Search results for "Sediment"

Lower pleistocene deposits in east part of the Favignana island, Sicily, Italy

2011

Efficiency of the microwave-assisted extraction of hydrocarbons and pesticides from sediments

1997

Abstract A mixture of toluene and water is proposed for the microwave-assisted extraction of organic pollutants, hydrocarbons and pesticides, from marine sediments. The effect of experimental conditions, such as microwave power and irradiation time, on the extraction of linear, unresolved and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons as well as PCBs and DDTs has been evaluated using real marine sediment samples. Values found by Soxhlet and ultrasonic extraction were employed to evaluate the efficiency of the microwave-assisted extraction. Analytical determinations were carried out by gas chromatography using FID, ECD and MS detectors. For 2 g of a dry sediment, an extraction time of 6 min with 10 ml…

Microbes and Persistent Organic Pollutants in the Marine Environment

2020

Marine pollution has increased reaching the entire marine environment, from the surface to the deepest sediment, and has become more concerning in the last 70 years. Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are a fraction of ocean waste that includes, among the others, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and plastic polymers. These chemicals have an extremely long half-life, and (bio)accumulate and damage the marine flora and fauna, and, ultimately, human health. Some organisms have evolved enzymes to attack POPs in the environment and transform them into biomass and CO2. Several microorganisms degrade many POPs in relatively short time. A wide variety of bacteria has been isolated with dif…

Validation of a Microscale Pollution Dispersal Model

1996

The three-dimensional numerical model MISCAM (Micro Scale Air Pollution Model) has been developed to study wind flow and pollutant dispersal in densely built-up urban areas (Eichhorn, 1989). The model has been successfully applied for planning purposes by a variety of institutions in Germany. MISCAM consists of the non-hydrostatic Eulerian equations of motion and a transport equation for pollutants. Turbulence closure is carried out by means of a k-e-model. To reduce numerical diffusion errors, Smolarkiewicz and Grabowski’s (1989) scheme may be used for the calculation of advective transport. Additionally, sedimentation and dry deposition of pollutants may be taken into account.

Evaluation of organic compound source and natural attenuation, Liepaja Latvia

2004

Liepaja harbor is a former Soviet military site. Remediation of the harbor basin, including dredging of the sediments heavily contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons and heavy metals is necessary to convert the harbor for civilian use. Abandoned pollution sources on land still continue to leach contaminants into the harbor basin. Our long-term research objective therefore is to identify transport pathways into the harbor sediments and to assess the in-situ degradation of pollutants in the system. The Liepaja harbor is treated as a complex system, where processes in the water column interact with the sediments and the nepheloid sediment boundary layer. For this research PAHs are used as the…

The Impact of Grain Size Composition and Organic Matter Content on Magnetic Susceptibility of Anthropogenically Transformed Bottom Sediments, as Exem…

2017

The article presents the results of an analysis of the surface layer of bottom sediments in the naval harbour in Hel. During field work conducted in June 2013, 54 sediment samples were collected. The aim of the study was to examine magnetic susceptibility of harbour sediment as a parameter determining the degree of anthropopressure. As part of laboratory tests, grain size analysis was performed in order to determine organic matter content and magnetic susceptibility of the sediment. The study also measured the impact of environmental factors on fluctuations in the other studied parameters. The results demonstrate increased dynamics of sedimentary environment in the open part of the naval ha…

Inverse modeling of past lead atmospheric deposition in South Greenland

2015

The aim of this study is to model atmospheric lead fluxes in two different paleoenvironmental records located in southern Greenland. Fifty five sediment samples collected from the Lake Igaliku sedimentary sequence were analyzed for lead and aluminum concentrations, and lead isotopic compositions. The second archive consists in a previously published dataset, obtained from a minerogenic peat deposit, located at Tasiusaq, 16 km northwest from Lake Igaliku. A flux model fitted to both dataset produces similar results, allowing past anthropogenic atmospheric deposition to be reconstructed. This original method can be easily adapted for other studies where natural inputs dominate over discrete a…

A review of ecological risk assessment and associated health risks with heavy metals in sediment from India

2020

Abstract Heavy metal (HM) pollution in sediment is a serious concern particularly in developing nations, warranting an extensive survey to understand the current situation and propose possible remedial measures. This paper compiles the data of HMs cadmium (Cd), iron (Fe), cobalt (Co), manganese (Mn), arsenic (As), lead (Pb), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn) and nickel (Ni) in aquatic sediment from India from 1979 to 2017. It was found that mean values of Cu, Co, Zn, Pb, As, and Cr in Indian sediment were high in comparison to the Australian Interim Sediment Quality Guidelines, World Surface Rock Average, and the Threshold Effect Level for freshwater ecosystems. Anthropogenic activities…

Bioavailability and assessment of heavy metal pollution in sediment cores off the Mejerda River Delta (Gulf of Tunis): How useful is a multiproxy app…

2016

International audience; Three core samples were taken from zones offshore from the Mejerda River Delta (Tunisia) and analyzed formajor and trace elements to assess their relationships with organic matter, monosulfides and carbonates, aswell as for pollution and bioavailability. Chemical speciation,ΣSEM/AVS, the enrichment factor (EF) and thegeo-accumulation index (I-geo) were used. Iron, cadmium, lead and zinc – the most frequently mined metalsin the Mejerda catchment – were found as contaminants in the offshore areas. Estimations of trace elementaccumulation using the EF and the I-geo index show that lead, and to a lesser extent zinc, are the most pollutingmetals off the Mejerda outlet. Ac…

Occurrence, distribution and behavior of emerging persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in a Mediterranean wetland protected area.

2018

The analysis of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) and organophosphate flame retardants (PFRs) in the different environmental compartments of a characteristic coastal wetland, the Albufera Natural Park (Valencia, Spain), is required for understanding the transport, accumulation and fate of these pollutants in an area under high anthropogenic pressure. Samples included 13 wastewater treatment plant influents, 13 effluents, 12 surface water, 19 sediment samples and 10 fish individuals from the Albufera Natural Park and the surrounding area. Tris(2-chloroisopropyl) phosphate (TCIPP) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) were at the highest concentrations in water, 330.2 ng L−1 and 47.8 ng L−1, r…