Pollution Of Marine Environment Research Articles

Online Monitoring of Effluent Quality for Assessing the Effect of Wastewater Treatment Plant to Discharge into the Receiving Water: a review

In general, industries that use water in their production process will produce wastewater which usually contains a lot of polluting contaminants. It will affects the surrounding environment by contaminating the water bodies, which will adversely affect the health life of all living beings. Pollution that occurs in the some rivers in Indonesia has begun to raise concern for Indonesian Goverment. Some of the river locations already have heavy poluted status. The pollution is mostly caused by industrial waste and domestic waste along the river. Treatment plants for wastewater effluents are mandatory for any industry which discharges their wastewater effluents into the environment. Information on monitoring the quality of industrial wastewater is very important to be perceived by examining changes in water quality condition that are getting better or worse. It is necessary to develop a system that monitors the condition of industrial wastewater. Industrial wastewater monitoring is a device system that collects real time data. Online monitoring technology is one part that plays an important role in supporting activities to control marine environmental pollution. Real‐time monitoring of wastewater quality remains an unresolved problem to the wastewater treatment industry. One of the problem in most industries in Indonesia is that the operational and performance of wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) are still not optimal, and need to be improved. The application of industrial technology concept 4.0 and automation systems in the industry is expected to improve the WWTP supervision process which has advantages such as reducing down time, reducing consumption of raw materials, reducing the energy used, increasing productivity, improving product quality and making efficient use of resources and processes, so as to reduce industrial operating costs.

Promotion of environmental regulation on the decoupling of marine economic growth from marine environmental pollution—based on interprovincial data in China

As an important factor of global marine economic development, high-quality marine economic development depends on the important role played by environmental regulations in dealing with the relationship between marine economic growth and the reduction of marine environmental pollution. The Tapio decoupling model is used in this study to analyze the impact mechanism of environmental regulations on the decoupling between marine economic growth and marine environmental pollution (referred to as ‘marine environment decoupling’). The results of the Tapio decoupling model demonstrate that China's marine economy has experienced fluctuations of ‘growth connection’—‘weak decoupling’—‘negative decoupling of expansion’—‘strong decoupling’—followed by ‘growth connection’. The marine economy is gradually decoupling from marine pollution. The dynamic panel model results show that environmental regulation is nonlinearly related to the marine environment decoupling in a ‘U’ shape, and technological innovation and industrial structures have a ‘U’-shaped regulating effect on the impact of environmental regulation on the marine environment decoupling. Furthermore, market-incentive and social-supervision environmental regulations can promote the marine environment decoupling. The three types of environmental regulations are ranked as follows: ‘market-incentive environmental regulations > social-supervision environmental regulations > command environmental regulations’ according to their clearly observable and varied roles. For these three major areas, environmental regulations are nonlinearly related to marine environment decoupling in the Pan-Pearl River Delta and the Yangtze River Delta, and linearly related to that of Bohai Bay. The results provide valuable references for understanding marine environment decoupling drivers and developing high-quality marine economy by considering the role of environmental regulations.

Lethal, behavioral, growth and developmental toxicities of alkyl-PAHs and non-alkyl PAHs to early-life stage of brine shrimp, Artemia parthenogenetica

Alkyl-PAHs are the predominant form of PAHs in crude oils which are supposed to demonstrate different toxicities compared to non-alkyl PAHs. Little information is available about the toxicity of alkyl-PAHs on marine Artemia. This study addressed and compared the lethal, behavioral, growth and developmental toxicities of three alkyl-PAHs, namely 3-methyl phenanthrene (3-mPhe), retene (Ret) and 2-methyl anthracene (2-mAnt), to their non-alkyl forms, phenanthrene (Phe) and anthracene (Ant) using Artemia parthenogenetica (nauplii, <24 h) as test organism following a 48 h and a 7 d of exposure, respectively. Benzo-a-pyrene (Bap) was selected as a reference toxicant for the comparison with the above alkyl-PAHs and non-alkyl PAHs. Results showed that for all tested endpoints, A. parthenogenetica nauplii had the highest sensitivity to Bap while Ant had no significant effect on nauplii survival or development within given concentrations. Considering the aqueous freely dissolved PAH concentrations, the 48 h-LC50 (survival), 48 h-EC50 (immobility) and 7 d-LC10 (survival) of Bap were calculated as 0.321, 0.285 and 0.027 μg/L, respectively, which were twofold to fivefold lower than those of Phe, 3-mPhe, Ret, Ant and 2-mAnt. A higher acute toxicity of alkyl-PAHs (3-mPhe and 2-mAnt) than their non-alkyl forms (Phe and Ant) was observed. Not limited to Phe, the common non-polar narcotic mode of action was also observed for Bap, 3-mPhe, Ret and 2-mAnt, which was evident by the inhibited mobility of nauplii. The decreased body lengths were found for all PAH treatments compared to the solvent control, whereas instar retardations were only found in nauplii exposed to Bap, Phe and Ret. Our findings emphasized the sensitivity differences of A. parthenogenetica nauplii to selected alkyl PAHs and non-alkyl PAHs and confirmed the application of lethal, behavioral and growth indicators in the toxicity evaluation of selected PAHs other than Ant. However, the distinct toxicities of these PAHs suggested other toxic modes of action may play more important roles apart from narcotic mode of action and need to be elucidated in future studies. In addition, a strong correlation between the body length and the instar of A. parthenogenetica nauplii was observed for each PAH exposure, suggesting that body length can be representative for both growth and developmental indicators during biological monitoring of PAH pollution in marine environment.

Study of Microplastics and Inorganic Contaminants in Mussels from the Montenegrin Coast, Adriatic Sea

Mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) collected at three locations in Boka Kotorska Bay, on the Montenegrin Adriatic coast, were analyzed for the first time by optical and Raman microscopy to detect microplastics (MPs) and other emerging contaminants in their soft tissues. Concentrations of six trace metals (Cu, Zn, Mn, Fe, Cd, and Hg) were also measured in the same samples by atomic absorption spectroscopy. Mussels from a location near the urban area of Kotor were found to exhibit the highest content of MPs and other pollutants originating from anthropogenic sources, while farmed mussels showed higher carotenoid as well as nylon content. The hypothesis of MPs acting as a possible secondary route of trace metals ingress in mussels, a thus far scarcely studied topic, was evaluated based on a comparative analysis of the obtained results. In this context, it was noticed that nylon filaments originating from mussel farming equipment might contribute to higher trace metal content. The results showed that the simultaneous analysis of different contaminants in mussels can be a significant step forward in marine environment pollution monitoring and the assessment of human health risks associated with the consumption of contaminated seafood.

Genome sequence analysis of deep sea Aspergillus sydowii BOBA1 and effect of high pressure on biodegradation of spent engine oil

A deep-sea fungus Aspergillus sydowii BOBA1 isolated from marine sediment at a depth of 3000 m was capable of degrading spent engine (SE) oil. The response of immobilized fungi towards degradation at elevated pressure was studied in customized high pressure reactors without any deviation in simulating in situ deep-sea conditions. The growth rate of A. sydowii BOBA1 in 0.1 MPa was significantly different from the growth at 10 MPa pressure. The degradation percentage reached 71.2 and 82.5% at atmospheric and high pressure conditions, respectively, within a retention period of 21 days. The complete genome sequence of BOBA1 consists of 38,795,664 bp in size, comprises 2582 scaffolds with predicted total coding genes of 18,932. A total of 16,247 genes were assigned with known functions and many families found to have a potential role in PAHs and xenobiotic compound metabolism. Functional genes controlling the pathways of hydrocarbon and xenobiotics compound degrading enzymes such as dioxygenase, decarboxylase, hydrolase, reductase and peroxidase were identified. The spectroscopic and genomic analysis revealed the presence of combined catechol, gentisate and phthalic acid degradation pathway. These results of degradation and genomic studies evidenced that this deep-sea fungus could be employed to develop an eco-friendly mycoremediation technology to combat the oil polluted marine environment. This study expands our knowledge on piezophilic fungi and offer insight into possibilities about the fate of SE oil in deep-sea.

Managing the Balance of Consumption and Reproduction of Marine Resources in the “Coast – Sea” Ecological-Economic System

Purpose. The work is aimed at constructing an adaptive model of the ecological-economic system of the sea coastal zone intended to control the volume of consumption of marine assimilation and biological resources by the coastal socio-economic system. Methods and Results. The model based on tracking the integral balance of the rates of marine environment pollution and its purification due to the natural physical and biogeochemical processes and to the environmental actions is proposed. The average multi-year values of the ecosystem variables are used in the applied concept of stationary state of the marine ecosystem. To describe the conditions forming the polluted area in the coastal marine environment, proposed is the algorithm taking into account the ratio between the rate of growth of concentration of the pollutants inflowing from the coastal sources and the rate of their destruction resulting from natural purification of marine environment. Coastal pollution runoff was managed by the penalties imposed on the economic system, which was forced to reduce the generalized product output simultaneously increasing its prime cost. In the marine ecosystem model, the main lower links of the food chain were used: concentrations of phytoplankton, zooplankton and bacterioplankton. Their weighted sum constituted the marine biodiversity index, which was taken as a concentration of bio-resource consumed by the coastal economic system. It was believed that there was an inverse relationship between the biodiversity index and the pollution concentration. Therefore, the maximum permissible pollution concentration was assessed based on the permissible values of the biodiversity index. Along with control of the economic efficiency of marine resource consumption, the model provided for the biodiversity index monitoring so that it did not fall below its permissible vales. In this case, the management agent included in the model, limited production. The model equations are constructed by the method of adaptive balance of causes, which preserved the material balances resulting from the interaction between the environmental and economic processes. The modular equations of the method permitted to use the known stationary state of the ecosystem to obtain the estimates of the influence coefficients. It is shown that the forecasted scenarios provide the compromises between the efficiency of the coastal economic system and the ability of marine ecosystem to restore the consumed assimilation and biological resources. Conclusions. The proposed model makes it possible to forecast the scenarios of the ecological and economic processes that provide a balance of consumption and reproduction of marine resources.

A Spectral-Spatial Features Integrated Network for Hyperspectral Detection of Marine Oil Spill

Marine oil spills are one of the most serious problems of marine environmental pollution. Hyperspectral remote sensing has been proven to be an effective tool for monitoring marine oil spills. To make full use of spectral and spatial features, this study proposes a spectral-spatial features integrated network (SSFIN) and applies it for hyperspectral detection of a marine oil spill. Specifically, 1-D and 2-D convolutional neural network (CNN) models have been employed for the extraction of the spectral and spatial features, respectively. During the stage of spatial feature extraction, three consecutive convolution layers are concatenated to achieve the fusion of multilevel spatial features. Next, the extracted spectral and spatial features are concatenated and fed to the fully connected layer so as to obtain the joint spectral-spatial features. In addition, L2 regularization is applied to the convolution layer to prevent overfitting, and dropout operation is employed to the full connection layer to improve the network performance. The effectiveness of the method proposed here has firstly been verified on the Pavia University dataset with competitive classification experimental results. Eventually, the experimental results upon oil spill datasets demonstrate the strong capacity of oil spill detection by this method, which can effectively distinguish thick oil film, thin oil film, and seawater.

The seasonal distribution characteristics of microplastics on bathing beaches along the coast of Qingdao, China

Microplastics pollution in nearshore marine environment has become increasingly prominent and has received widespread attention. As a major leisure and entertainment place in coastal cities, bathing beaches not only provide an environment for microplastics to enter the ocean, but also provide a place for the retention of microplastics. In this paper, the distribution, composition and seasonal variation of microplastics in seawater and sediments of six bathing beaches along the coast of Qingdao were studied. The results showed that the average abundance of microplastics in the sediments of the Qingdao bathing beach was 91.11 ± 26.76 items/m2 (13.77 ± 4.39 items/kg) in the winter and 147.78 ± 34.80 items/m2 (21.98 ± 5.97 items/kg) in the summer. The microplastic abundance in the seawater in the summer (average: 567.50 ± 101.06 items/m3) was significantly higher than that in the winter (average: 326.11 ± 49.03 items/m3, p < 0.05). The abundance of microplastics at the six bathing beaches increased from east to west, consistent with the transport direction of coastal currents. The microplastic abundance in the sediment of non-swimming zone of the bathing beach was significantly higher than that in swimming zone (p < 0.05), and the microplastic abundance in the seawater of the swimming zone was slightly higher than that of the non-swimming zone but with no significant difference (p > 0.05). To an extent, it can reflect the correlation between the abundance of microplastics and human recreational activities. The microplastics detected at the bathing beaches were mainly lines (80.5%) and fragments (7.9%) with a size range of 100 to 1000 μm. Rayon (41.8%) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET, 16.9%) were the main polymer types. The microplastic characteristics showed significant seasonal differences, more diversity in summer than in winter. These results emphasized that the distribution and movement of microplastics in bathing beaches were affected by seasons, human activities and coastal currents.

Do political promotion incentive and fiscal incentive of local governments matter for the marine environmental pollution? Evidence from China’s coastal areas

With the continuous advancement of urbanization and the rapid growth of the marine economy, marine environmental pollution has become an increasingly important problem. In this paper, using a comprehensive feasible generalized least square (FGLS) method and panel data of China’s 11 coastal areas from 2002 to 2016, we analyzed the impact of political promotion incentive and fiscal incentive on marine environmental pollution and identified the transmission mechanism of officials’ tenure to marine environmental pollution. The results show that (1) in order to achieve a political promotion, local officials promote economic growth at the expense of marine resources and the environment, deteriorating the quality of the marine environment in their jurisdiction. (2) Under the influence of the fiscal decentralization system, the financial pressure of local governments is an important factor that affects the quality of the marine environment in its jurisdiction. Fiscal incentives (measured by land transfer fees and sea area royalties) are positively related to marine environmental pollution. (3) The tenure of local officials and marine environmental pollution have an inverted U-shaped nonlinear relationship, and the effect of promotion incentive on the quality of the marine environment is aggravated by the tenure of local officials. It is the first report to discuss the causes of marine environmental pollution in coastal areas in China from the perspective of China’s fiscal decentralization system and political promotion tournaments.

Upravleniye balansom potrebleniya i vosproizvodstva resursov morskoy sredy v ekologo-ekonomicheskoy sisteme «bereg – more»

Purpose. The work is aimed at constructing an adaptive model of the ecological-economic system of the sea coastal zone intended to control the volume of consumption of marine assimilation and biological resources by the coastal socio-economic system. Methods and Results. The model based on tracking the integral balance of the rates of marine environment pollution and its purification due to the natural physical and biogeochemical processes and to the environmental actions is proposed. The average multi-year values of the ecosystem variables are used in the applied concept of stationary state of the marine ecosystem. To describe the conditions forming the polluted area in the coastal marine environment, proposed is the algorithm taking into account the ratio between the rate of growth of concentration of the pollutants inflowing from the coastal sources and the rate of their destruction resulting from natural purification of marine environment. Coastal pollution runoff was managed by the penalties imposed on the economic system, which was forced to reduce the generalized product output simultaneously increasing its prime cost. In the marine ecosystem model, the main lower links of the food chain were used: concentrations of phytoplankton, zooplankton and bacterioplankton. Their weighted sum constituted the marine biodiversity index, which was taken as a concentration of bio-resource consumed by the coastal economic system. It was believed that there was an inverse relationship between the biodiversity index and the pollution concentration. Therefore, the maximum permissible pollution concentration was assessed based on the permissible values of the biodiversity index. Along with control of the economic efficiency of marine resource consumption, the model provided for the biodiversity index monitoring so that it did not fall below its permissible vales. In this case, the management agent included in the model, limited production. The model equations are constructed by the method of adaptive balance of causes, which preserved the material balances resulting from the interaction between the environmental and economic processes. The modular equations of the method permitted to use the known stationary state of the ecosystem to obtain the estimates of the influence coefficients. It is shown that the forecasted scenarios provide the compromises between the efficiency of the coastal economic system and the ability of marine ecosystem to restore the consumed assimilation and biological resources. Conclusions. The proposed model makes it possible to forecast the scenarios of the ecological and economic processes that provide a balance of consumption and reproduction of marine resources

Ship selection in port state control: status and perspectives

ABSTRACT Port state control (PSC) inspection acts as a safeguard against maritime accidents and marine environment pollution. Due to limited inspection resources and high inspection costs, port states can only select substandard ships with high risk for inspection. Therefore, efficient and accurate identification of substandard ships is important. This study reviews the current ship selection methods used in different ports and proposed in the existing literature, then discusses their advantages and disadvantages. Based on this review, a combined model for ship risk prediction considering ship deficiencies and detention is developed and validated in this study. Reasonable and comprehensive comparisons of the proposed combined model and the current ship selection method at the Port of Hong Kong are conducted. The comparison results provide managerial insights and suggestions for Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs). This study is the first to review the ship selection methods implemented in port states and proposed in the PSC inspection literature. It is also the first study to combine the number of ship deficiencies and the probability of detention in a unified model to calculate ship risk. This study is valuable for improving the efficiency of ship selection in MoUs and thus protecting maritime transport.

How do humans recognize and face challenges of microplastic pollution in marine environments? A bibliometric analysis.

Microplastics (MPs) are abundant in marine environments, drawing global attention from scientists and rendering it significant to review the research progress and predict future trends of this field. To achieve that, we collected 1898 publications on marine MPs from Web of Science and performed a bibliometric analysis by CiteSpace and VOSviewer. Additionally, we utilized an unrestricted retrieval of literature from ScienceDirect to supplement our major findings. Trends in publication numbers show the growth in study from the initial stage ( 2012 and before), when microplastic (MP) occurrence, abundance, and distribution were primarily investigated. Throughout the ascent stage (between 2013-2016), when diverse sampling and analytical methods were applied to capture and identify MPs from the ocean, baseline data have been gleaned on physiochemical properties of MPs. The research focus then shifted to the bioaccumulation and ecotoxicological effects of MPs on marine biota, further highlighting their potential deleterious impacts on human health via dietary exposure, and this period was defined as the exploration stage (2017 and onwards). Nevertheless, key challenges including the lack of standard procedures for MP sampling, technical limitations in MP detecting and identification, and controversy about the underlying effects on the marine ecosystems and humans have also been arisen in the last decade. The present study elucidates how we gradually recognize MP pollution in marine environments and what challenges we face, suggesting future avenues for MP research.

The Era of Nanomaterials: A Safe Solution or a Risk for Marine Environmental Pollution?

In recent years, the application of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) in environmental remediation gained increasing attention. Due to their large surface area and high reactivity, ENMs offer the potential for the efficient removal of pollutants from environmental matrices with better performances compared to conventional techniques. However, their fate and safety upon environmental application, which can be associated with their release into the environment, are largely unknown. It is essential to develop systems that can predict ENM interactions with biological systems, their overall environmental and human health impact. Until now, Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) tools have been employed to investigate ENMs potential environmental impact, from raw material production, design and to their final disposal. However, LCA studies focused on the environmental impact of the production phase lacking information on their environmental impact deriving from in situ employment. A recently developed eco-design framework aimed to fill this knowledge gap by using ecotoxicological tools that allow the assessment of potential hazards posed by ENMs to natural ecosystems and wildlife. In the present review, we illustrate the development of the eco-design framework and review the application of ecotoxicology as a valuable strategy to develop ecosafe ENMs for environmental remediation. Furthermore, we critically describe the currently available ENMs for marine environment remediation and discuss their pros and cons in safe environmental applications together with the need to balance benefits and risks promoting an environmentally safe nanoremediation (ecosafe) for the future.

The elemental distribution study of heavy metals (Fe, Cu, Cd, As, Cr, Ni and Hg) in various fish species at local market in Muar, Johor using SEM-EDX

The polluted marine environment causes bioaccumulation of heavy metals particularly by fish, which is consumed by humans as sources of nutrients for humans, particularly as a source of protein. Thus, the investigation of the toxic heavy metals concentration levels in fish is essential. This study aimed to evaluate the heavy metals (Cd, Cr, As, Ni, Fe, Hg and Cu) contents in five different fish species, namely Rastelligar kanagurta, Selaroides leptolepis, Megalaspis cordyla, Decapterus ruselli and Euthynnus affinis. Each sample has been dried and grinds to 100 microns of powder form. The elemental composition of the heavy metals was determined using the rapid and versatile analytical technique, which is Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM-EDX) and the results were expressed as an atomic percentage. The percentage concentrations of Cd, As, Cr and Ni were found to be higher in R. kanagurta which are 0.01%, 0.02%, 0.03% and 0.02%, while Cu was found to be higher in S. leptolepis which is 0.29%. For Hg element analysis, it was found that this element only exists in D. ruselli species with atomic percentage of 0.02%. The atomic percentage concentration of As in R. kanagurta and S. leptolepis are 0.02% and 0.01%. The element of Cr, Fe and Ni were detected in M. cordyla with atomic percentage of 0.01%, 0.02% and 0.02%. In E. affinis, Fe was the highest concentration of metals detected with 0.02%, while other elements such as Cr, Cu and Ni recorded similar the atomic percentages concentration at 0.01%. This study revealed that R. kanagurta species contributed most of the elements compared to other species. The accumulation of these toxic heavy metals from this fish species could contribute to the toxicity of heavy metals in the human body. However, since all heavy metal concentration measurements in this study are in atomic percentages level, hence it can be considered that the measurements are below the acceptable limit that suggested by WHO, FAO and UNSCEAR

A compact NaI(Tl) with avalanche photodiode gamma spectrometer for in situ radioactivity measurements in marine environment.

In situ radioactivity measurements in a deep ocean environment are essential for marine environmental pollution monitoring and seabed geological exploration. In the past, the most widely used gamma spectrometers were based on towed instrumentation, which could only be operated underwater at a depth of less than 1500m. In this study, a compact gamma spectrometer with small-size, light weight, and low power consumption was designed for working in a marine in situ environment. This spectrometer, with two essential parts: detector and electronics, was designed to work on different underwater platforms in the real-time control mode or autonomous operation mode. Multiple small volume avalanche photodiodes were coupled with NaI(Tl), which can significantly reduce the spectrometer volume compared with the option of the photomultiplier tube. Integrated readout electronics were employed to digitize all detector signals for miniaturization and low power consumption. The field programmable gate array (FPGA) was used to obtain the energy spectrum in real-time and an online multi-channel summation with temperature calibration algorithm was employed to improve detection efficiency. Relevant tests were also conducted in the laboratory to evaluate critical techniques and system performance. Results show that the energy resolution (full width at half maximum over the peak position) was ∼7.5% at 662 keV, verifying the online multi-channel summation with temperature calibration based on the FPGA. Moreover, the compact prototype spectrometer worked well in the power-on hydraulic test.

Short-term ingestion and tissue incorporation of Polystyrene microplastic in the scleractinian coral Porites porites

Microplastics (MP), plastic fragments whose diameter is less than 5 mm, are an emergent pollutant in marine environments. Benthic organisms, such as corals, are at high risk of suffering toxic effects due to MP exposure. This study aims to evaluate the incorporation of polystyrene microparticles (PSm) on the reef building coral species Porites porites. PSm were synthesized employing the simple emulsion and solvent evaporation technique, obtaining round particles with a diameter of ≤5μm. P. porites fragments were exposed to four different PSm concentrations (1, 10, 100, 1000) mg/L over a period of 96 h. Histological techniques were used to evaluate PSm incorporation. No mortality was recorded during the bioassay. PSm incorporation in the gastrovascular cavity was evidenced in all of the tested concentrations. Additionally, in the highest PSm concentration (1000 mg/L), clusters were detected inside the gastrovascular tissue and mesenterial filaments. As complementary information, no statistically significant differences were found across PSm concentrations for catalase enzymatic activity and melanin content (PERMANOVA based on Euclidean distances) as a proxy of general exposure effects. This study found that P. porites is capable of ingesting microplastics, specifically polystyrene microspheres regardless of the tested concentrations, without presenting apparent toxic effects in a 96-hour exposure period. Moreover, it is shown that PSm can be incorporated inside the coral tissue. Further studies are needed to assess the potential toxic effects of MP ingestion with longer exposure times, as well as the possible mechanisms involved in MP recognition and incorporation.

Coral annual growth band impregnated microplastics (Porites sp.): a first investigation report

Microplastic pollution in marine environments has increased rapidly during the last decades. These microplastic particles are transported into the coral reef environment from terrestrial origin. Recent investigations suggest that microplastic ingestion can adversely affect marine invertebrates, especially in the coral reef ecosystem. The present attempt has been carried out to identify the coral growth band impregnated microplastics from polished coral slabs and acid leached insoluble residues through microscopic examination. The impregnated microplastics have been present in the following descending order: Nylon > Polyester > Polypropylene > Polyethylene. The irregular-shaped black and red microplastic particles have been dominantly observed. The annual growth band impregnated microplastics are most probably derived from tourist activities and chiefly controlled by oceanic currents and sediment re-suspension. The maximum distribution of microplastics has been observed in the coral annual growth bands of 1964 and 2005. Clinical Trials Registration The present work is not a clinically related project. Hence clinical registration is not obtained/not required for publishing the results.

Effects of acute microplastic exposure on physiological parameters in Tubastrea aurea corals

Pollution of marine environments with microplastic particles has increased rapidly during the last few decades and its impact on marine lives have recently gained attention in both public and scientific community. Scleractinian corals are the foundation species of coral reef ecosystems that are greatly affected by the microplastics (MPs), yet little is known about the effects of microplastics on the coral azooxanthellate. In the present study, effects of the exposure and ingestion of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyethylene (PE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and polyamide 66 (PA66) were studied on the physiological responses of Tubastrea aurea. Our results shows that coral ingested microplastics in four treatment groups and the exposure of microplastics inhibited the antioxidant capacity, immune system, calcification and energy metabolism of the coral Tubastrea aurea. Superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), alkaline phosphatase (AKP), and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) were reduced by 29.4%, 35.5%, 73.9%, and 52.2% in the corals exposed to PVC, respectively. PET microplastics impacted more severely on pyruvate kinase (PK), Na, K-ATPase (Na, K-ATP), Ca-ATPase (Ca-ATP), Mg-ATPase (Mg-ATP), Ca-Mg-ATPase (Ca, Mg-ATP), and glutathione (GSH). Activity of these enzymes decreases to 89.6%, 66.7%, 63.6%, 60.4%, 48.4%, and 50.5% respectively. We anticipate that this work will provide important preliminary data for better understanding the effects of MPs on stony corals azooxanthellate.

Assessment of the Levels of Pollution and of Their Risks by Radioactivity and Trace Metals on Marine Edible Fish and Crustaceans at the Bay of Bengal (Chattogram, Bangladesh)

Marine environmental pollution is a longstanding global problem and has a particular impact on the Bay of Bengal. Effluent from different sources directly enters rivers of the region and eventually flows into the Bay of Bengal. This effluent may contain radioactive materials and trace metals and pose a serious threat to the coastal environment, in addition to aquatic ecosystems. Using gamma spectrometry and atomic absorption spectrometry, a comprehensive study was carried out on the radioactivity (226Ra, 232Th, 40K, and 137Cs) and trace metal (Cd, Pb, Zn, Cu, Ni, Fe, Mn, and Cr) concentrations, respectively, in fish and crustacean species collected from the coastal belt of the Bay of Bengal (Chattogram, Bangladesh). The analysis showed a noticeable increment in the levels of different radioactive pollutants in the marine samples, although the consumption of the studied fish and crustacean species should be considered safe for human health. Anthropogenic radionuclide (137Cs) was not detected in any sample. Furthermore, the metal concentrations of a small number of trace elements (Pb, Cd, Cr) were found to be higher in most of the samples, which indicates aquatic fauna are subject to pollution. The estimated daily intake (EDI), target hazard quotient (THQ), hazard index (HI), and target cancer risk (TR) were calculated and compared with the permissible safety limits. It was found that consuming the seafood from the Bay of Bengal may cause adverse health impacts if consumption and/or means of pollution are not controlled.

Managing Marine Environmental Pollution using Artificial Intelligence

The marine environment has deteriorated to an extent that it has begun to impact human health and the planet itself. The primary cause of this deterioration as identified are, an increasing population, the industrial revolution and the increased use of fossil fuels. While the damage done to the environment cannot be undone, the impact can be lessened by better understanding the ocean and monitoring future pollution using technology. Such an effort will help achieve sustainability as laid out by the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 of the United Nations. The article aims to provide an insight into one such technology, namely ‘Artificial Intelligence (AI)’, being developed to understand and monitor the marine pollution. In doing so the article will discuss the emerging opportunities and risks associated with the use of AI in managing marine environmental pollution through sustainability. To strengthen the argument, use-cases of AI in the marine environment and their scalability are discussed.