Laboratory simulation system, using Carcinus maenas as the model organism, for assessing the impact of CO2 leakage from sub-seabed injection and storage.

The capture and storage of CO2 in sub-seabed geological formations has been proposed as one of the potential options to decrease atmospheric CO2 concentrations in order to mitigate the abrupt and irreversible consequences of climate change. However, it is possible that CO2 leakages could occur during the injection and sequestration procedure, with significant repercussions for the marine environment. We investigate the effects of acidification derived from possible CO2 leakage events on the European green crab, Carcinus maenas.

Predicting the impacts of CO2 leakage from subseabed storage: effects of metal accumulation and toxicity on the model benthic organism Ruditapes philippinarum.

The urgent need to minimize the potential harm deriving from global climate change and ocean acidification has led governmental decision-makers and scientists to explore and study new strategies for reducing the levels of anthropogenic CO2. One of the mitigation measures proposed for reducing the concentration of atmospheric CO2 is the capture and storage of this gas in subseabed geological formations; this proposal is generating considerable international interest. The main risk associated with this option is the leakage of retained CO2, which could cause serious environmental perturbations, particularly acidification, in marine ecosystems.

An early approach for the evaluation of repair processes in fish after exposure to sediment contaminated by an oil spill.

A chronic bioassay was carried out under laboratory conditions using juvenile Solea senegalensis to determine the toxicity of contaminants from an oil spill(Prestige). Also, the repair processes in fish affected by contaminants due to oil exposure were evaluated. Over 30 days individuals were exposed to clean sediment (control) and to sediment contaminated by a mixture of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and other substances.

Chronic bioassay in benthic fish for the assessment of the quality of sediments in different areas of the coast of Spain impacted by acute and chronic oil spills.

More and more, the coastal regions of the world suffer from the contamination of petroleum hydrocarbon [principally polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)]. This contamination can be acute, as it happened in the Coast of Galicia (NW, Spain) by the oil spill from a tanker, or chronic by the existence of high maritime traffic and a lot of industries as it is the case of the Bay of Algeciras (BA) (SW, Spain). It is of a great concern due to the toxicity, especially in sediments and ecosystem associated to it.

Determining sediment quality for regulatory proposes using fish chronic bioassays.

Sediment quality assessments for regulatory purposes (i.e. dredged material disposal) are characterized by linking chemical and acute ecotoxicological data.

Kinetic of biomarker responses in juveniles of the fish Sparus aurata exposed to contaminated sediments.

Sediments in the National Park of the Atlantic Islands (Galicia, Spain) were affected by the spill of the tanker Prestige (November, 2002) and still present high levels of Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The adverse effects associated with the contaminants in sediments were tested using a chronic bioassay, exposing juveniles of the fish Sparus aurata (seabream). A toxicokinetic approach is proposed to evaluate sediment quality by linking chemical and ecotoxicological data along the time.

Ecotoxicity of sediments contaminated by the oil spill associated with the tanker "Prestige" using juveniles of the fish Sparus aurata.

In November 2002, the oil spill from the tanker Prestige in the Galician Coast caused an ecological catastrophe in Spain. The adverse effects associated with the contaminants bound to sediments were tested using juveniles of the fish Sparus aurata (seabream). The approach evaluates sediment quality by using an integrated assessment including chemical and ecotoxicological data.