The main rivers (Aude, Orb, Herault) that discharge into the Gulf of Lions and the west bank tributaries of the Rhone River including the Gardon have former non-ferrous metal mines in their upper drainage basin. Using unpublished data and data from the literature, this study provides an integrated overview of the contamination of water and sediment along the continent-sea continuum and of its impacts on the biota and on human health. In the upper part of these basins, water and stream sediments are enriched in metal(-loids) compared to median European concentrations. Arsenic is the main contaminant in the rivers Aude and Gardon d'Anduze, Sb in the Orb and Gardon d'Alès, and Tl in the Herault river. A rapid reduction in dissolved and particulate concentrations was systematically observed along the river due to dilution and precipitation. The high concentrations of metal(-loid)s observed suggest that the former mining activity still represents a potential threat for the environment, but the lack of high temporal resolution monitoring, especially during Mediterranean floods, prevents accurate assessment of metal fluxes from these rivers to the Mediterranean Sea. Studies dedicated to the impacts on human health are too rare, given that studies have shown a higher rate of arsenic-specific cancer near Salsigne mine in the Aude River basin and cases of saturnism in children in the upper Herault River basin. These studies underline the need to take environmental health issues into consideration not only in these watersheds but around the entire Mediterranean basin, which harbors numerous metalliferous ores that have been mined for millennia.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
---|---|
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-9669-y | DOI Listing |
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
August 2024
Section for Molecular Ecology and Evolution, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen 1350, Denmark.
Beluga whales play a critical role in the subsistence economies and cultural heritage of Indigenous communities across the Arctic, yet the effects of Indigenous hunting on beluga whales remain unknown. Here, we integrate paleogenomics, genetic simulations, and stable C and N isotope analysis to investigate 700 y of beluga subsistence hunting in the Mackenzie Delta area of northwestern Canada. Genetic identification of the zooarchaeological remains, which is based on radiocarbon dating, span three time periods (1290 to 1440 CE; 1450 to 1650 CE; 1800 to 1870 CE), indicates shifts across time in the sex ratio of the harvested belugas.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMar Pollut Bull
May 2024
Ifremer, Laboratoire Environnement Ressources Provence Azur Corse, CS 20330, 83507 La Seyne Sur Mer, France.
Tracking PFAS in ecosystems is challenging. In this context, monitoring programs are crucial to fill data gaps, especially in marine environments, which are the ultimate outlets for these forever chemicals. The 2021 chemical contamination monitoring campaign along the French Mediterranean coast established a baseline for PFAS concentrations in mussels, with 90 % of measurements below quantification limits.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPLoS One
May 2022
CNRS, LMC-IRAMAT, UMR7065, Université de Technologie Belfort Montbéliard, CNRS, Montbéliard, France.
Starting from the second century BC, with the fast expansion of the Roman Empire, iron production and consumption developed exponentially in north-western Europe. This rapid growth naturally led to an increase in trade, that still remains to be studied encompassing a broad scope, so as to not neglect long-distance exchanges. This is today possible by taking advantage of the progress made in the past 40 years in archaeology and archaeometallurgy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChemosphere
January 2022
Laboratoire de Chimie Agro-industrielle, LCA, Université de Toulouse, INRAE, 31030, Toulouse, France.
The mining district of Salsigne in the Orbiel valley (Aude, France) was at one time the first gold mine in Europe and the first arsenic mine in the world. However, no scientific studies have evaluated the magnitude of its environmental impact. In this study, the pedo-geochemical background (PGB) was determined for 14 metal (loid) elements, including As.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAmbio
August 2021
Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research, Working Group "Governance of Ecosystem Services", Eberswalder Str. 84, 15374, Müncheberg, Germany.
Nature-based solutions (NBS) for mitigating climate change are gaining popularity. The number of NBS is increasing, but research gaps still exist at the governance level. The objectives of this paper are (i) to give an overview of the implemented NBS for flood risk management and mitigation in Germany, (ii) to identify governance models that are applied, and (iii) to explore the differences between these models.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!