Microplastics in shoreline sediments were investigated from Da Nang beach for the first time. Sediment samples at the two depth strata (0–5 cm and 5–10 cm) at eight sites along the entire coast were collected for identifying the characteristics of microplastics, including their concentration, size, shape, color, and nature. The synthetic fiber was the predominant type of microplastics, accounting for

Sedimentary cesium-137 concentrations around the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) were measured from 2011 to 2017 at eight stations. Although high values were observed until 2013, decreasing trends were observed at the surface sediments of seven stations. We isolated 25 radioactive Cs-bearing microparticles (CsMPs; 1.0–5385 Bq per particle). The contribution ratio of CsMPs to each sample

Further to our 2015–16 investigation, this study revealed the repeated presence of microplastics (MPs) in the coastal environment (Deep Bay, Tolo Harbour, Tsing Yi and Victoria Harbour) of Hong Kong from July 2016 to March 2017. The highest level of MPs in coastal surface water (17,182 particles/100 m3) was detected in Tsing Yi. Microplastic abundance in sediments of different sites (59 to 225 plastic

The objective of this study was to obtain baseline data on litter from three beaches of the Lakshadweep Islands (Kadmat, Suheli Par, and Minicoy). At each site, three transects of 20 × 20 m of the foreshore and intertidal zone were sampled during low tide. All macro litter (size >2.5 cm to <1 m) within each transect were collected and counted. A total of 1231 litter items belonging to 22 categories

An accurate representation of the particle organic matter (POM) footprint is necessary in order to effectively predict impacts upon benthic communities and the risk of excessive organic enrichment beneath aquaculture sea-cages. Consequently, bottom-related processes such as particle resuspension must be adequately parametrized and evaluated in the available numerical models. We implemented two approaches

Spectroscopic techniques including X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and attenuated total reflectance – Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) are used to examine oil residues persisting on shorelines in Prince William Sound that originate from the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill and oil released as a consequence of the 1964 Great Alaska earthquake. When coupled to classification models, ATR-FTIR and

Bioaccumulation of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in red, green, and brown seaweeds from the Gulf of Mannar was investigated using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). The concentration of OCPs in all the seaweeds was in the order of endosulfan > endrin > HCH > DDT > aldrin > heptachlor > methoxychlor. The concentrations of HCH, endrin, endosulfan, and DDT in Sargassum wightii and Gelidiella

Fixed-point and multi-point field survey was conducted to determine the actual contamination of the Japanese coast by microcapsules derived from coated fertilizers. The results indicated that the amount of microcapsules increased during the irrigation season (9423–74,869 pieces/m2) and decreased in the non-irrigation season (77–1471 pieces/m2). Microcapsules accounted for 90% of all microplastics sampled

The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) is the piece of legislation with which the EU aims to achieve Good Environmental Status (GES) of its seas. This Directive requires Member States (MSs) to set up and implement Programmes of Measures (PoMs) to achieve this goal. This paper presents a catalogue as well as the analysis of the 535 measures proposed by the eight Mediterranean EU MSs to combat

Ten sets of experiments with different settling times were conducted to investigate the effect of settling time on the adsorption of 137Cs in seawater onto ammonium phosphomolybdate (AMP). The weight yields of AMP and 137Cs yields in all groups were generally higher than 90%. The average weight yields of AMP in each group varied from 91.8 ± 0.5 to 95.9 ± 0.6% (1 SD), and the average 137Cs yields in

Seagrass are an important marine ecosystem of the Fiji Islands. We confirm six seagrass species from the archipelago and defined five broad categories of seagrass habitat. We report, with high confidence, seagrass meadows covering 59.19 km2 of Fiji's shallow water habitats from literature and this study. Long-term monitoring of seagrass abundance, species composition, and seed banks at eight sentinel

This review represents a comprehensive analysis on pollutants in elasmobranchs including meta-analysis on the most studied pollutants: mercury, cadmium, PCBs and DDTs, in muscle and liver tissue. Elasmobranchs are particularly vulnerable to pollutant exposure which may pose a risk to the organism as well as humans that consume elasmobranch products. The highest concentrations of pollutants were found

This paper presents the current status and trends over time in the environmental situation of European ports, based on the results of a wide representation of EcoPorts members (90 ports). All the information presented in this research comes from the Self-Diagnosis Method (SDM), a concise checklist managed by European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO), against which ports can self-assess their environmental

Recreational ports are known to be sources of pollution to the coastal marine environment due to the pouring of pollutants or the transfer of invasive species to neighboring areas. Nonetheless, the responsibility of protecting the marine environment does not lie solely on the users of the ports, but also affects the rest of citizens. Thus, an effective communication is necessary between scientists

Microplastics' (MPs) abundance, small size, and global distribution render them bioavailable to a variety of organisms directly or by trophic transfer, yet examinations in marine apex predators are currently limited. The present study investigated the occurrence of MPs sized 125 μm–5 mm in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) stranded in South Carolina, USA from

Anthropogenic sound can affect fish behaviour and physiology which may affect their well-being. However, it remains a major challenge to translate such effects to consequences for fitness at an individual and population level. For this, energy budget models have been developed, but suitable data to parametrize these models are lacking. A first step towards such parametrization concerns the objective

Heavy metal pollution arising from agricultural and industrial activities poses a significant threat to the aquatic environment, especially the increasing levels of chromium (Cr) that is exacerbating marine pollution. Given the economic importance of the Pacific white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei (L. vannamei), understanding the impact of marine Cr pollution is deemed to be significant. In this study

The abundance and distribution of microplastics in estuaries have been barely documented, and generally without accounting for the vertical structure in the water column. This study presents the very first data on the occurrence and distribution of microplastics in the Adour Estuary, SW France. The experimental data set was complemented by numerical simulations to gain understanding of the behaviour

Morocco is well known for its attractive Mediterranean beaches, which play an important economic role. With the fast development and growth, these beaches have become more contaminated by marine debris. This paper examined the abundance, composition and marine debris sources on five beaches in the Moroccan Mediterranean during 2019 four seasons. A total of 7839 marine debris were collected from the

Coastal ecosystems are increasingly threatened by a wide range of human activities. Fish otolith chemistry, by creating a unique specific signature, can be used as a natural tag for determining life stage dispersal, spatial connectivity and population structure. In this study, we tested whether differences in otolith composition among juveniles of gilthead sea bream, Sparus aurata, could enable their

Seabirds are used as bioindicators of marine ecosystems, especially for quantifying and tracking pollution sources. The objective of this study was to evaluate the contamination in feathers of young kelp gulls by lead (Pb), chromium (Cr), mercury (Hg) and zinc (Zn) on three islands of southern Brazil. The highest values for Pb (2.1310 μg g−1) and Hg (0.0010 μg g−1) were observed in Lobos. Zn was common

Marine bivalves are often used as a sentinel species in coastal environmental monitoring since changes in the environmental quality are often well preserved in their cells and tissues. Anadara and Tegillarca species of Arcidae, the blood cockles, are considered to be good sentinel species in monitoring coastal pollution and ecosystem health because they are distributed widely in the subsurface of intertidal

Anthropogenic litter is ubiquitous throughout marine ecosystems, but its abundance and distribution are driven by complex interactions of distinct environmental factors and thus can be extremely heterogeneous. Here we compare the extent of anthropogenic litter pollution at a sheltered lagoon habitat and nearby open coast sites. Monthly surveys over a period of five months showed that both the types

Legislations and commitments regulate Baltic Sea status assessments and monitoring. These assessments suffer from monitoring gaps that need prioritization. We used three sources of information; scientific articles, project reports and a stakeholder survey to identify gaps in relation to requirements set by the HELCOM's Baltic Sea Action Plan, the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and the Water Framework

Phthalate esters (PAEs) are a class of the emerging pollutants that pose a potential environmental threat to marine ecosystems. In this study, a simple analytical method using ultrasound-assisted extraction combined with gas purges microsyringe extraction (GP–MSE) coupled with GC–MS was utilized for the reliable and rapid determination of PAEs in different types of marine sediment. The analytical results

River and coastal sediments were collected at 17 stations in Ulsan, the largest industrial city in South Korea, to evaluate the levels, profiles, emission sources, and spatial distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The mean concentration of Σ16 PAHs was 722 ng/g, and fluoranthene was a predominant compound. PAHs with 4–6 rings showed higher proportions than PAHs with 2–3 rings. The

An estimated 100 million people inhabit coastal areas at risk from flooding and erosion due to climate change. Seagrass meadows, like other coastal ecosystems, attenuate waves. Due to inconsistencies in how wave attenuation is measured results cannot be directly compared. We synthesised data from laboratory and field experiments of seagrass-wave attenuation by converting measurements to drag coefficients

The article presents the results from a research project investigating acoustic climate changes in the Gdansk Deep based on data extending from 1902 to 2019. This part of the southern Gotland Basin, is rarely discussed in the scientific literature. The speed of sound in the seawater is a function of temperature, salinity, and depth. In such shallow sea as Baltic Sea, the impact of depth is not substantial

The fishery and mariculture industry contributes to social food supply and offers high-quality protein to humans. However, mariculture is recently regarded as an important source of marine microplastic pollution, which might even pose a threat to human health. Here we investigated a shrimp-culturing farm for 9 months in Longjiao Bay, a typical mariculture area in southeast China, to study the occurrence

Estuaries of Southeast Asia are increasingly impacted by land-cover changes and pollution. Here, our research objectives were to (1) determine the origins of nutrient loads along the Can Gio estuary (Vietnam) and (2) identify the processes that affect the nutrient pools during the monsoon. We constructed four 24-h time-series along the salinity gradient measuring nutrient concentrations and stable

The present study was carried out at 22 stations located on the fringing reefs of the island of Mayotte inside the perimeter of the Marine Natural Park of Mayotte (PNMM). The average assessment of the number of samples of marine litter (ML) collected at these stations was 3.9 ± 1.3 ML per 500 m2 in winter and 3.8 ± 1.1 ML per 500 m2 in summer. Plastic ML was dominant, representing approximately 92%

In vitro methods have gained rising importance in ecotoxicology due to ethical concerns. The aim of this study was to assess the single and combined in vitro effects of gold, as nanoparticle (AuNPs) and ionic (Au+) form, and the pharmaceutical gemfibrozil (GEM). Sparus aurata liver organ culture was exposed to gold (4 to 7200 μg·L−1), GEM (1.5 to 15,000 μg·L−1) and combination 80 μg·L−1 gold +150 μg·L−1

The spatial and seasonal variations in resource use of the lacustrine shrimp Palaemon paucidens were investigated in three different Korean lagoon systems in June and October 2018 by measuring their carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios. P. paucidens had much higher δ13C values at the permanently open lagoon (PL) as compared to the intermittently open lagoons (ILs), revealing a disparity in resource

This study reports on the ingestion of microplastics by the alien fish Pirapitinga, Piaractus brachypomus (Characiformes; Serrasalmidae) that escaped Vembanad lake, the largest brackish water lake in the south-west coast of India, from the aquaculture systems during flooding. Microplastics separated from the gut of 32 out of the 123 fishes (26%) examined were identified using Attenuated Total Reflectance

Monitoring Floating Marine Macro Litter (FMML) is a global priority, stressed within international programs, and regulated for the European Seas by the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. Although some well-defined common protocols exist for the assessment of beach litter and ingested litter, methodologies for FMML monitoring still vary, leading to some inconsistent results and hampering the global

Although down-the-hole (DTH) pile driving is increasingly used for in-water pile installation, the characteristics of underwater noise from DTH pile driving is largely undocumented and unstudied. This study presents a comprehensive analysis of the noise characteristics during DTH pile driving of two steel pipe piles in shallow waters off southeast Alaska. The results showed that single-strike sound

This paper presents an incubation experiment with sediment cores from the Changjiang Estuary Mud Area (CEMA) to quantify the release of nutrients due to simulated resuspension. The results show that except for nitrate (NO3−-N), phosphate (PO43−-P), ammonium (NH4+-N), nitrite (NO2−-N) and silicate (SiO32−-Si) were released from the sediment to the overlying water, primarily due to desorption (P), dissolution

An earlier paper demonstrated a methodology for modeling the spreading process with a Gaussian random walk procedure, but was limited to the gravity-viscous spreading regime. Here we extend the methodology of representing spread and transport of oil slicks on calm sea surface by updated Voronoi diagrams to account for the surface tension-viscous spreading regime as well. We have utilized the analogy

A series of flow-through reactor experiments were undertaken to assess the potential effect of porewater advection and dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP) concentration on benthic DIP dynamics in permeable sediments collected from the Weizhou Island, northern South China Sea. The flux of DIP ranged from −0.13 to 0.05 mmol m−2 h−1, and the reversal from DIP efflux to influx occurred when the DIP concentration

Data on the occurrence and abundance of meso and microplastics for the South Pacific are limited and there is urgent need to fill this knowledge gap. The main aim of the study was to apply a rapid screening method, based on the fluorescence tagging of polymers using Nile red, to determine the concentration of meso and microplastics in biota, sediment and surface waters near the capital cities of Vanuatu

Plastic pollution in mangroves located in small islands was not well documented. This study found that mangrove ecosystem in small island was polluted by plastic debris (mainly film: 63% and fiber: 31%). Density of plastic debris in mangrove area was ranging from 10 ± 4 items m−2 to 230 ± 75 items m−2, mean density was 92 ± 28 items m−2. Landward was the most polluted zone mangrove (mean density: 155 ± 58

Plastic pollution is prevalent in all habitats and microplastic ingestion has been recorded in several different species examined to date. However, most studies have focused solely on commercial species. This study investigates microplastics (MPs) by assessing the levels present in a mixed demersal trawl at two sites in a coastal embayment. MPs were recovered from species' gastrointestinal tracts and