Emerging Pollutants in the Marine Environment

A special issue of Journal of Marine Science and Engineering (ISSN 2077-1312). This special issue belongs to the section "Marine Pollution".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (5 January 2023) | Viewed by 1595

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Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Catania, Via Androne 81, 95124 Catania, Italy
Interests: marine biology; vertebrate and non-vertebrate species; models for toxicological testing; biomarkers; immunohistochemistry; electron microscopy; emerging contaminants; nanoparticles
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Ecotoxicological research is crucial for supporting the risk assessment and management of pollutants due to global environmental change. In fact, the interplay of climate change and marine pollution have a detrimental impact on marine organisms and represent a looming threat to marine biodiversity. The purpose of this Special Issue is to select and publish high-quality and impactful research articles on marine ecotoxicology and biomonitoring to assess the risk of pollutants to marine fauna. In particular, this Special Issue focuses on emerging pollutants, including persistent organic pollutants, currently used pesticides, heavy metals, micro- and nano-plastics, personal care products and pharmaceuticals, identified as possible threats in the sea ecosystem.  Original and high-quality research related to these various topics is encouraged.

Dr. Maria Violetta Brundo
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • emerging contaminants
  • bioaccumulation
  • biomarkers
  • water quality
  • environmental pollution and monitoring
  • sea and freshwater species
  • risk assessment and management

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

19 pages, 1257 KiB  
Article
Determination of PAHs, PAH-Derivatives and Other Concerning Substances in Posidonia oceanica Seagrass and Marine Sediments by High Resolution Mass Spectrometry
by Marina Astudillo-Pascual, Roxana Tudor, Irene Domínguez, Pedro A. Aguilera and Antonia Garrido Frenich
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2023, 11(2), 369; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse11020369 - 7 Feb 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2393
Abstract
The Posidonia oceanica decline due to climate change and other anthropogenic pressures, such as chemical pollution, is well known in the scientific community. However, a comprehensive study of the full content of the organic micropollutants found in this significant seagrass has not yet [...] Read more.
The Posidonia oceanica decline due to climate change and other anthropogenic pressures, such as chemical pollution, is well known in the scientific community. However, a comprehensive study of the full content of the organic micropollutants found in this significant seagrass has not yet been carried out. Second, an eco-friendly extraction procedure that does not require a large sample, preserves the seagrass’s ecological integrity and functions, and follows green-chemistry principles, is lacking. These information gaps represent the aims of this study. For this purpose, trials with diverse simple and affordable extraction methods to detect one of the most ubiquitous contaminants (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons or PAHs) were conducted. As a result, the use and validation of a polytron homogenizer and an ultrasonic bath were proposed for the extraction of priority PAHs from tissues of P. oceanica and marine sediments, respectively. Tissues (leaves and rhizomes) of P. oceanica and sediment samples were collected, extracted, and subjected to a thorough analysis, i.e., target, suspect, and unknown screenings, using gas chromatography coupled to high resolution mass spectrometry (GC-Q-Orbitrap MS). Target analysis revealed seven priority parent-PAHs, whilst during the suspect screening, four PAH-derivatives and three other parent-PAHs were tentatively identified. In the additional third unknown analysis, 11 structures, several with concerning toxicity, were also tentatively identified. Numerous of the identified compounds showed elevated detection frequency in the environmental samples, even reaching 100%, such as the cases of the parent-PAHs (naphthalene, phenanthrene and retene), some PAH-derivatives, one UV stabilizer, and plastic additives along with pesticides. The methods proposed here should be considered for future monitoring of P. oceanica, as well as the three-way analytic approach (target, suspect and unknown), to obtain a more real and accurate idea of the organic micropollutants content in the environment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Pollutants in the Marine Environment)
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