Shore Of Bay Research Articles

Retrospective comparison of the distribution and abundance of breeding Prairie Warbler (<i>Setophaga discolor</i>) along eastern Georgian Bay, Ontario, Canada

Species inhabiting rare habitats or unique geographic regions may be underrepresented in standard surveys. More intensive, periodic surveys may be required to improve data quality, especially for species of conservation concern. Prairie Warbler (Setophaga discolor) has experienced range-wide declines of >50% in recent decades and is a species of conservation concern in Canada. The largest continually occupied breeding population of this species in Canada occurs along the shoreline of eastern Georgian Bay, Ontario, where annual Breeding Bird Survey and eBird coverage is generally poor. In 2015, we replicated a spatially intensive 1997 survey of this species along the eastern shore of Georgian Bay, visiting the same sites and using comparable methods. We detected more male birds at the survey sites in 2015 (estimated >350 breeding pairs) than in 1997 (estimated 265 breeding pairs). We also surveyed sites farther north than those covered in 1997, but the breeding range appears not to have moved substantially northward. We also conducted additional surveys and canoe transects in the core range in southern Georgian Bay to ensure that breeding birds were not being missed. Combining data from all our surveys in 2015, we estimated a total of 427 singing males in eastern Georgian Bay. Although overall numbers here appear to have increased in recent decades, localized declines in some areas warrant further investigation. The population appears to be stable or increasing in this region, but we recommend intensively re-surveying this population on at least a 20-year basis.

Architectural and artistic image of a historical and memorial complex in the Arkhangelsk Oblast

The study focuses on the problem of сreating a historical and memorial complex on the Mudyug Island in the Arkhangelsk Oblast. A new architectural and artistic image of the socio-cultural environment is created, which bears spirituality and perpetuates the memory of the last century’s tragic events. This is achieved by a wide toolkit of the architectural science, a review of literature sources review, and a theoretical generalization of the global experience. S.G. Shabiev conducted field surveys of memorial complexes not only in the Russian Federation, but also in Australia, Canada, China, and European countries. Moreover, an architectural and landscape analysis of the designed area was carried out, along with a study of potential tourist routes and connection to the continental part. The main elements of the site development were identified, with the center of the composition located in the Belaya Bashnya lighthouse area. As a result, the authors developed a conceptual design plan of the complex with an original master plan structure based on three lighthouse beams. These projected ground-level beams include standalone memorial facilities and culminate with the elements of a café, a viewing platform, and a pier on the Dvina Bay shore. All the beams also comprise well-maintained fields, small architectural forms, open-air exhibition spaces, and concert venues for literary events on the historical themes of the complex. Furthermore, the conceptual design plan provides for the construction of a 125-place hotel next to the lighthouse. The study demonstrates an unparalleled architectural and planning solution on the basis of innovative techniques using abstract spaces of the museum complex. These spaces represent sculptural forms, artistically reflecting historical events of the island.

The impact of global climate changes on trace and rare earth elements mobilization in emerging periglacial terrains: Insights from western shore of Admiralty Bay (King George Island, Antarctic)

In the rapidly changing climate, the biogeochemical behaviours of trace elements and Rare Earth Elements (REEs) in emerging periglacial environments assumes profound importance. This study provides pivotal insights into this dynamic by investigating the Antarctic's response to global climate change. The bedrock of King George Island is rich in REEs, with the presence of trace metals (TEs), with the highest concentrations of metals found in ornithogenic soil (∑REE 84.01–85.53 mg∙kg−1 dry weight). REEs in the studied soil, found mainly in igneous rocks, as is indicated by the positive correlation of these elements with sodium and calcium. The TEs released as a result of weathering are leached by water flowing down local watercourses to Admiralty Bay, as indicated by the decreasing results of ∑REE = 11.59 μg∙dm−3 in watercourse water, ∑REE = 1.62 μg∙dm−3 in watercourse pools and ∑REE = 0.66 μg∙dm−3 in the water of Admiralty Bay at the outlet of the watercourse. Water originating from the melting of snow on the glacier also carried REEs (∑REE = 0.14 μg∙dm−3), a fact which suggest the further influx of these elements from atmospheric deposition. The Prasiola crispa turned out to be the most susceptible to the accumulation of REEs (∑ 80.73 ± 5.05 μg g−1) and TEs, with the exception of chromium and zinc, whose concentrations were found to be at their highest in Deschampsia antarctica. In Usnea antarctica, Xanthoria candelaria, and Ceratodon purpureus and Politrichastrum alpinum, a dominant role in the accumulation of REEs was played by HREEs. The determined enrichment factor (EF) indicates that the soil cover is a source of REEs (EFAlgae for ∑REE = 5.07; EFLichen for ∑REE = 6.65; EFBryophyta for ∑REE = 5.04; EFVascular for ∑REE = 4.38), while Ni, As and Pb accumulated in plants may originate from other sources than the soil.

Acidity and oxidative potential of atmospheric aerosols over a remote mangrove ecosystem during the advection of anthropogenic plumes

To investigate the acidity and the water-soluble oxidative potential of PM10, during the continental biomass-burning plume transport, a three-year (2018–2020) winter-time campaign was conducted over a pristine island (21.35°N, 88.32°E) of Sundarban mangrove ecosystem situated at the shore of Bay of Bengal. The average PM10 concentration over Sundarban was found to be 98.3 ± 22.2 μg m−3 for the entire study period with a high fraction of non-sea-salt- SO42− and water-soluble organic carbons (WSOC) that originated from the regional solid fuel burning. The thermodynamic E-AIM(IV) model had estimated that the winter-time aerosols over Sundarban were acidic (pH:2.4 ± 0.6) and mainly governed by non-sea-salt-SO42-. The volume and mass normalized oxidative potential of PM10 was found to be 1.81 ± 0.40 nmol DTT min−1 m−3 and 18.4 ± 6.1 pmol DTT min−1 μg−1 respectively which are surprisingly higher than several urban atmospheres across the world including IGP. The acid-digested water-soluble transition metals (Cu, Mn) show higher influences in the oxidative potential (under high aerosol acidity) compared to the WSOC. The study revealed that the advection of regional solid fuel burning plume and associated non-sea-salt-SO42- is enhancing aerosol acidity and oxidative stress that in turn alters the intrinsic properties of aerosols over such marine ecosystems rich in ecology and bio-geochemistry.

Offshore evidence of historic and prehistoric tsunamis on the north shore of Tutuila (American Samoa)

Although research dealing with the geological evidence of past tsunamis has increased significantly in the last two decades, studies of tsunami deposits emplaced during the backwash phases are still underrepresented. Here, we provide the first investigation of tsunami backwash deposits all around an island (Tutuila Island, American Samoa), in the southwest of the Pacific Ring of Fire. We decipher the sedimentary record preserved offshore an open bay (Fagafue) and within a sheltered bay (Masefau) on the north shore of Tutuila. Backwash deposits of three historic tsunamis, namely the 2009 South Pacific, 1960 Valdivia and 1917 Tonga Trench tsunamis, were identified in sediment cores, based on sedimentological, geochemical and chronological data. Deposits were characterized by a geochemical terrestrial signature (Ti/Ca and K), while the grain size characteristics differed, being finer offshore the open bay and coarser within the sheltered bay. The 2009 South Pacific and the 1960 Valdivia tsunamis are recorded on both the north (Masefau and off Fagafue bays) and south (Pago Pago Bay) shores of Tutuila, providing the first correlation of tsunami backwash deposits all around an island. Furthermore, the present study presents the first geological evidence of backwash associated with a large 15–16th century tsunami, which also affected many parts of the South Pacific, as well as that of an older event between the 11th and 14th century. Studies of tsunami backwash deposits provide means to extend the geological record of these high energy events, due to the generally good preservation potential of the deposits.

Environmental evolution of the south shore of Kandalaksha Bay, as indicated by the study of bottom sediments from small lakes

Environmental changes on the south shore of Kandalaksha Bay in Holocene time were reconstructed by analyzing the data obtained by palynological and 14C methods. Diatom complexes of marine, freshwater and transition facies are described. The possible application of pollen indicators for a better understanding of the genesis of sediments is discussed.

Approaches to assessment of the total nitrogen and phosphorus inflow into the Neva Bay using the example of the Krasnenkaya River and the Dudergofskiy Channel

There is a necessity for the Baltic Sea environmental protection against toxic contamination and anthropogenic eutrophication. The protection proposes an annual evaluation of the total nitrogen and phosphorus income into the Neva Bay from St. Petersburg. The evaluation takes into account the substances, which inflow into the Neva Bay with water of the Neva River and its spill streams. However, an additional source of the substances is the substances inflow by runoff from watercourses entering Neva Bay. The watercourses do not have monitoring points. There is an additional source of the elements, which is the nonpoint dispersed outflow of the substances from the Neva Bay shore. The paper presents the evaluation methodology of the nitrogen and phosphorus outflow of catchment areas without monitoring points and the methodology verification result. The methodology uses data of analogous watersheds with close spatial structure, drainage network density, and average slope and so on. The methodology includes application of GIStechnologies and cluster analysis. The paper presents some results of the total nitrogen and phosphorus income into the Neva Bay with runoff of two small watercourses.

New insights on faulting in southwest New Brunswick and northeast Maine based on marine magnetic mapping of the Ministers Island dyke

The Passamaquoddy Bay region of southwest New Brunswick and northeast Maine is known for its moderate seismicity, yet the structures responsible for these earthquakes are not well understood. To gain insight on the tectonic history of this region, marine magnetic surveys were conducted at speculated intersections of faults and the Early Jurassic Ministers Island dyke. Analysis of the vertical gradient of the magnetic field strongly suggests that the 189 ± 8 Ma Ministers Island dyke is dextrally offset 370 m by the Oak Bay Fault below the St. Croix River. This sense of motion points to a reversal of fault movement compared to that recorded in much older (Silurian) rocks nearby. The interpretation is supported by magnetic modelling, constrained by direct measurements of the magnetic susceptibility and natural remanent magnetization of the dyke. In Passamaquoddy Bay, however, farther to the east, there is no evidence that slight deviations in the trend of the dyke anomaly or its termination result from post-emplacement faulting. Furthermore, the data suggest that a sub-parallel mafic dyke on the northern shore of Passamaquoddy Bay is either a distinct dyke system or a left stepover emplacement of the Ministers Island dyke, as opposed to a faulted offset as previously speculated. This study illustrates how focused high-resolution magnetic surveys can strengthen interpretations of faulting in areas of geological ambiguity.

Listen - Look up! Listen - Look down! Experiencing the counter-city through a sonic and augmented reality experience of urban undergrounds in southeast Melbourne

This paper is set in Nairm/Port Phillip Bay (Melbourne, Australia) – specifically in Boon Wurrung Country – across and below the watery landscapes that once characterised the south-eastern shore of Port Phillip Bay. Here, water springs and wetlands were gradually dredged, drained, filled, piped underground, or built over through processes of settler colonial urbanisation. Nevertheless, waters must always flow, and ecologies find remarkable ways to survive, especially underground. This paper discusses how an interactive sound and augmented reality (AR) experience can help us to reconnect histories of water, soils, and non-humans that inhabit the underground pipes and other water infrastructures in the urban. The paper uses as a case study The Rippon Lea Estate, a colonial house and pleasure gardens currently managed by the National Trust Australia, to explore the hidden and underground water narratives and materialities that underpin it. Through our collaborative project between the Trust, Universities and the Boon Wurrung Foundation, we have grappled with the question of how to invite visitors to Rippon Lea to engage ethically and care-fully with undergrounds, groundwaters and the histories they represent. This paper shares this counter-experience, inviting readers to immerse themselves in the layers of storytelling, materiality and the beings that traverse these realms.

Contemporary and ancient environmental conditions in the area of the AARI meteorological station Khastyr on Khatanga Bay on Hara-Tumus Peninsular

The aim of the article is to characterize the current and ancient environmental conditions in the area around a new AARI meteorological station, located in the west of the Khara-Tumus Peninsula (73° 49' 39,5'' N 109° 39' 13,5'' E) on the Khatanga Bay of the Laptev Sea. The Khastyr meteorological station was organized in 2016, and for the moment a 6-year (2017–2022) series of hydrometeorological observations has been performed. The average annual temperature at the station is –11.7 °C. The maximum temperature is 31.8 °C, the minimum temperature is –47.3 °C. The annual amount of atmospheric precipitation is 238 mm. The wind blows from west to east or from east to west during most of the year. The maximum wind speed is 28 m/sec, the average wind speed is 5,4 m/sec. The ice cover in the Khatanga Bay disappears in the second part of July and forms again in September-October. The winter lasts here for 9 months of the year.The geological, geomorphological and permafrost structure along the shoreline near the station is investigated.The cliff consists of marine sediments of the Middle and Late Pleistocene. The IR-OSL dating of the sands from the cliff’s basement shows that the sediments are 206 000 year old. The marine sediments, including Karginsky deposits with wood and amber, dated by the radiocarbon method and shown to be 42 000 year old (45 000 calendar year old), are covered by Ice Complex sediments, the mammal bones from which have a radiocarbon age of 32 thousand years (36 thousand calendar years). The saiga (Saiga tatarica) bones found near the Taimyr Peninsula for the first time have a radiocarbon age of 17 thousand 14C years (22 thousand calendar years).Permafrost processes are very active in this area of typical tundra. Therefore, a testing plot for investigating permafrost processes was organized on the territory of the station. Also, this place is very convenient for investigating coastal erosion processes. The Khastyr station can be used as a point for organizing complex studies of the natural environment in a typical tundra on the shore of Khatanga Bay.

In Response.

South Shore University Hospital, Department of Anesthesiology, Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra University / Northwell Health Bay Shore, New York, [email protected], Department of Biomedical Engineering, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan

Maritime Insecurity at Lake Victoria, Homa Bay County

This research article examines the significance of maritime security, as one of the most recent axioms of international relations and diplomacy. It focuses on the socioeconomic factors that contribute to maritime insecurity along Lake Victoria's Homa Bay shores. In order to determine the research outcome, a qualitative research approach and an exploratory research design were used in unveiling the problem under consideration. Individuals and organizations/institutions from the Homa Bay’s Lake Region site were the target population. The research article has employed the purposive sampling technique and the saturation principle to obtain a sample size of 36 participants: 12 for in-depth interviews and 4 Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) of 6 members each. The study also used qualitative interviews, focus groups, and observation to collect data. According to the findings, the main Illegal, Unregulated, and Unreported (IUU) fishing issues in Lake Victoria, Homa Bay County are unauthorized fishing, criminal gangs and pirates, encroachment by foreign fishers, employment of minors/children as fishers, use of prohibited gears and fishing methods, and fishing young, endangered, and protected fish species. Furthermore, IUU fishing is endangering fish stocks in Lake Victoria's Homa Bay County. In its results findings, the research article recommends that more patrol officers guard the waters in order to prevent illegal fishers and criminal gangs from roaming freely.

BVLOS UAV missions for vegetation mapping in maritime Antarctic

Polar areas are among the regions where climate change occurs faster than on most of the other areas on Earth. To study the effects of climate change on vegetation, there is a need for knowledge on its current status and properties. Both classic field observation methods and remote sensing methods based on manned aircraft or satellite image analysis have limitations. These include high logistic operation costs, limited research areas, high safety risks, direct human impact, and insufficient resolution of satellite images. Fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle beyond the visual line of sight (UAV BVLOS) missions can bridge the scale gap between field-based observations and full-scale airborne or satellite surveys. In this study the two operations of the UAV BVLOS, at an altitude of 350 m ASL, have been successfully performed in Antarctic conditions. Maps of the vegetation of the western shore of Admiralty Bay (King George Island, South Shetlands, Western Antarctic) that included the Antarctic Specially Protected Area No. 128 (ASPA 128) were designed. The vegetation in the 7.5 km2 area was mapped in ultra-high resolution (<5 cm and DEM of 0.25 m GSD), and from the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), four broad vegetation units were extracted: “dense moss carpets” (covering 0.14 km2, 0.8% of ASPA 128), “Sanionia uncinata moss bed” (0.31 km2, 1.7% of ASPA 128), “Deschampsia antarctica grass meadow” (0.24 km2, 1.3% of ASPA 128), and “Deschampsia antarctica–Usnea antarctica heath” (1.66 km2, 9.4% of ASPA 128). Our results demonstrate that the presented UAV BVLOS–based surveys are time-effective (single flight lasting 2.5 h on a distance of 300 km) and cost-effective when compared to classical field-based observations and are less invasive for the ecosystem. Moreover, unmanned airborne vehicles significantly improve security, which is of particular interest in polar region research. Therefore, their development is highly recommended for monitoring areas in remote and fragile environments.

The Charter of Kotor – a source of medieval urban law on the territory of Montenegro

The article is dedicated to highlighting the sources of codification and analysis of the content of the Charter of Kotor – a town located on the shore of the Kotor Bay of the Adriatic Sea. It is emphasized that the oldest norms contained in the Kotor Statute date back to 1301, although it should be borne in mind that before the publication of its codified text, printed in Venice in 1616, the compilers did not include some previous decisions, and therefore it is assumed that this the monument of law goes back to even more ancient times. It was emphasized that the sources of codification were, first of all, norms originating from the city self-government bodies, as well as the practice of judicial bodies. In addition, the norms of customary law and the norms of the law of the Republic of Venice obviously had a significant impact on the codification. The canon law of the Catholic Church had a certain influence on the Statute of Kotor. The entire text is divided into four parts, which, in turn, consist of sections.
 Attention was drawn to the fact that the text of the Charter contained a number of norms that determined the legal status of certain population groups. The local aristocracy (nobility, nobility) was a closed state that constituted the ruling elite; its representatives held all the highest administrative positions.
 It is noted that the Kotor Charter has clearly defined the system of authorities and city management. A prominent place among the norms of law included in the Charter was occupied by norms of an administrative nature. They regulated the most diverse spheres of life of the population. A certain part of the document consists of norms regulating fiscal relations.
 It was emphasized that lively trade was carried out through Kotor. Obviously, taking into account the need to regulate relations of an obligatory nature in the first place, a significant number of norms regulating civil-law relations were included in the Charter. The statute also provides an opportunity to create an idea about crimes and punishments for them, about the some features of Kotor’s procedural law.

Tectonic and Climate-Controlled Hazards on the Shores of Hawke's Bay, New Zealand

Komar, P.D. and Harris, E., 2022. Tectonic and climate-controlled hazards on the shores of Hawke's Bay, New Zealand. Journal of Coastal Research, 38(6), 1075–1095. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Elevations of the Hawke's Bay shore on the Pacific coast of New Zealand were altered by an earthquake in 1931, such that at its north end the gravel beach and shore-front properties were raised by 2 m, while elevations dropped by 1 m at its south end. Along the elevated shore, the morphology was altered from a low-lying gravel spit that had experienced frequent overwash events, changed to a gravel barrier ridge where its increased stability permitted construction of expensive homes. The central stretch of shore, where there was minimal change in elevations, continues to experience wave overtopping during storms and high tides, just as had occurred prior to the earthquake. The southern-most shore, where subsidence took place, experiences substantial property damage during winter storms. With projections of accelerated rates of rising sea levels and increased storm intensities produced by global warming, concerns are that the developed shore of the elevated gravel ridge will again suffer from erosion and overwash flooding. Analyses have been undertaken of the hourly measured tides, waves, and calculated swash run-up levels on the beaches, combined to yield a record of hourly total water levels at the shore. Its extremes have been compared with the elevations of the surveyed gravel ridges to yield assessments of the potential erosion and flooding hazards. Still greater hazard assessments have been based on a recognition that the morphologies of the surveyed ridges provide direct evidence for the most extreme water levels that occurred at times of major storms in the distant past, prior to the availability of the process data. Assessments of hazards expected 100 years into the future have included projections of both rising sea levels and evidence for increasing storm-wave heights.

A New Reading of the Inscriptions on the Handles of the Nominal Knives Found on the Sims Bay Shores

Purpose. The article presents a new reading of the inscriptions on two nominal knives found on the coast of Sims Bay in the Laptev Sea. The results of the reading are differs from the readings of paleographers and researchers published earlier. It was possible to give a correct reading of these inscriptions due to the use of the non-contact 3D modeling method developed by the RSSDA Laboratory and used in the Code of Russian Inscriptions (CRI).Results. The reading of the inscriptions on the nominal knives proposed by the authors of this article made it possible to establish their belonging to Gury (baptismal name) – Akaky (prayer? name) Ivanov's son Karzyaev, the likely head of the commercial and industrial expedition in the 20s of the 17th century. The site of polar sailors of the 17th century in the Sims Bay is located in 70 km to the west from the Thaddeus the North island, where in 1940 members of the hydrographic detachment of the East Taimyr hydrographic expedition found similar finds, including 8 other knives. Unfortunately, these knives have only partially preserved handles, and most turned out to be represented only by blades. Inscriptions filled with Slavic script could be found only on two knives from a hut in Sims Bay.Conclusion. According to the official version, both finds belong to the members of the Russian trade and industrial expedition in the 17th century. The rich composition of the archaeological artifacts collected at these two locations makes this site of Russian culture of the 17th century unique.

Morphotectonics, Seismicity, and Exogenous Processes of the Kola Peninsula

Abstract—The purpose of this study is to determine a morphologically pronounced fault–block structure identified with the neotectonic stage and compare it with sites with manifested exogenous processes, as well as modern and historical paleoseismicity in order to establish faults activated in the postglacial time. Based on the analysis of space images (Landsat-ETM+) and a digital elevation model (GTOPO-30), the territory of the Kola Peninsula and the adjacent part of North Karelia is subjected to morphostructural interpretation with identifying morpholineaments and an elementary block structure. It is shown by the analyzing the directions and extent of elementary, single (simple), and complex (echeloned, parallel conjugated, and imbricated) linear structures and their zones that both linear (fault) and areal (block) structures are characterized by a predominance of a single system of northwestern and northeastern differences with a clear dominance of the former and unimodal distribution of the extent of faults and the area of blocks, depending on their number. This indicates a single (recent) stage in the formation of the morphotectonic appearance of the territory and no discrete hierarchy of the morphostructures. The degree of fragmentation of the territory at different depths is calculated depending on the number and extent of morpholineaments. It is determined that morpholineaments have a high degree of inheritance from Archean–Proterozoic structures (≈50%). Elementary morphotectonic blocks are grouped into composite blocks bounded by linear zones of great extent (100–600 km) having individual physiognomic features determined by fault patterns, which indicates the nature of the neotectonic dynamics and the degree of inheritance or reformation of the structural plan. The localization of manifestations of exogenous processes, epicenters of paleo-, historical, and modern earthquakes is determined on the basis of the analysis of topographic maps scaled at 1:100,000, catalogs of historical and paleoearthquakes, and the consolidated literature (including the data obtained by the authors of this study) on paleoseismic deformations. A geoinformation base is compiled, which is used to simulate the spatial distribution of endo- and exogenous signs of tectonic activity and compare it with the neotectonic fault–block structure. The spatial similarity of endogenous and exogenous activation zones and their confinement to faults, defined as activated in the postglacial time, are revealed. It is revealed that the following elements are most active in the postglacial–Holocene. First, flank elements on the Kola Peninsula along the Barents Sea coast, the Kandalaksha Bay shores, and the Gorlo Strait of the White Sea. Second, the central (nodal) part with the Khibiny and Lovozero massifs. Third, submeridional (transverse) secant structures separating the eastern part of the peninsula from the western part (Khibiny–Kola and Khibiny–Niva). The spatial parameters of the activated zones indicate a range of earthquake magnitudes M ≈ 6.5–7.5 generated by these structures both in the postglacial period and in the Neopleistocene as a whole.

Relative sea-level variations indicated by micropaleontological data from small lake bottom sediments (Kandalaksha Bay, NW Russia)

Abstract. The results of the micro-paleontological study of bottom sediments from a small lake on the Kandalaksha Bay shore of the White Sea are reported. Three stages in the evolution of the lake basin: marine, transitional and lacustrine were recognized. The characteristics of their diatom complexes and palynological spectra were revealed. Marine-facies sediments were shown to be dominated by poly- and mesohalobes, their share in the transition facies is twice as small, and freshwater diatom complexes contain up to 10% halophiles. Facies were shown to be reliably identified, using the pollen and spores of distinctive species indicative of certain ecological conditions. Non-pollen palynomorphs (algae Pediastrum, Botryococcus and sponge spicules) can be used for identifying various facies. These data will be used later to more reliably and objectively reconstruct variations in relative sea level and the sea shoreline migration in the Holocene. A decrease in sea level was established at the turn of 7200 cal. years and the isolation of the lake from the sea occurred about 6700 cal. years ago.

Sources and composition of chemical pollution in Maritime Antarctica (King George Island), part 1: Sediment and water analysis for PAH sources evaluation in the vicinity of Arctowski station

The paper presents a study regarding the identification of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in fresh waters and surface sediments on the western shore of Admiralty Bay over four sampling seasons from 2017 to 2018. The results were compared to literature data from 2016 to provide a more comprehensive image of the environmental fate of PAHs over the years. The highest value of Σ PAHs was 82.9 ng/L and 445 ng/g dw in water and sediment samples, respectively. The analysis of PAH indicator ratio values showed that pyrogenic or mixed sources contribute to the PAH pollution in Antarctic sediments and water more than does petroleum. The main source is the combustion of biomass (e.g. as a result of fires) and coal, and PAHs are mostly associated with the activity of stations or are transported to a lesser extent by long-range atmospheric transport (LRAT) from South America. The values of the ΣLMW/ΣHMW ratio in sediments indicate that petrogenic sources contribute to PAH contamination, but among the six PAH ratios tested, petrogenic sources were identified as dominant in approximately 17–19% of cases. Lack of coherence in the obtained results confirms the mixed origin of PAHs in the studied samples. Although the differentiation of PAHs sources is still ambiguous, caution is recommended in light of the Antarctic system's evident and rapid response to global and local PAH emissions, and the dependency of accumulation and release cycle processes on weather conditions. A reduction in petrol usage in favour of renewable energy sources, and restriction of tourism are strongly recommended for better preservation of the pristine Antarctic environment.

First evaluation of wastewater discharge influence on marine water contamination in the vicinity of Arctowski Station (Maritime Antarctica)

In Antarctica, waste is generated mainly during scientific research programmes and related logistics. In this study, the impact of wastewater on the western shore of Admiralty Bay was investigated during austral summer in 2017 and 2019. A range of physicochemical parameters and the presence of selected trace metals, formaldehyde and different groups of surfactants were determined in wastewater coming from Arctowski Station and in nearby coastal waters. The presence of selected trace metals (e.g., Cr: 2.7–4.4 μg/L; Zn: 15.2–37.3 μg/L; and Ni: 0.9–23.3 μg/L) and the sums of cationic (0.3–1.5 mg/L), anionic (3.1–1.7 mg/L), and non-ionic (0.6–2.4 mg/L) surfactants in wastewater indicated the potential influence of anthropogenic factors on sea water. The determined surfactants are found in many hygiene products that end up in the waste water tank after human use and, if untreated, can be released into surface waters with discharge. In addition, the levels of some trace metals indicate that they cannot come only from natural sources, but are the result of human activity. The reported data show disturbances in the marine environment caused by non-treated wastewater discharge, e.g. by comparing the obtained results from the values of the no observed effect concentrations (NOECs) on selected Antarctic bioindicators, and provide information for the implementation of proper wastewater treatment at any Antarctic station in the future.