Historical trends of metals and metalloids into lake and coastal sediments of Halong Bay (Vietnam).

Halong Bay (northern Vietnam) is heavily affected by human activities. Metals and metalloids (e.g.

PET plastics as a Trojan horse for radionuclides.

Mismanaged plastic waste interacts with secondary environmental pollutants, potentially aggravating their impact on ecosystems and human health. Here we characterized the natural and artificial radionuclides in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles collected from the industrial littoral discharge of a phosphate fertilizer plant. The activity concentrations in littered bottles ranged from 0.

Effects of environmental factors on the monitoring of environmental radioactivity by airborne gamma-ray spectrometry.

This study describes and discusses the results of a 14 month-long campaign (April 2019 to June 2020) aimed at characterizing and quantifying the influence of environmental factors (cosmic rays, rainfall events, soil moisture and atmospheric radon) on airborne radiometric surveys, which are used for mapping the concentrations of potassium (K), uranium (U) and thorium (Th), or for monitoring the natural radioactivity in the environment. A large NaI(Tl) airborne spectrometer (4 down + 1 up detectors of 4 L) was installed at a height of 50 m on a meteorological tower to simulate an airborne hover at the Pyrenean Platform for Observation of the Atmosphere (P2OA) in Lannemezan. The continuous, high frequency acquisition of gamma-rays was accompanied by measurements of rainfall intensity, soil moisture content, atmospheric radon activity and meteorological parameters.

Early diagenesis of radium 226 and radium 228 in lacustrine sediments influenced by former mining sites.

Radium is a naturally occurring radioactive element commonly found at low levels in natural systems such as lacustrine or marine sediments. Anthropogenic activities including former uranium mining activities can lead to the dissemination of radium isotopes having high radiological toxicities, which potentially threaten the safety of nearby environments. Although radium mobility in oxidized environments is known to be largely governed by sorption/desorption onto Fe and Mn oxyhydroxides and coprecipitation with sulfate minerals (e.

Submarine karstic springs as a source of nutrients and bioactive trace metals for the oligotrophic Northwest Mediterranean Sea.

Groundwater springs in karstified carbonate aquifers are known to transport carbon, nutrients and trace elements to the coastal ocean. The biogeochemical significance of submarine karstic springs and their impact on coastal primary production are often difficult to quantify. We investigated several karstic springs, including the first-order Port-Miou spring, in an urbanized watershed that is also severely impacted by sewage effluent (Calanques of Marseille-Cassis, France).

Natural radioactivity and radiation hazard assessment of industrial wastes from the coastal phosphate treatment plants of Gabes (Tunisia, Southern Mediterranean Sea).

This work is a first contribution to the knowledge of natural radionuclides (Ra, U, K, and Th) activities in phosphate rock (NORM), phosphogypsum, and phosphogypsum foam (TENORM) from the coastal fertilizer plants of Gabes (Southeastern Tunisia) and the assessment of their radiation hazards on human health and the surrounding environment. In the three studied materials, activities were found to be in the range of 35.4 (K)-375.

Groundwater-driven nutrient inputs to coastal lagoons: The relevance of lagoon water recirculation as a conveyor of dissolved nutrients.

Evaluating the sources of nutrient inputs to coastal lagoons is required to understand the functioning of these ecosystems and their vulnerability to eutrophication. Whereas terrestrial groundwater processes are increasingly recognized as relevant sources of nutrients to coastal lagoons, there are still limited studies evaluating separately nutrient fluxes driven by terrestrial groundwater discharge and lagoon water recirculation through sediments. In this study, we assess the relative significance of these sources in conveying dissolved inorganic nutrients (NO, NH and PO) to a coastal lagoon (La Palme lagoon; France, Mediterranean Sea) using concurrent water and radon mass balances.

Characterization of phosphate rock and phosphogypsum from Gabes phosphate fertilizer factories (SE Tunisia): high mining potential and implications for environmental protection.

Since the establishment of the coastal industrial complex in Gabes city (Gulf of Gabes, SE Tunisia), hundred million tons of untreated phosphogypsum have been discharged in the open sea causing serious environmental problems. To better understand the dynamic and behavior of phosphate/phosphogypsum contaminants from raw ores to marine environment, a chemical, organic, mineralogical, and morphological characterization of phosphate rock and phosphogypsum was conducted using several sophisticated techniques. The chemical analysis showed that phosphate and phosphogypsum contain high loads of trace elements and that the transfer factors of pollutants varied from 5.

Recent Pb, Cs and Am accumulation in an ombrotrophic peatland from Amsterdam Island (Southern Indian Ocean).

Over the past 50 years, Pb, Cs and Am have been abundantly used in reconstructing recent sediment and peat chronologies. The study of global aerosol-climate interaction is also partially depending on our understanding of Rn-Pb cycling, as radionuclides are useful aerosol tracers. However, in comparison with the Northern Hemisphere, few data are available for these radionuclides in the Southern Hemisphere, especially in the South Indian Ocean.

Holocene Atmospheric Mercury Levels Reconstructed from Peat Bog Mercury Stable Isotopes.

Environmental regulations on mercury (Hg) emissions and associated ecosystem restoration are closely linked to what Hg levels we consider natural. It is widely accepted that atmospheric Hg deposition has increased by a factor 3 ± 1 since preindustrial times. However, no long-term historical records of actual atmospheric gaseous elemental Hg (GEM) concentrations exist.

Effect of Pile-Driving Sounds on the Survival of Larval Fish.

Concern exists about the potential effects of pile-driving sounds on fish, but evidence is limited, especially for fish larvae. A device was developed to expose larvae to accurately reproduced pile-driving sounds. Controlled exposure experiments were carried out to examine the lethal effects in common sole larvae.

Rapid neodymium release to marine waters from lithogenic sediments in the Amazon estuary.

Rare earth element (REE) concentrations and neodymium isotopic composition (ɛNd) are tracers for ocean circulation and biogeochemistry. Although models suggest that REE release from lithogenic sediment in river discharge may dominate all other REE inputs to the oceans, the occurrence, mechanisms and magnitude of such a source are still debated. Here we present the first simultaneous observations of dissolved (<0.

Common sole larvae survive high levels of pile-driving sound in controlled exposure experiments.

In view of the rapid extension of offshore wind farms, there is an urgent need to improve our knowledge on possible adverse effects of underwater sound generated by pile-driving. Mortality and injuries have been observed in fish exposed to loud impulse sounds, but knowledge on the sound levels at which (sub-)lethal effects occur is limited for juvenile and adult fish, and virtually non-existent for fish eggs and larvae. A device was developed in which fish larvae can be exposed to underwater sound.

Evidence of the radioactive fallout in France due to the Fukushima nuclear accident.

Radioactive fallout due to the Fukushima reactor explosion in Japan was detected in environmental samples collected in France. The presence of (131)I in aerosols (200±6 μBq m(-3)) collected at the Pic du Midi observatory, located at 2877 m altitude in the French Pyrénées, indicated that the Japanese radioactive cloud reached France between 22 and 29 March, i.e.

CoPub: a literature-based keyword enrichment tool for microarray data analysis.

Medline is a rich information source, from which links between genes and keywords describing biological processes, pathways, drugs, pathologies and diseases can be extracted. We developed a publicly available tool called CoPub that uses the information in the Medline database for the biological interpretation of microarray data. CoPub allows batch input of multiple human, mouse or rat genes and produces lists of keywords from several biomedical thesauri that are significantly correlated with the set of input genes.