Modelling spatial dispersion of contaminants from shipping lanes in the Baltic Sea

Major sources of pollution from shipping to marine environments are antifouling paint residues and discharges of bilge, black, grey and ballast water and scrubber discharge water. The dispersion of copper, zinc, naphthalene, pyrene, and dibromochloromethane have been studied using the Ship Traffic Emission Assessment Model, the General Estuarine Transport Model, and the Eulerian tracer transport model in the Baltic Sea in 2012. Annual loads of the contaminants ranged from 10^-2 tons for pyrene to 100 s of tons for copper. The dispersion of the contaminants is determined by the surface kinetic energy and vertical stratification at the location of the discharge. The elevated concentration of the contaminants at the surface persists for about two-days and the contaminants are dispersed over the spatial scale of 10-60 km. The Danish Sounds, the southwestern Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Finland are under the heaviest pressure of shipborne contaminants in the Baltic Sea.

A Wide Bandgap Ag/MgO@Fe3O4 Nanocomposite as Magnetic Sorbent for Cd(II) in Water Samples

Background:

The magnetic nanocomposites are very important as a reusable sorbents for the extraction of Cd(II) and other toxic metals from water samples.

Methods:

The Ag/MgO@Fe3O4 nanocomposite was synthesized by the coprecipitation method and characterized by the XRD, EDX, SEM, UV-vis spectroscopy and FTIR. This nanocomposite was used to extract Cd(II) from water samples prior to its quantitative analysis with FAAS. Different variables, i.e. pH, temperature, amount of nanosorbent, adsorption/desorption and dilution were optimized.

Results:

The method was successfully applied to determine Cd(II) in real water samples with excellent recoveries (98%). The present method has lower detection (0.29) and quantification limit (0.97 ng mL-1).

Conclusions:

The Ag/MgO@Fe3O4 nanocomposite based magnetic extraction is a simple, fast, reproducible, less expansive and efficient technique for the Cd(II) extraction in water samples. The developed sorbent can be recycled and reused (20 times).

Analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in environmental samples: a critical review of gas chromatographic (GC) methods

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are frequently measured in the atmosphere for air quality assessment, in biological tissues for health-effects monitoring, in sediments and mollusks for environmental monitoring, and in foodstuffs for safety reasons. In contemporary analysis of these complex matrices, gas chromatography (GC), rather than liquid chromatography (LC), is often the preferred approach for separation, identification, and quantification of PAHs, largely because GC generally affords greater selectivity, resolution, and sensitivity than LC. This article reviews modern-day GC and state-of-the-art GC techniques used for the determination of PAHs in environmental samples. Standard test methods are discussed. GC separations of PAHs on a variety of capillary columns are examined, and the properties and uses of selected mass spectrometric (MS) techniques are presented. PAH literature on GC with MS techniques, including chemical ionization, ion-trap MS, time-of-flight MS (TOF-MS), and isotope-ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS), is reviewed. Enhancements to GC, for example large-volume injection, thermal desorption, fast GC, and coupling of GC to LC, are also discussed with regard to the determination of PAHs in an effort to demonstrate the vigor and robustness GC continues to achieve in the analytical sciences.

Monitoring of organic pollutants in coastal waters of the Gulf of Gdańsk, Southern Baltic

This paper presents an overview of changes in organic pollution of coastal waters of the Gulf of Gdańsk (Baltic Sea). Toxic pollutants including volatile organic compounds (VOC), volatile organohalogen compounds (VOX), chlorophenols, phenoxyacids, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were determined in seawater from the Gulf of Gdańsk coastal waters in the period 1996-2001. In the case of the Gulf of Gdańsk, non-conservative behaviour of VOC was observed due to random temporal and spatial of inputs along the Vistula estuary and to the dilution of VOC-enriched river water with seawater. The concentrations of VOX in seawater decreased throughout the period and the concentrations of VOX were in the range of few ng dm(-3) up to 250 ng dm(-3), similar to estuaries elsewhere. The average concentrations of chlorophenols and phenoxyacids were between 0.1 and 6.0 and 0.05 and 2.2 microg dm(-3), respectively. However, remarkably high concentrations of 2,4-dichlorophenol (6 microg dm(-3)) were obtained in samples collected from the Vistula River. Generally concentrations of PCBs did not exceed few ng dm(-3) with the exception of 1999, when all samples exhibited elevated concentrations of PCBs. In addition, higher concentrations of PCBs in the open sea compared to river waters suggested localised inputs. Due to the ability of most organic pollutants to bioaccumulate and biomagnify, especially the persistent organic pollutants, continued monitoring is of crucial importance for the health of marine life in the Gulf of Gdańsk.

Physical, chemical, and biological changes in the Gulf of Gdańsk ecosystem (southern Baltic sea)

This review presents the present state of knowledge of the physical, chemical, and biological changes in waters of the Gulf of Gdańsk (Baltic Sea). The general characteristics of the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Gdańsk with brief description of changes in the ecosystem are included. Among meteorological parameters describing climate in the coastal zone, water temperature changes together with considerations of precipitation and sea level are presented. It has been confirmed that the sea level rise over the past 40 yr was very distinct. Throughout the past 30 yr an evident increase in eutrophication has been observed. Therefore, changes in salinity, oxygen content, and nutrient fluctuations with special attention paid to variability in silicate, nitrate, and phosphate concentrations in the water layer are presented. Also, discussion on the presence of toxic pollutants, such as heavy metals, PCBs, PAHs, and some pesticides, in the water body of the Gulf of Gdańsk has been included. Because of their ability to bioaccumulate and biomagnify in living organisms, these substances are of crucial importance for future marine life in the Gulf of Gdańsk. Finally, biological conditions of the coastal waters of the Gulf of Gdańsk were discussed. Data show that the ecosystem structure of the Gulf of Gdańsk has undergone tremendous changes. The species pattern has changed significantly--many species have disappeared and others have become dominant.