Multidisciplinary dataset for geological and environmental studies in the lake of Cavazzo (Southern Alps).

The present dataset was collected to evaluate the environmental stressors on a lacustrine basin in the Eastern Alps of glacial origin that has been affected in recent years by natural and anthropogenic events such as the construction of a hydroelectric power plant and a series of strong earthquakes during 1976-1977. We collected sediment cores in different sites from the lake margins to the depocenter and performed a multiproxy analysis of sediment sample to highlight lake stratigraphy and major changes occurring at a decadal scale (Polonia et al., [1]).

Historical pattern and mass balance of trace metals in sediments of the northwestern Adriatic Sea Shelf.

In view of the recent action in Marine Strategy Framework Directive, reconstructing the history of anthropogenic metal inputs and calculating the budgets for the northwestern part of the Italian Adriatic basin can provide a benchmark for comparison with new evidences and enlighten recent environmental changes. Among the metals, the attention was focused on Pb and Zn, as they provide the most significant anthropogenic signals. In 1988, areal distributions clearly identified the Po, Adige and Brenta rivers as the main sources of contaminants.

An integrated approach to the assessment of pollutant delivery chronologies to impacted areas: Hg in the Augusta Bay (Italy).

Assessing pollution levels and trends in heavily impacted environments is important but hardly achievable due to the difficulty of recovering suitable undisturbed sediment records. An integrated approach is here presented to solve this kind of problem. It was adopted in the Augusta Bay (Italy) for the study of Hg historical inputs and present trends.

Pollution historical trends as recorded by sediments at selected sites of the Venice Lagoon.

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and hexaclorobenzene (HCB) were determined in three sediment cores of the Venice Lagoon: I1, from the San Giuliano Canal that is likely the main source of pollutants for the study area; E, representing the lagoon sediment of the zone of Campalto; and M3, typical of a salt marsh environment and mostly subject to atmospheric inputs. Maximum concentrations were found in core I1: 25-1858 ngI-TE kg(-1) (PCDD/Fs), 1.7-13 microg kg(-1) (HCB), and 107-717 microg kg(-1) (PCBs) are surficial and peak values, respectively.