Search results for "marine sediment"

Trace element storage capacity of sediments in dead P. oceanica mat from a chronically contaminated marine ecosystem

2017

Posidonia oceanica mat is considered a long-term bioindicator of contamination. Storage and sequestration of trace elements and organic carbon (Corg) were assessed in dead P. oceanica mat and bare sediments from a highly polluted coastal marine area (Augusta Bay, central Mediterranean). Sediment elemental composition and sources of organic matter have been altered since the 1950s. Dead P. oceanica mat displayed a greater ability to bury and store trace elements and Corg than nearby bare sediments, acting as a long-term contaminant sink over the past 120 yr. Trace elements, probably associated with the mineral fraction, were stabilized and trapped despite die-off of the overlying P. oceanica…

Relationship among anthropogenic pollution, benthic foraminifera assemblages and their morphological deformations from marine sediments of the Sicili…

2009

CLASSIFICATION AND TAXONOMY OF MODERN BENTHIC SHELF FORAMINIFERA OF THE CENTRAL MEDITERRANEAN SEA

2014

Modelling biogeochemical processes in sediments from the north-western Adriatic Sea: response to enhanced particulate organic carbon fluxes

2018

This work presents the result of a study carried out in the north-western Adriatic Sea, by combining two different types of biogeochemical models with field sampling efforts. A longline mussel farm was taken as a local source of perturbation to the natural particulate organic carbon (POC) downward flux. This flux was first quantified by means of a pelagic model of POC deposition coupled to sediment trap data, and its effects on sediment bioirrigation capacity and organic matter (OM) degradation pathways were investigated constraining an early diagenesis model by using original data collected in sediment porewater. The measurements were performed at stations located inside and outside the ar…

Contaminated sediments from dredging activities as modern turbidites: geochemical signatures in box-core sediments from the Augusta area, Ionian Sea,…

2009

The Augusta area (SE Sicily) is one of the most industrialized and contaminated coastal environments in the Mediterranean region, having a relatively high influx of unregulated industrial effluents. Valuable sets of geochemical data (major elements and trace metals), obtained from box-core sediments collected along a transect from the Sicilian coastal zone seawards of Augusta and dated via 210Pb and 137Cs, indicated increased metal contamination (notably Hg) since ca 1940-1950, related to the industrial development of the area. Metal enrichment is considerable in the coastal sediments, being significantly in excess (for Hg and Pb) of background values estimated for the Strait of Sicily. Mor…

Geochemical and eco-toxicological evaluations in box-core sediments from the Sicilian coast, central Mediterranean

2007

Sand clams of Ganzirri marine coastal lagoon in Messina (Italy). Extraction and ICP-MS analysis

2008

This paper studies the possible forms or phases of heavy metals in sediments of a marine coastal lagoon, called Ganzirri, located in the Sicilian coast of the Messina’s strait by using sequential extraction. To reduce the extraction time of the Tessier method, the last step of speciation was carried out by mineralization in a microwave oven. Here we report the results of the distribution of As, Be, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, Tl, V and Zn, in four fractions of sediments samples and the concentration of the same metals in clams. This study looked at three bivalve mollusc species, Tapes decussates, Chamelea gallina and Cardium edule, raised in the sediment considered and discussed the…