Uptake, accumulation, and translocation of Zn, Cu, Pb, Cd, Ni, and Cr by P. australis seedlings in an urban dredged sediment mesocosm: Impact of seedling origin and initial trace metal content.

The study presents results from 6 months of phytoremediation of sediments dredged from three urban retention tanks carried out in a mesocosm setup with the use of P. australis. Two kinds of P.

Identifying recent sources and fate of sedimentary nitrogen in the Baltic Sea based on organic matter elemental composition and nitrogen and carbon stable isotopes ratios.

Sedimentary nitrogen (SN) provenience and fate in surface and subsurface sediments collected from the Baltic Sea were assessed. SN and sedimentary organic carbon (SOC) concentrations, stable isotopic signatures (δN and δC) and SOC/SN molar ratios, were determined in subsequent layers of twenty-four sediment cores dated with Pb/Cs and fifty-seven surface sediments. Sedimentation rates in the range 66-736 g/myr (0.

Sea-dumped ammunition as a possible source of mercury to the Baltic Sea sediments.

After World War II, as a move toward Germany demilitarization, up to 385,000 t of munitions were sunk in the Baltic Sea. Munition containing various harmful substances, including chemical warfare agents (CWA) and explosives, that can affect marine biota were dumped on the seafloor. Some of those objects contained mercury, either as elemental mercury or mercury compounds (e.

Significance of groundwater discharge along the coast of Poland as a source of dissolved metals to the southern Baltic Sea.

Fluxes of dissolved trace metals (Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn) via groundwater discharge along the southern Baltic Sea have been assessed for the first time. Dissolved metal concentrations in groundwater samples were less variable than in seawater and were generally one or two orders of magnitude higher: Cd (2.1-2.

Methylation index as means of quantification of the compliance of sedimentary mercury to be methylated.

Methylmercury (MeHg) is the most bioavailable and toxic mercury species in the marine environment. MeHg concentration levels, methylation rates leading to MeHg formation, and methylation index (MI) are all used to assess the compliance of mercury to be methylated in the marine sedimentary environment. This paper reports on the works conducted on the MI upgrade.

Distribution of sedimentary mercury off Svalbard, European Arctic.

The European Arctic, including the Svalbard archipelago, receives mercury loads due to long range atmospheric transport, local contamination, melting of glaciers and as a result of bedrock weathering. Few studies have been devoted to the contamination history and sources of sedimentary mercury in the Svalbard area. This knowledge gap is addressed in this study.

Total, methyl and organic mercury in sediments of the Southern Baltic Sea.

Distribution of sedimentary mercury in the Southern Baltic was investigated. Sediment samples were collected from the Southern Baltic in the period from 2009 to 2011, and concentrations of sedimentary total mercury (average 102 ng/g, range 5.8-225 ng/g) and methyl mercury (average 261 pg/g, range 61-940 pg/g) were measured in the manner that the influence of both patchiness and seasonal changes were assessed.

Biogeochemical control of the coupled CO2-O 2 system of the Baltic Sea: a review of the results of Baltic-C.

Past, present, and possible future changes in the Baltic Sea acid-base and oxygen balances were studied using different numerical experiments and a catchment-sea model system in several scenarios including business as usual, medium scenario, and the Baltic Sea Action Plan. New CO2 partial pressure data provided guidance for improving the marine biogeochemical model. Continuous CO2 and nutrient measurements with high temporal resolution helped disentangle the biogeochemical processes.

Caesium-137 distribution, inventories and accumulation history in the Baltic Sea sediments.

The Baltic Sea is susceptible to pollution by hazardous substances due to limited water exchange, shallowness, and the large catchment area. Radionuclides, particularly (137)Cs, are one of the most hazardous anthropogenic substances present in the Baltic environment. This study was conducted to present (137)Cs present contamination that should further be a subject of reliable monitoring when the new Nuclear Power Plant is put into operation in the northern Poland.

Submarine Groundwater Discharge as a Source of Mercury in the Bay of Puck, the Southern Baltic Sea.

Both groundwater flow and mercury concentrations in pore water and seawater were quantified in the groundwater seeping site of the Bay of Puck, southern Baltic Sea. Total dissolved mercury (HgT) in pore water ranged from 0.51 to 4.

Nutrient fluxes via submarine groundwater discharge to the Bay of Puck, southern Baltic Sea.

Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) has been recognized as an important exchange pathway between hydrologic reservoirs due to its impact on biogeochemical cycles of the coastal ocean. This study reports nutrient concentrations and loads delivered by SGD into the Bay of Puck, the southern Baltic Sea. Measurements were carried out between September, 2009 and October, 2010 at groundwater seepage sites identified by low salinity of pore water.

Regional Pattern of Heavy Metal Content in Lake Sediments in Northeastern Poland.

We investigated sediments from 23 lakes situated in northeastern Poland and analyzed them for major constituents and selected heavy metals. Short sediment cores were collected from the deepest parts of the lakes, and subsequently, a surface layer (0-2 cm) and reference layer (50-52 cm) were sampled from each. In the collected samples, the content of the major constituents (organic matter, carbonates, and minerogenic material) and chosen heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn) was analyzed.

Sources and distributions of 137Cs, 238Pu, 239,240Pu radionuclides in the north-western Barents Sea.

Sediment deposits are the ultimate sink for anthropogenic radionuclides entering the marine environment. The major sources of anthropogenic radionuclides to the Barents Sea are fallout from nuclear weapons tests, long range transport from other seas, and river and non-point freshwater supplies. In this study we investigated activity concentrations, ratios, and inventories of the anthropogenic radionuclides, 137Cs, 238Pu, 239,240Pu in dated sediment cores collected along a north-south transect in the northwestern Barents Sea.

Temporal and spatial variations of selected biomarker activities in flounder (Platichthys flesus) collected in the Baltic proper.

The aim of the study was to examine temporal (monthly) and spatial changes in the activities of a battery of biomarkers and evaluate the influence of gender and environmental factors on those activities. Abiotic factors not correlated with chemical pollution-water temperature, salinity, and oxygen concentration-were evaluated. The activities of the following biomarkers-muscular ChEs (acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE)), hepatic ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD), glutathione-S-transferase (GST) and catalase (CAT), and gross indices-condition factor (CF), hepatosomatic index (HSI), and gonadosomatic index (GSI)-were measured in individual flounder Platichthys flesus.

Responses of the toxic cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa to iron and humic substances.

Iron is an essential element to marine biota. Different types of dissolved organic matter (DOM), such as humic substances have impacts on the marine coastal waters iron chemistry. The aim of the study was to examine how the presence of humic substances (both aquatic and sedimentary) may affect iron bioavailability to the bloom-forming cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa Kutzing incubated on standard and modified mineral BG-11 media.

Intercomparison of alpha and gamma spectrometry techniques used in (210)Pb geochronology.

(210)Pb geochronology is a widely used tool in sedimentological studies aimed at the absolute ages of modern sediments (up to 100 years). (210)Pb activities required to model sedimentation regimes are measured using either alpha, gamma or beta spectrometry. Sediment accumulation rates derived from (210)Pb activity profiles measured by these methods are often used interchangeably in mass balance studies.

Toxicants accumulation rates and effects in Mytilus trossulus and Nereis diversicolor exposed separately or together to cadmium and PAHs.

Two invertebrates, Mytilus trossulus and Nereis diversicolor, were exposed in aquaria to cadmium (50 microg L(-1)) and a mixture of three- to six-ring PAHs (2 microg L(-1) each) for 2 weeks. Organisms of two species were reared in separate tanks or together in the same one. Concentrations of Cd, PAHs and activities of selected biomarkers: catalase (CAT), glutathione S-transferase (GST) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) were measured within 2 weeks of exposure.

Biomarker responses in flounder (Platichthys flesus) and mussel (Mytilus edulis) in the Klaipeda-Būtinge area (Baltic Sea).

During the EU project BEEP a battery of biomarkers was applied in flounder (Platichthys flesus) and the blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) collected at three locations off the Lithuanian coast (Baltic Sea) in June and September 2001 and 2002. The elevated biomarker responses in specimens sampled in September 2001 were apparently related to the extensive dredging activities in the Klaipeda port area and subsequent dumping of contaminated sediments. High concentrations of organic pollutants (organochlorines and PBDEs) were also measured in the tissues of both indicator species.

Measurements of biomarker levels in flounder (Platichthys flesus) and blue mussel (Mytilus trossulus) from the Gulf of Gdańsk (southern Baltic).

In the framework of the EU funded BEEP project a set of biomarkers, gross morphometric indices and tissue concentrations of selected organic pollutants were measured in flounder (Platichthys flesus) and mussels (Mytilus trossulus) collected twice a year (April and October) from three sites in the inner Gulf of Gdańsk between autumn 2001 and spring 2003. In flounder, seasonal differences in most biomarkers were observed, but no correlations with tissue pollutant levels could be found. In mussels, highly variable levels in biomarker responses were seen, but no clear seasonal or spatial trends, directly related to tissue concentrations, could be established.

The BEEP project in the Baltic Sea: overview of results and outline for a regional biological effects monitoring strategy.

Field studies in the framework of the EU funded BEEP project (Biological Effects of Environmental Pollution in Marine Coastal Ecosystems, 2001-2004) aimed at validating and intercalibrating a battery of biomarkers of contaminant exposure and effects in selected indicator species in the Mediterranean, the North Atlantic and the Baltic Seas. Major strategic goals of the BEEP project were the development of a sensitive and cost-efficient biological effects monitoring approach, delivery of information and advice to end-user groups, and the implementation of a network of biomarker researchers around Europe. Based on the main results obtained in the Baltic Sea component of the BEEP the present paper summarises and assesses the applicability of biomarkers for different regions and species in this sea area.

Use of biliary PAH metabolites as a biomarker of pollution in fish from the Baltic Sea.

During field campaigns of the BEEP project (Biological Effects of Environmental Pollution in Marine Coastal Ecosystems) in 2001-2002, metabolites of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were determined in bile samples from three fish species, flounder (Platichthys flesus), perch (Perca fluviatilis) and eelpout (Zoarces viviparus), from four separate areas in the Baltic Sea. Two determination methods were applied: fixed wavelength fluorescence (FF) for pyrene-type metabolites and high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection (HPLC). There was a good correlation between the FF method and 1-OH pyrene determined by HPLC.

Hepatic glutathione S-transferase activity in flounder collected from contaminated and reference sites along the Polish coast.

The aim of the present study was to examine the activity of hepatic glutathione S-transferase (GST) in flounder, Platichthys flesus, as a potential biomarker of exposure to xenobiotics present in the environment. The fish were collected along known pollution gradients and from areas regarded relatively free of anthropogenic input. GST was measured spectrophotometrically in each sampled specimen of flounder.

Heavy metals in zooplankton from the Southern Baltic.

Samples of zooplankton and suspended matter were collected using a Bongo net (0.33/0.50 mm mesh net), and Nucleopore filters, respectively, from the Southern Baltic off Poland.

Horizontal and vertical variabilities of mercury concentration and speciation in sediments of the Gdansk Basin, Southern Baltic Sea.

The mercury compounds introduced to the environment because of anthropogenic activity are accumulated, mainly, in marine sediments. Both distribution of mercury in the Baltic Sea and factors affecting it are remain largely unknown. Due to its complex chemistry and variable conditions in the Baltic Sea bottom sediments, mercury may be reemitted to the overlaying water, and thus to the environment.