Occurrence and distribution of microplastics in marine sediments along the Belgian coast

Plastic debris is known to undergo fragmentation at sea, which leads to the formation of microscopic particles of plastic; the so called ‘microplastics’. Due to their buoyant and persistent properties, these microplastics have the potential to become widely dispersed in the marine environment through hydrodynamic processes and ocean currents. In this study, the occurrence and distribution of microplastics was investigated in Belgian marine sediments from different locations (coastal harbours, beaches and sublittoral areas).Particles were found in large numbers in all samples, showing the wide distribution of microplastics in Belgian coastal waters. The highest concentrations were found in the harbours where total microplastic concentrations of up to 390 particles kg⁻¹ dry sediment were observed, which is 15-50 times higher than reported maximum concentrations of other, similar study areas.The depth profile of sediment cores suggested that microplastic concentrations on the beaches reflect the global plastic production increase.     

Critical appraisal on the identification of Reference Conditions for the evaluation of ecological quality status along the Emilia-Romagna coast (Italy) using M-AMBI

According to the European Water Framework Directive, the ecological status (ES) of a water body is determined by comparing observation data with undisturbed Reference Conditions (RCs). Defining RCs is crucial when evaluating the ES of a water body as it strongly affects the final outcome of any index application. Identifying RCs by observing real sites is not feasible in many marine environments, such as the Emilia-Romagna coast (Italy, N-Adriatic Sea). We used a statistical approach on a large dataset to derive RCs for the application of the benthic index M-AMBI in this area. We then applied M-AMBI to samples collected along a gradient of presumed environmental disturbance. The results put 14.8% of the Emilia-Romagna samples in “High” ES, 60.2% in “Good”, 23.0% in “Moderate” and 2.0% in “Poor”, showing a spatial gradient of improving quality. These results are in agreement with the extensive ecological knowledge available for this area.     

Sampling epifauna, a necessity for a better assessment of benthic ecosystem functioning: an example of the epibenthic aggregated species Ophiothrix fragilis from the Bay of Seine

Sampling the sea bottom surface remains difficult because of the surface hydraulic shock due to water flowing through the gear (i.e., the bow wave effect) and the loss of epifauna organisms due to the gear’s closing mechanism. Slow-moving mobile epifauna, such as the ophiuroid Ophiothrix fragilis, form high-density patches in the English Channel, not only on pebbles like in the Dover Strait or offshore Brittany but also on gravel in the Bay of Seine (>5000 ind m⁻²). Such populations form high biomasses and control the water transfer from the water column to the sediment. Estimating their real density and biomass is essential for the assessment of benthic ecosystem functioning using trophic web modelling. In this paper, we present and discuss the patch patterns and sampling efficiency of the different methods for collecting in the dense beds of O. fragilis in the Bay of Seine. The large Hamon grab (0.25 m⁻²) highly under-estimated the ophiuroid density, while the Smith McIntyre appeared adequate among the tested sampling grabs. Nowadays, diving sampling, underwater photography and videos with remote operated vehicle appear to be the recommended alternatives to estimate the real density of such dense slow-moving mobile epifauna.     

Bioaccumulation of nitroarenes in bivalves at Osaka Bay, Japan

This paper reports for the first time the detection and occurrence of nitroarenes (NPAHs) in marine organisms. Mussels and oysters collected from Osaka Bay, Japan, had total NPAHs concentrations that ranged from 2380 to 24,688 pg/g dry and 2672 to 25,961 pg/g dry, respectively. Relatively higher concentrations were detected in sampling sites located near the central district and suburbs of Osaka City implying that the most probable sources of NPAHs in the two bivalves are exhaust gases and smokes emitted by automobiles and industrial plants. Bivalves had relatively higher residues of 1-nitronaphthalene, 2-nitronaphthalene, 3-nitrophenanthrene, and 9-nitrophenanthrenes. Residues of 2-nitrofluorene, 1-nitropyrene, 4-nitropyrenes, and 6-nitrochrysene were much lower compared to nitronaphthalenes and nitrophenanthrenes. Inter-species differences was only observed for 2-nitronaphthalene with oysters exhibiting significantly higher residues than mussels.     

Levels and distribution of polybrominated diphenyl ethers and organochlorine compounds in sea turtles from Japan

Three species of sea turtles (green, hawksbill and loggerhead turtles) stranded along the coasts or caught (by-catch) around Ishigaki Island and Kochi, Japan were collected between 1998 and 2006 and analyzed for six organohalogen compounds viz., PBDEs, PCBs, DDTs, CHLs, HCHs and HCB. The present study is the first and foremost to report the occurrence of organohalogen compounds in the sea turtles from Japan. Among the compounds analyzed, concentrations of PCBs, DDTs and CHLs were the highest in all the turtle samples. PBDEs were ubiquitously present in all the turtle species. Comparing with the other two species, concentrations of organohalogens in green turtle were relatively low and decreasing trend in the concentrations were noted with increasing carapace length. Concentrations of OCs in sea turtles from the coasts of Ishigaki Island and Kochi were relatively low as compared to those from other locations in the world.     

Navy sonar, cetaceans and the US Supreme Court: a review of cetacean mitigation and litigation in the US

One source of anthropogenic noise in the oceans which has attracted much concern is naval sonar. As a result of possible impacts of such sonar, several environmental NGOs have pursued legal cases in the United States criticizing environmental assessments conducted prior to exercises and proposed mitigation measures. Cases have been brought using the US National Environmental Protection Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act, Endangered Species Act, Coastal Zone Management Act and other statutes. This paper reviews the chronology and results of these various cases. During the G.W. Bush presidential administration, the legal battle went to the US Supreme Court in the case Winter vs. Natural Resources Defense Council. This case however, did not address the potential impacts of sonar on cetaceans or the effectiveness of mitigation measures. During the Obama administration, mitigation measures for naval exercises have been revised, and working groups planned, in an attempt to resolve conflict between parties.     

2009年萨摩亚—汤加特大地震触发的两次大震

特大地震(≥8.0级的地震)一般都含有构造板块之间边界岩体的突然滑动。这种板间的破裂通常出现在俯冲带特大逆冲事件的海沟斜坡区,会产生动态及静态应力变化,从而激活周边的板内余震(Christensen and Ruff,1988;Dmowskaetal,1988;Layetal,1989;Ammonetal,2008)。本文研究的地震序列展示一少见的例子———特大海沟斜坡的一次板内地震触发了广泛的板间断层活动,颠倒了典型的活动模式,从而广泛地扩大了地震和海啸灾害。2009年9月29日,在汤加俯冲带北端的外海沟斜坡发生矩震级8.1的正断层地震事件,该震开始破裂后的2分钟内,发生了总地震矩等于矩震级8.0级的第二个特大地震,它由两次(矩震级均为7.8级)板间下插逆冲大地震组成,导致了周边俯冲带巨型逆断层的破裂。联合的断层作用引发了海啸,局部地区抬升约12m,导致萨摩亚、美属萨摩亚和汤加192人死亡。地震信号的重叠掩盖了这样的事实:相隔约50km的性质不同的断层发生了不同几何形状的破裂,这些被触发的逆冲断层滑动只有通过详细的地震波分析才能揭示出来。在汤加北部俯冲带的大部分区域内,激活了广泛的板间和板内余震活动。     

余震密度随距离的衰减不代表动态应力触发过程

分辨多数余震和后续主震是由静态应力触发(Stein,1999;Todaetal,2005;Parsons,2002)还是动态应力触发(Hilletal,1993;kilb,2003;Brodsky and Prejean,2005;Gomberg and Johnson,2005;Hill and Prejean,2007),对理解地震内在作用和预测地震危险性是有必要的(Freed,2005)。Felzer和Brodsky(2006)分析了2≤M<3和3≤M<4级主震后5min内余震的空间分布情况,发现距主震50km范围内M≥2余震具有特定的幂律衰减关系,且衰减曲线的斜率为-1.35。据此,他们认为余震随距离的衰减只能用动态触发来解释。基于上述假设我们进行了一系列的检验,但没有一个可通过检验,进而,本文中对这种衰减关系提出了另外一种解释。在距离2≤M<3主震300m以外的地方,主震前5min内的地震活动性衰减与主震后5min内的衰减没有显著的区别,表明主震对它静态触发区域以外的地方没有影响。表征余震基本特性的大森随时间衰减关系在距离主震10km以外的地方是不存在的。最后,发现在主震波前未到达之前的余震中发现了...     

复合火山构造的高分辨率岸上地震成像:意大利武尔卡诺岛例子

火山口地下构造详细的地震成像对于增进这些高危险火山的构造和火山学的知识是必不可少的。然而,在火山地带,尤其是在岸上,很难获得高质量的地震数据。我们报道了拉福萨火山口(意大利武尔卡诺岛)西部地区的高分辨率地震剖面结果。利用高分辨率的振动源及交替采集和处理技术,我们能够克服由火山煤岩类型带来的大多数困难。本研究提供了火山堆积的地下分布和一些重要内部喷火山口构造的识别。我们确定了埋于拉福萨火山口下面的寄生火山口或玄武碎屑岩丘的位置,它在约1km的深度记录到地震的地方正在消散CO2。此外,在剖面最南部发现的变形模式与穹隆侵入后破火山口塌陷是一致的。结果表明,使用高分辨率振动源结合交替地震采集技术和非常规处理方法,可以帮助恢复火山地区浅层构造的详细信息。