Egg production and hatching success in North Adriatic Sea populations of the copepod acartia clausi

Egg production, fecal pellet production and hatching success are reported for Acartia clausi females sampled during three cruises in February 1997, 1998 and June 1997 at 20-24 stations along 4 transects in the North Adriatic Sea. Dramatically low hatching rates were recorded during both diatom bloom events in February as opposed to much higher rates during post-bloom conditions in June, even though A. clausi productivity during the bloom was apparently high. These results are discussed in the light of recent findings on the negative impact of diatoms on copepod reproductive potential.     

The Monitoring of UK Sewage Sludge Disposal Sites

In recent years there has been an increase in the intensity and frequency of environmental monitoring surveys at UK sewage sludge disposal sites. These have been carried out by the regulatory authorities and by the licensees. in order to ensure maximum efficiency, a coordinated and harmonised programme of monitoring has been developed. the programme concentrates on sediment chemical and biological quality but also includes assessments of water and fish quality

In England and Wales the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food is the regulatory authority and the Water Authorities are the licensees. the Ministry's first priority is the collection of samples for temporal trend analysis but in addition, infrequent surveys are made to check the status of the disposal site and surrounding areas. in the periods between status surveys, regular spatial surveys designed to define the area of impact are carried out by the Water Authorities.     

Response of a Fuzzy INdex of Ecosystem integrity (FINE) to water and sedimentary chemical data in two northern Adriatic lagoons

The European WFD (2000/60/EC) requires the assessment of the ecological quality status of water bodies, and gives great importance to the biological components of the ecosystem. A multimetric, fuzzy-based index for the evaluation of environmental quality (FINE: Fuzzy INdex of Ecosystem integrity) has been developed. The FINE index was calculated at 7 sites in the Sacca di Goro and the Valli di Comacchio (Adriatic Sea), where water and sedimentary chemical data were available for the years 2004 and 2005. A significant positive correlation was found between FINE values and dissolved oxygen, while significant negative correlations were observed between FINE values and transparency, nitrogen and phosphorous in the water column, and heavy metals and PCB in the sediments.     

Gas Transfer Coefficient Evaluation in the Mediterranean Sea Using Bomb Produced Radiocarbon

A study on the carbon dioxide exchange at the water-air interface in the Western Mediterranean Sea was carried out. the attention was focused on the mean air-sea flux estimations by radiocarbon profiles and bomb ¹⁴C concentration atmospheric data. Sampling techniques and analytical methods are reported; mass balance evaluations on data recorded during the MED'92 cruise are presented and discussed briefly.     

Ammonia as confounding factor in toxicity tests with the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus (Lmk)

The aim of this study was to investigate the toxicity of total ammonia towards sea urchin bioassays, in order to elucidate the role of ammonia as confounding factor in sediment quality assessment studies. New toxicity data, expressed as EC50, NOEC and LOEC are reported for Paracentrotus lividus based on experiments at differing pH values. Results confirmed that sperm cell toxicity test is not very sensitive to ammonia, while total ammonia embryotoxicity is strictly pH dependent. Accurate observations of embryotoxic effects at increasing total ammonia concentrations evidenced progressive shifts from malformed plutei to gastrula and blastula blockages. Toxicity data obtained for P. lividus are comparable with previous results with other echinoid species.     

Distribution and speciation of heavy metals in Apulian coastal sediments

In the framework of the Interreg II Project Italy–Greece, distribution and speciation of trace metals in surface coastal sediments of Apulian regions were studied. A sequential extraction technique was used to determine the chemical association of heavy metals (Zn, Pb, Ni, Fe, Cr, Mn, Cu and Cd) with major sedimentary phases (acid soluble phases, easily reducible fraction and oxidizable matter). The relationship between the metals' content and the grain-size composition of the sediments was also considered: generally the elements resulted associated with the fine fraction, even if in some cases (Cu in the oxidizable phase) the opposite behaviour was observed. The studied area is not particularly polluted, except for some defined zones, as for example Brindisi's harbour. Speciation analysis revealed that the major part of the heavy metals are not easily mobilizable and bioavailable. Even in this case, there are some exceptions to the general behaviour: Cu and Pb in several samples are largely present in the oxidizable phase, which even if not immediately available can become a source of associated elements when redox conditions change.     

渤海典型海域表层沉积物正构烷烃特征比较

对渤海典型海域表层沉积物正构烷烃特征进行比较研究.分别采集葫芦岛市近岸海域(1#)、东营市近岸海域(2#)、营口市近岸海域(3#)9个站点的表层沉积物样品,经索氏提取、柱净化后进行GC-MS分析.结果表明,各站位都表现为双峰型,显示了陆源与海源双重贡献特征,但主导峰各不相同;正构烷烃含量(∑n-alk)均值分别为5.43μg.g-1、2.27μg.g-1、4.30μg.g-1;三海域碳优势指数CPI、奇偶优势指数OEP、姥鲛烷和植烷比值Pr/Ph等特征比值基本相同,指示混合来源及中性偏氧化的沉积环境;C31/C19均值分别为11.19、4.51、6.73,短/长链比值L/H均值分别为0.50、1.48、1.31,类脂物比值TAR均值分别为3.61、1.03、1.19,综合显示葫芦岛市近岸海域正构烷烃来源主要为陆源高等植物,而营口及东营近岸海域沉积物正构烷烃更多来源于内生浮游生物源及石油源,三海域沉积物受人类污染影响程度从高到低分别为2#海域(东营)>3#海域(营口)>1#海域(葫芦岛市),且东营近岸海域沉积物受石油污染特征明显.这些特征都与3个海域周边城市发展与污染输入特征有直接的关系.     

Contamination of lead (Pb) in the coastal sediments of north and south of Iran: a review study

Coastal areas of Iran are heavily affected by urbanisation, industrialisation, and maritime activities. One consequence of this environmental pressure is the contaminants accumulation, as heavy metals, into the marine ecosystem. In this review, the coastal areas in the north and south of the country were assessed for lead (Pb) contamination of, one of the most toxic metals found in the environment. All studies conducted during 2006–2016 with at least 10 specimens that reported the mean and standard deviation of Pb were considered in this review. Heterogeneity between studies was assessed using the Q and I² statistics. The Pb mean concentration overall studies was estimated to be 21.88?µg/g (95% CIs: 16.25–27.50). Random effect model showed no statistical difference in mean Pb concentration levels between south and north coasts. However, the variability in Pb mean concentrations within southern coasts was considerable and statistically significant. Moreover, the Pb concentrations in the northern coasts of Persian Gulf and Oman Sea, in south of Iran, decreased in the following order Hormozgan > Khuzestan > Sistan-VA-Balluchestan > Bushehr while in the southern coasts of Caspian Sea, in north of Iran, decreased in the order Guilan > Mazandaran > Golestan.     

Enhancing generic ecological model for short-term prediction of Southern North Sea algal dynamics with remote sensing images

Physically based numerical modelling follows from the basic understanding of the underlying mechanisms and is often represented by a set of (partial differential) equations. It is one of the main approaches in population dynamics modelling. The emphasis of the model introduced in this paper is on the simulation of short-term spatial and temporal dynamics of harmful algal bloom (HAB) events. Total suspended matter (TSM) concentration is one of the dominant factors for harmful algal bloom (HAB) prediction in North Sea. However, the modelling of suspended matter contains a high degree of uncertainty in this area. Therefore, this research aims to achieve a better estimation for the short-term prediction of harmful algal bloom development in both space and time by using spatially distributed TSM retrieved from remotely sensed images as physically based model inputs. In order to supply complete spatially covered datasets for the physically based model instrument: generic ecological model (GEM), this research retrieves TSM information from MERIS images by means of proper estimation techniques including biharmonic splines and self-learning cellular automata. A better estimation of HAB spatial pattern development is achieved by adding spatially distributed TSM data as inputs to original GEM model, and it proved that chlorophyll-a concentration in this area is very sensitive to TSM concentration.     

黄海近岸表层沉积物中PAHs的分布特征与潜在风险

利用第二次全国海洋污染基线调查数据,考察了我国黄海近岸海域表层沉积物中多环芳烃(PAHs)的分布状况、组成比例,并开展了初步的来源分析和潜在生态风险评价.研究结果表明,PAHs的含量范围从未检出至8294 ng·g-1,高值站点主要位于辽东半岛的大连湾附近海区,以及山东半岛北部的威海沿岸.在辽东半岛、山东半岛的近岸海区,表层沉积物中的PAHs以中、高环(4～5环)组分占据明显优势;而在江苏近岸海区,低环组分(2～3环)的比例明显上升.低环与中高环组分的相对丰度以及成对同分异构体的比值结果显示,各海区表层沉积物中PAHs的主要来源是各类燃烧释放过程,如燃煤、生物质、天然气和交通尾气等,石油产品输入的影响居次要地位.依据效应低值区间ERL的警戒水平,计算ERL商的平均值,从而初步得到各海区潜在的PAHs生态风险水平.结果表明,大连湾PAHs污染较为严重,各PAHs组分的浓度均高于ERL警戒水平,而苯并(a)芘甚至超出效应中值区间的境界水平ERM,显示大连湾近岸海区具有较高的PAHs生态风险,而其它海区的潜在生态风险则较低.