An Estimation of the Mercury Content in the Waters of the Pomeranian Baltic-Shore-Area

In the catchment area of the Pomeranian Bay an average mercury concentration of 178 ng/l in precipitation was determined. Eight different flowing waters showed mean concentrations between 105 ng/l (?upawa) and 500 ng/l (Odra), a pronounced annual cycle having been demonstrated for the concentrations and for the freights with the minimum in February/March and the maximum in August/September. The total freight of the eight rivers amounts to 19.5 t/a, the share of the Wisla being 11 t/a. The ratio between the mercury precipitation of 335 to 410 μg/m²a Hg and the run-off varies of 30 … 75 μg/m²a Hg for the individual river basins between 0.08 and 0.21. In the Baltic Sea, the mercury concentrations are 40 ng/l in the open sea, 50 ng/l in the coastal region and 290 … 390 ng/l near the estuaries. Trough the eight investigated rivers about 48 km³/a water run off into the Baltic Sea with about 20 t/a Hg. The total introduction of Hg into the Baltic Sea is estimated at 100 t/a with the river water, 35 t/a with precipitation and 35 t/a with dust.     

The Concentrations of Cadmium,Lead and Copper in Filtrated Baltic Sea Water Samples Collected at Two Seasons in 1969

Two research cruises on the Baltic Sea, in July and November of 1979, were made for investigating the Baltic Sea water for its contents of dissolved cadmium, lead and copper. Atomic absorption spectrophotometry and voltammetry were used as methods of investigation, the latter method having supplied slightly lower results. In the water layer of 0 … 50 m the cadmium concentrations were 0.03 … 0.05 μg/l and the lead concentrations were 0.1 … 0.2 μg/l, seasonal changes did not have any effect on them. The copper concentrations, on the other hand, were 0.4 … 1.2 μg/l in summer and 0.1 … 0.7 μg/l in autumn. Compared with ocean waters, the lead content is remarkably high. In anoxic deep waters of the Baltic Sea the concentrations of the three metals, especially that of cadmium, are very low (< 0.01 μg/l).     

Hydrocarbon concentrations in water and sediments from UK marine waters,determined by fluorescence spectroscopy

Between January 1978 and September 1979 samples of subsurface (1 m) water and surface sediment were collected from sites in the North Sea, English Channel, Irish Sea and a number of estuarine areas. These have been analysed by fluorescence spectroscopy (UVF) in order to provide information on the levels of hydrocarbons generally present in UK marine waters.Total hydrocarbon concentrations (THCs) of water samples ranged from 1.1–74 μg l.^?1 Ekofisk crude oil equivalents, all values greater than 3.5 μg l.^?1 occurring inshore. In offshore areas the mean THCs were: 1.3 μg l.^?1 in the northern North Sea, 1.5 μg l.^?1 in the western Channel, 2.5 μg l.^?1 in the eastern Channel and southern North Sea, and 2.6 μg l.^?1 in the Irish Sea.THCs of sediment samples ranged from 0.27–340 μ g^?1 dry weight Ekofisk crude oil equivalents, the highest concentration being in the Queen's Channel, the main entrance to the River Mersey.     

Lead and copper in the waters of Raritan and Lower New York Bays

A survey of waters adjacent to this heavily urbanized and industrialized region showed concentrations of copper, 65 μg l.^?1 to be the highest reported to date for estuarine waters, and lead up to 13.9 μg l.^?1 Correlations between distributions of dissolved and total metal concentration in the water column, hydrography, and metal in the sediment were related to benthic studies in this area. Laboratory studies are cited which show the potential for adverse effects on marine animals at these metal concentrations.     

Studies on Primary Productivity and some Hydrochemical Aspects of a Polluted Water-body of the Himalayan Jhelum Valley

The lake without any outlet (11 ha, 55000 m³, z_max 2,25 m) has a weak thermal stratification with maximum surface temperatures of 32.5 °C. The annual variation of temperature and depth of visibility is unimodal, with the maxima or minima in August. Phytoplankton consists mainly of Cyanophyceae. The primary production determined by the light-dark bottle technique (oxygen method) varies in the annual variation between 0.3… 0.5 g m^?2 d^?1 C (winter) and 3.4… 4.6 g m^?2 d^?1 C (summer); as the annual means of 1975 and 1976 there were found 1.9 and 2.4 g m^?2 d^?1 C, resp., gross production at a utilization of 0.42… 2.85% of the radiation energy. The chemism is a well-buffered hydrogen-carbonate water (pH 8.1… 9.0) with 74… 90 mg/1 Na and 20.5… 31.5 mg/1 K and with a good nutrient supply (20… 40 μg/1 PO₄—P and 100… 240 μg/1 NO₃—N) at the same time.     

The occurrence of arsenic in selected marine macroalgae from two coastal areas of South Australia

Total arsenic concentrations have been measured in macroalgae specimens from two coastal areas of South Australia. Phaeophyta in both areas were found to contain elevated arsenic concentrations (42.2–179 μg g^?1 and 26.3–65.3 μg g^?1) relative to Rhodophyta (17.6–31.3 μg g^?1 and 12.5–16.2 μg g^?1) and Chlorophyta (6.3–16.3 μg g^?1 and 9.9–10.8 μg g^?1).     

Estimate of the Eutrophication Process in the Gruža Reservoir (Serbia and Montenegro)

The Gru?a Reservoir (located at 238…269 m a. s. l., volume 64.6 · 10⁶ m³, surface 934 ha, drainage area 318 km², max. depth 31 m, mean theoretical retention time 22 months) was investigated during the years 1996 to 2001. The obtained values of trophic state parameters (9…200 μg L^?1 total phosphorus, 3…99 μg L^?1 chlorophyll‐a, and 0.5…2 m transparency) indicate that water of the Gru?a Reservoir is eutrophic according to three types of classification: Carlson, OECD, and Jones and Lee. It was noticed that values of average biomass abundance are large in the Gru?a Reservoir, and they could indicate a richer trophic state. When these indices are cited in connection with parameters of the trophic state, it is apparent that the Gru?a Reservoir can be classified as a eutrophic water on the basis of total phosphorus content of chlorophyll‐a and hypertrophic water with respect to transparency.     

Increased levels of petroleum hydrocarbons in the surface sediments of Swedish coastal waters

Petroleum hydrocarbons in the sediments of the Bothnian Bay, Baltic proper, Öresund, Kattegatt and Skagerrak were analysed in a survey of oil pollution along the Swedish coast in 1974 and 1975. Sixty-one of these sediment stations were revisited in 1982 and analysed with the methods used in the first survey. The mean content of petroleum hydrocarbons (paraffin-naphthene fraction) in the sediment surface showed a statistically significant increase from 199 to 252 μg g^?1 dry wt. The main increase had taken place in the coastal areas. Within 0–20 km distance of urbanized areas (>20 000 inhabitants) petroleum hydrocarbons had increased from 371 to 447 μg g^?1. Sediment levels increased from 76 to 117 μg g^?1, 20–50 km from urbanized areas. The increase in these areas was equivalent to 0.119 g m^?2 yr^?1.     

Grundwasserchemismus im Bezirk Neubrandenburg. Teil 3. Jodid im Grundwasser

The iodide contents in 389 ground-water-tapping plants of the county are compared with the geological character of the aquifer, the carbonate and non-carbonate hardness and the nitrate and chloride contents of the waters. 54% of the plants have I-concentrations of 3 … 7 μg/l. In the air-covered ground-water (hardness quotient<2.8) 2 … 50 μg/l I are found, whereas in the confined ground-water (hardness quotient >2.8) 2 … 50 μg/l I are contained. In general, the I-content increases with the carbonate hardness, a connection with till existing. Therefore, ground-waters of the Miocene have relatively low salt- and I-contents. Geogenic salt influences in the form of NaCl increase the I-contents to 50 … 100 μg/l. Anthropogenic influences in the residential area and due to waste increase the Cl^?- and I^?-concentrations. There were not detected any dependences between the I- and NO₃-contents.     

Trace metal levels in coastal sea water investigation of Danish waters

The concentration levels of Cd (25 ng l^?1), Cu (0.45 μg l^?1), Ni (0.48 μg l^?1), Fe (0.2–7.0 μg l^?1), Pb (40 ng l^?1) and Zn (0.80 μg l^?1) have been determined in the Danish Sounds and in the Kattegat. Different sampling techniques have been used and analyses have been carried out separately by two different investigators, both using freon-extraction followed by determination by atomic absorption spectrometry (a.a.s.). Except for iron, found mainly in the particulate phase, the metals are found predominantly in a dissolved and labile (extractable) form. The results are compared with trace metal levels found in the two main water masses entering the Kattegat—the North Sea and the Baltic Sea.     

Some effects of sewage discharge upon phytoplankton in Hong Kong

The coastal waters of Hong Kong constitute a transition from estuarine conditions in the west to more oceanic conditions in the east, with a major discharge of untreated sewage located at the mid-point. Chlorophyll a was determined and net phytoplankton was sampled at 45 stations throughout this transition. Over a period of 20 months, chlorophyll a values rarely exceeded 2 μg l.^?1 in unpolluted coastal waters. Estuarine waters generally contained 2–6 μg l.^?1 and, in waters influenced by sewage discharge, values sometimes exceeded 20 μg l.^?1. There was no evidence of a reduction in taxonomic diversity in polluted areas except in summer, when the net phytoplankton was dominated by Chaetoceros spp. In the autumn and early winter, Skeletonema costatum was abundant in the central polluted areas.     

Mercury in tropical marine organisms from north Queensland

Total mercury concentrations were determined in a variety of fish and invertebrates and two dugongs from the coastal waters of Townsville on the N.E. coast of Australia. Fish generally contained the highest levels of mercury with 50% of the sharks examined having muscle concentrations above 0.5 μg g^?1 wet weight. A significantly positive correlation was found between muscle levels and body length in sharks. Seventy per cent of the teleosts examined contained less than 0.2 μg g^?1 in their muscle tissue and only 7% were above 0.5 μg g^?1. Mercury concentrations in teleost liver were significantly positively correlated with muscle levels. Of the invertebrates examined, the cephalopod molluscs contained the highest levels although none exceeded 0.5 μg g^?1. Mercury levels in the dugong were extremely low compared with most reported values for other marine mammals. It was concluded that the area contained mercury levels slightly above those considered normal for a non-contaminated marine environment.     

The effect of petroleum hydrocarbons on reproduction of an estuarine planktonic copepod in laboratory cultures

The effect of short-term exposure to high concentration (mg l.^?1) of water soluble fraction of aromatic heating oil on subsequent egg production by the estuarine copepod Eurytemora affinis has been studied in laboratory cultures to investigate possibly sublethal biological effects following exposure to hydrocarbon under an oil spill. Significant reduction in subsequent length of life, total number of eggs produced, mean brood size, and rate of egg production was observed. Exposure to naphthalene alone at 1 mg l.^?1 for 24 h produced a significant effect on total fecundity of the females. Ingestion rates were significantly lower when measured in the presence of the water soluble fraction, and also naphthalene alone at mg l.^?1 concentrations. Exposure to low-levels (10 and 50 μg l.^?1) of ¹⁴C-naphthalene alone over a period of ten days produced no significant effect on feeding or reproduction despite the high concentrations of hydrocarbon accumulated during this period. The results are discussed in relation to previous work on the fate of hydrocarbons in planktonic copepods, using ¹⁴C-1-naphthalene as a model compound.     

Effect of Zinc,Copper and Mercury on Channa marulius (HAMILTON)

Static bioassay acute toxicity tests of Zinc, Copper and Mercury were conducted to determine the median lethal concentrations (LC₅₀s) of a freshwater teleost Channa marulius (HAM .) The 96 h LC₅₀ and 95% confidence limits for Zn²⁺ were 25.61 (24.13 … 27.12) mg/l; 0.90 (0.80 … 1.038) mg/l; for Cu²⁺ and 0.314 (0.257 … 0.371) mg/l for Hg²⁺. However, these values decreased at 240 h of exposure and were: 21.09 (18.29 … 24.60) mg Zn²⁺/l; 0.66 (0.568 … 0.841) mg Cu²⁺/l; and 0.131 (0.103 … 0.158) mg Hg²⁺/l. The relative potency ratio of Zn/Hg, Zn/Cu and Cu/Hg suggests that fish were most sensitive to Hg, followed by Cu and Zn ions. The acute toxicities of mixtures of Zn²⁺?Cu²⁺; Zn²⁺?Hg²⁺, Cu²⁺?Hg²⁺ and Zn²⁺?Cu²⁺?Hg²⁺ up to 48 h of exposure were also investigated. The additive index and ranges for Zn²⁺?Cu²⁺ were ?0.241 (-0.577 … 0.054); 0.056 (-0.269 … 0.475) for Zn-Hg; 0.285 (-0.043 … 0.718) for Cu-Hg; and -0.542 (-1.215 … 0.005) for Zn-Cu-Hg. All the mixtures tested showed a greater than additive toxicity because index ranges overlapped zero.     

Terbuthylazine and Deethylterbuthylazine in Rain and Surface Water – Determination by Enzyme Immunoassay and Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry

Rain and surface water samples from Southern Germany were investigated from 1991 to 1995 for terbuthylazine and one of its major metabolites, deethylterbuthylazine. The concentrations observed were compared to the concentrations found for atrazine and deethylatrazine in the same water samples. Concentrations ranged from < 0.02 μg/L to 0.7 μg/L for terbuthylazine and from < 0.02 μg/L to 0.6 μg/L for deethylterbuthylazine, compared to concentrations of < 0.02 μg/L to 3 μg/L and < 0.02 μg/L to 0.5 μg/L for atrazine and deethylatrazine, respectively. The ratios of metabolite concentrations to parent compound concentrations were calculated for deethylterbuthylazine to terbuthylazine (DTR) and deethylatrazine to atrazine (DAR). In rain water, DTR of 0.8…3.0 and DAR of 0.3… 1.9 were determined with mean values of 0.9… 1.7 for DTR and 0.6…0.9 for DAR in the different years. The ratios increased during summer periods. The highest ratios were observed in samples from forest stands, showing that degradation of the herbicide has occurred during transport between the source and the sampling site. The DTR in rain water were about 50… 100% higher than the DAR. This indicates a higher degradation rate of terbuthylazine during atmospheric transport. In surface water, DTR of 0.3… 1.2 with mean values of 0.5…0.8 and DAR of 0.2…2.2 with mean values of 0.2… 1.3 were observed. The ratios increased from June to September.     

Occurrence and distribution of hydrocarbons in the surface microlayer and subsurface water from the urban coastal marine area off Marseilles, Northwestern Mediterranean Sea

Aliphatic (AHs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were analyzed in dissolved and particulate material from surface microlayer (SML) and subsurface water (SSW) sampled at nearshore observation stations, sewage effluents and harbour sites from Marseilles coastal area (Northwestern Mediterranean) in 2009 and 2010. Dissolved and particulate AH concentrations ranged 0.05–0.41 and 0.04–4.3 μg l⁻¹ in the SSW, peaking up to 38 and 1366 μg l⁻¹ in the SML, respectively. Dissolved and particulate PAHs ranged 1.9–98 and 1.9–21 ng l⁻¹ in the SSW, amounting up 217 and 1597 ng l⁻¹ in the SML, respectively. In harbours, hydrocarbons were concentrated in the SML, with enrichment factors reaching 1138 for particulate AHs. Besides episodic dominance of biogenic and pyrogenic inputs, a moderate anthropisation from petrogenic sources dominated suggesting the impact of shipping traffic and surface runoffs on this urbanised area. Rainfalls increased hydrocarbon concentrations by a factor 1.9–11.5 in the dissolved phase.     

Chlorination of Humic Acids and Chloroform Production

By diluting a boggy water there is produced water with a COD-Mn of 3.4 … 10.6 mg/l O₂ which is due only to humic substances. The water is mixed with 2.5 … 12.9 mg/l Cl₂ at pH-values of 5.2 … 8.5 and incubated for 24 h at 20°C. CHCl₃ concentrations of 38 … 480 μg/l were found by the subsequent gas-chromatographic determination. The production of chloroform can be calculated by means of a quadratic polynomial in dependence on COD-Mn, chlorine concentration and pH-value.     

Dissolved petroleum hydrocarbons in some regions of the northern Indian ocean

Dissolved petroleum hydrocarbons were measured in some parts of the Northern Indian Ocean using UV absorbance technique with a clean up step. The concentration of oil ranged from 0.6 to 26.5 μg l^?1. Higher values were recorded along the oil tanker route compared with the coastal region From surface to about 10 m depth the oil appeared to be well mixed with water.     

Der Einfluß von Erdölkohlenwasserstoffen auf die Primärproduktion des Donauplanktons

Danube river water samples were saturated with mineral oil, and then the primary production (gross) was determined by means of the light-dark bottle method (oxygen) in situ at depths of 0.1… 1.5 m in comparison with untreated samples. Samples were exposed for half a solar day alternately during the first and second half-days. Investigations carried out between March and October for periods of 14 days showed a mean production of 2.56 g · m^?2d^?1 O₂, which was reduced by 36% due to 12.6 mg/l hydrocarbons. Production decreases with the water depth from 6.2 to 0.9 mg · l^?1d^?1 0₂, whereas the inhibition by hydrocarbons increases from 31 to 41%.