmorata) from the Mediterranean Sea (Adriatic Sea) in order to investigate the relative toxicological impact of these highly toxic PCBs in the organisms in question.     

The occurrence and environmental effect of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in Taurus Mountains soils

Purpose  

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are of global concern due to their ubiquitous presence and toxicity. The occurence of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), -dibenzofurans (PCDFs), co-planar biphenyls (PCBs), hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCH), dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDT), and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in forest soil collected from Taurus mountains may have adverse effects on the environment and health. The aim of the study was to investigate the outcome and distribution of POPs in the environment and the possible grasshopper effect along an altitude transect from sea level up to nearly 2,000 m a.s.l at a spatial distance of about 60 km in the southeastern Turkish Mediterranean Sea.     

Brominated phenols,anisoles, and dioxins present in blue mussels from the Swedish coastline

Introduction  

Naturally occurring hydroxylated polybrominated diphenyl ethers (OH-PBDEs), their methoxylated counterparts (MeO-PBDEs), and polybrominated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PBDDs), together with their potential precursors polybrominated phenols (PBPs) and polybrominated anisoles (PBAs), were analyzed in blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) gathered along the east coast (bordering the Baltic Sea) and west coast of Sweden (bordering the North Sea). Brown algae (Dictyosiphon foenicolaceus) and cyanobacteria (Nodularia spumigena) from the Baltic Sea, considered to be among the primary producers of these compounds, were also analyzed for comparison.     

Ability of salt marsh plants for TBT remediation in sediments

Introduction  

The capability of Halimione portulacoides, Spartina maritima, and Sarcocornia fruticosa (halophytes very commonly found in salt marshes from Mediterranean areas) for enhancing remediation of tributyltin (TBT) from estuarine sediments was investigated, using different experimental conditions.     

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in surface sediments of Liaodong Bay,Bohai Sea,China

Materials and methods  

The levels and possible sources of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were investigated in the surface sediments of Liaodong Bay, Bohai Sea, China.     

Petroleum hydrocarbon contamination of the Southern Black Sea Shelf, Turkey

Introduction  

In this study, total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) contents and some aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations were analysed in coastal sediments of hot points collected from along the Southern Black Sea Shelf.     

Pharmaceuticals on a sewage impacted section of a Mediterranean River (Llobregat River,NE Spain) and their relationship with hydrological conditions

Introduction  

Mediterranean rivers are characterized by a high flow variability, which is strongly influenced by the seasonal rainfall. When water scarcity periods occur, water flow, and dilution capacity of the river is reduced, increasing the potential environmental risk of pollutants. On the other hand, floods contribute to remobilization of pollutants from sediments. Contamination levels in Mediterranean rivers are frequently higher than in other European river basins, including pollution by pharmaceutical residues. Little attention has been paid to the transport behavior of emerging contaminants in surface waters once they are discharged from WWTP into a river. In this context, this work aimed to relate presence and fate of emerging contaminants with hydrological conditions of a typical Mediterranean River (Llobregat, NE Spain).     

Occurrence of perfluorinated organic acids in the North and Baltic seas. Part 1: distribution in sea water

Purpose  

Due to their high water solubilities and mobilities, persistent, polar perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) such as perfluorinated carboxylates and sulfonates are likely to end up in the oceans. In part 1 of this study, their distribution in North and Baltic Sea water is reported, being of special interest because these seas are surrounded by highly industrialized countries with high population densities.     

Phytoextraction of Pb and Cd by the Mediterranean saltbush (Atriplex halimus L.): metal uptake in relation to salinity

Background, aim, and scope  

The success of phytoextraction depends upon the identification of suitable plant species that hyperaccumulate heavy metals and produce large amounts of biomass using established agricultural techniques. In this study, the Mediterranean saltbush Atriplex halimus L., which is a C4 perennial native shrub of Mediterranean basin with an excellent tolerance to drought and salinity, is investigated with the main aim to assess its phytoremediation potential for Pb and Cd removal from contaminated soils. In particular, the influence of soil salinity in metal accumulation has been studied as there is notable evidence that salinity changes the bioavailability of metals in soil and is a key factor in the translocation of metals from roots to the aerial parts of the plant.     

Some microbial characteristics of mussels (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Mytilus galloprovincialis</Emphasis>) in coastal city area

Purpose  

The aim of this work was to determine some microbial characteristics of Mytilus galloprovincialis harvested from four stations, located in Izmir coastal area (Eastern Aegean Sea, Turkey). The area along the Izmir coast is densely populated, and it includes extensive agricultural lands, industrial and domestic discharge. Shellfish contamination from sewage-polluted waters is very important for public health.     

Daily, seasonal and monthly variations in ozone levels recorded at the Turia river basin in Valencia (Eastern Spain)

Introduction

The Turia river basin, located in the east of the Iberian Peninsula, drains into the Mediterranean Sea near the city of Valencia (population, 814,208). The predominance of sea-breeze fluxes favours the inland transport of pollutants from the city up the basin where ozone concentrations exceeding the threshold for protection of human health are systematically recorded during the summer months.

Methods

This work analyses the variability in ozone levels by examining their spatial and temporal distribution in a Mediterranean river basin downwind from a city within the period 2005?C2008. Orographic determinants and atmospheric fluxes induce strong variations in ozone measurements, even on relatively close locations.

Conclusions

Results show a different behaviour of the monthly means and the daily cycles depending on the season of the year and the measuring environment, with summer/winter ratios ranging from 2.4 in cities to 1.6 inland, and mean values always higher in the interior of the basin. Daily cycles show significant summer/winter differences related to the predominant situations of anticyclonic stability in winter, which limit ventilation, and the predominant breeze circulations in summer. Results also show a ??weekend effect?? at urban and medium-distance stations. At the most inland station, the weekend/weekday behaviour differs according to the season of the year; weekend ozone levels are higher in spring, autumn and winter, and lower in summer, coinciding with the predominance of local wind cycles that favour air mass penetration inland from the coast.     

Twenty years of elemental analysis of marine biota within the German Environmental Specimen Bank—a thorough look at the data

Purpose  

As one component of the German ecological environment observation, the Environmental Specimen Bank program was initiated in the mid-1980s. Under the program, representative specimens of marine, fresh water, and terrestrial ecosystems are sampled regularly and archived under chemically stable conditions. An initial characterization of the samples provides data regarding the status quo of the respective ecosystems. The aim of the present publication is to give insight into these real-time monitoring data, which have been generated for the last 10 to 20 years. This is done exemplarily for the heavy metals cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), and lead (Pb) in marine specimens of the Baltic and the North Sea.     

Patinas developed in environmental burial conditions: the Neolithic steles of Reguers de Seró (Lleida,Spain)

Background, aim and scope  

Weathering patinas in rocks are the result of interaction processes between rock surfaces and atmosphere, biosphere and soil. Therefore, their textural and mineral composition is strongly related to environmental and bioactivity conditions. Whereas the development of weathering patinas in atmospheric conditions is well documented (e.g. typical Mediterranean patina), only very few studies focus on their formation in a burial environment. Our study of patinas developed on the tumular structure of Reguers de Seró deals with the knowledge of burial patinas from a textural and mineralogical point of view. The aims of this study include: (1) the characterisation of the rock used in this megalithic monument as well as inferences regarding the origin of the raw material; (2) the evaluation of the patinas developed on the surface of the carved steles; and (3) the discussion of the environmental conditions (atmospheric or burial) that favoured the development of the patinas.     

Biologic impact on the coastal belt of the province of Venice (Italy,Northern Adriatic Sea): preliminary analysis for the characterization of the bathing water profile

Background, aim and scope  

This paper presents a preliminary study of the water profile with reference to microbiological parameters, required by Directive 2006/07/EC (European Community 2006) concerning the management of bathing water quality, in the coastal belt of the Province of Venice (Italy, Northern Adriatic Sea). A historical database has been implemented with monitoring data for the period 2000–2006 (data on rivers, bathing and marine coastal waters and on the characterization of Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) discharges) from the institutional activity of Veneto Regional Environmental Prevention and Protection Agency (ARPAV). An integrated areal analysis for the microbiological investigation of homogeneous stretches along the coast of the Province of Venice was performed for a preliminary characterization of the bathing water profile considering water quality status and existing pressure sources.     

Water-soluble main ions in precipitation over the southeastern Adriatic region: chemical composition and long-range transport

Background, aim and scope  

Precipitation samples collected from 1995 to 2000 at meteorological station in the eastern outskirts of Herceg Novi (Montenegro) were analysed on Na⁺, K⁺, Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺, Cl^–, SO₄ ^2–, NO₃ ^– and NH₄ ⁺. Four-day backward trajectory simulations were conducted during the precipitation period to investigate the regional transport of main ions and their deposition in the region of the southeastern Adriatic Sea. The air mass trajectories were classified into six trajectory categories by the origin and direction of their approach to Herceg Novi.     

Effects of mercury on the activity and community composition of soil ammonia oxidizers

Purpose  

Experiments were conducted to examine the effects of mercury (Hg) on soil nitrification activities and the microbial communities of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA).     

Characterization of tannery sludge activated carbon and its utilization in the removal of azo reactive dye

Introduction  

The removal of azo Reactive Red 31(RR31) from synthetic dye solution using tannery sludge-developed activated carbon (TSC) was investigated.     

Investigation of photodegradation and hydrolysis of selected substituted urea and organophosphate pesticides in water

Introduction  

Photodegradation and hydrolysis of two substituted urea herbicides, monolinuron [3-(4-chlorophenyl)-1-methoxy-1-methylurea] and linuron [3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1-methoxy-1-methylurea], and one organophosphorous insecticide, phoxim [2-(diethoxyphosphinothioyloxyimino)-2-phenylacetonitrile], were studied using buffered sterilized distilled water (pH 4, 7 and 9).     

Cation and anion leaching and growth of Acacia saligna in bauxite residue sand amended with residue mud, poultry manure and phosphogypsum

Purpose  

To examine (1) the effect of organic (poultry manure) and inorganic (residue mud and phosphogypsum) amendments on nutrient leaching losses from residue sand and (2) whether amendments improve the growth of plants in residue sand.