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Special Issues
Monitoring and Assessment of Marine Environmental Pressures
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Monitoring and Assessment of Marine Environmental Pressures

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 January 2023) | Viewed by 12714

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Colin Moffat

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Marine Laboratory, Scotland, UK
Interests: marine assessment methodology; human activities; marine ecosystems; monitoring

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The ocean is vital to life on Earth. The many ecosystem services that it provides, related to provisioning, regulating, supporting, and cultural aspects, are also fundamental to the Blue Economy. However, human activities are affecting the marine environment in an unprecedented manner and, when coupled with the consequences of the increased concentrations of atmospheric greenhouse gases, it is clear that the ocean is under huge pressure. Declining biodiversity, deoxygenation, increased temperatures, a reduction in pH, and alterations in ocean currents will have consequences.

It is imperative that relevant monitoring and assessments of the ocean, connecting human activities with pressures on marine ecosystems, are prioritised. This requires national and international collaboration as well as attention directed towards the combined environmental, social, and economic consequences of either not responding to the assessments or not undertaking the relevant monitoring over a long enough time period. Common indicators and thresholds will permit assessments of wider sea areas, while new indicators are required to enable consideration to be given to the cumulative effects of multiple human pressures. As the seas become busier, there is a need for marine planning to optimise the benefits of the sea while ensuring that these benefits will be available to future generations.

Fundamental to all this is the delivery of the correct monitoring and assessments that identify the main pressures, can detect environmental change, and ensure that the cause of the environmental change can be characterised, as well as showing whether or not the actions taken have delivered the desired outcomes.

In the above context, this Special Issue invites original scientific contributions that advance our understanding of the assessment of human activities on marine ecosystems and the consequence of the pressures associated with these activities, both in isolation, but also as one of several pressures. Where appropriate, the environmental, social, and economic consequences should be discussed, as should the need for the outcomes to have direct traction with decision makers.

Research articles, review articles, and case studies are welcome.

Prof. Colin Moffat
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Environment
  • Human activities
  • Pressures
  • Economic consequences
  • Social consequences
  • Monitoring
  • Assessment/tools/methods
  • Ecosystem services/natural capital
  • Blue economy
  • Cumulative pressures
  • Detecting and identifying reason for change of state
  • Marine
  • Coastal
  • Deep water
  • Climate
  • Policy/science communication

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

27 pages, 4237 KiB  
Article
Environmental Pollution Indices and Multivariate Modeling Approaches for Assessing the Potentially Harmful Elements in Bottom Sediments of Qaroun Lake, Egypt
by Ali H. Saleh, Mohamed Gad, Moataz M. Khalifa, Salah Elsayed, Farahat S. Moghanm, Adel M. Ghoneim, Subhan Danish, Rahul Datta, Moustapha E. Moustapha and Magda M. Abou El-Safa
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2021, 9(12), 1443; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse9121443 - 16 Dec 2021
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2974
Abstract
This research intends to offer a scientific foundation for environmental monitoring and early warning which will aid in the environmental protection management of Qaroun Lake. Qaroun Lake is increasingly influenced by untreated wastewater discharge from many anthropogenic activities, making it vulnerable to pollution. [...] Read more.
This research intends to offer a scientific foundation for environmental monitoring and early warning which will aid in the environmental protection management of Qaroun Lake. Qaroun Lake is increasingly influenced by untreated wastewater discharge from many anthropogenic activities, making it vulnerable to pollution. For that, six environmental pollution indices, namely contamination factor (Cf), enrichment factor (EF), geo-accumulation index (Igeo), degree of contamination (Dc), pollution load index (PLI), and potential ecological risk index (RI), were utilized to assess the bottom sediment and to determine the different geo-environmental variables affecting the lake system. Cluster analysis (CA), and principal component analysis (PCA) were used to explore the potential pollution sources of heavy metal. Moreover, the efficiency of partial least-square regression (PLSR) and multiple linear regression (MLR) were tested to assess the Dc, PLI, and RI depending on the selected elements. The sediment samples were carefully collected from 16 locations of Qaroun Lake in two investigated years in 2018 and 2019. Total concentrations of Al, As, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ga, Hf, Li, Mg, Mn, Mo, Ni, P, Pb, Sb, Se, Zn, and Zr were quantified using inductively coupled plasma mass spectra (ICP-MS). According to the Cf, EF, and Igeo results, As, Cd, Ga, Hf, P, Sb, Se, and Zr demonstrated significant enrichment in sediment and were derived from anthropogenic sources. According to Dc results, all collected samples were categorized under a very high degree of contamination. Further, the results of RI showed that the lake is at very high ecological risk. Meanwhile, the PLI data indicated 59% of lake was polluted and 41% had PLI < 1. The PLSR and MLR models based on studied elements presented the highest efficiency as alternative approaches to assess the Dc, PLI, and RI of sediments. For examples, the validation (Val.) models presented the best performance of these indices, with R2val = 0.948–0.989 and with model accuracy ACCv = 0.984–0.999 for PLSR, and with R2val = 0.760–0.979 and with ACCv = 0.867–0.984 for MLR. Both models for Dc, PLI, and RI showed that there was no clear overfitting or underfitting between measuring, calibrating, and validating datasets. Finally, the combinations of Cf, EF, Igeo, PLI, Dc, RI, CA, PCA, PLSR, and MLR approaches represent valuable and applicable methods for assessing the risk of potentially harmful elemental contamination in the sediment of Qaroun Lake. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Monitoring and Assessment of Marine Environmental Pressures)
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18 pages, 1652 KiB  
Article
Longitudinal Study on Seasonal Variation of Marine Biotoxins and Related Harmful Algae in Bivalve Mollusks Bred in Sardinia (Italy, W Mediterranean Sea) from 2015 to 2020 and Assessment of Potential Public Health Risks
by Alessandro G. Mudadu, Anna Maria Bazzoni, Virgilio Congiu, Giuseppe Esposito, Alberto Cesarani, Rita Melillo, Giuseppa Lorenzoni, Simona Cau, Barbara Soro, Bruna Vodret, Domenico Meloni and Sebastiano Virgilio
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2021, 9(5), 510; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse9050510 - 9 May 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2598
Abstract
Annual and interannual dynamics of shellfish toxins and associated harmful algal species (HAS) were analyzed from 2015 to 2020 in Tortolì Lagoon (Sardinia, west Mediterranean Sea). Analysis of seasonal occurrence of different harmful algae, such as Dinophysis spp., Prorocentrum spp., Pseudo-nitzschia spp. and [...] Read more.
Annual and interannual dynamics of shellfish toxins and associated harmful algal species (HAS) were analyzed from 2015 to 2020 in Tortolì Lagoon (Sardinia, west Mediterranean Sea). Analysis of seasonal occurrence of different harmful algae, such as Dinophysis spp., Prorocentrum spp., Pseudo-nitzschia spp. and Alexandrium minutum, was performed. The species Dinophysis acuminata and Dinophysis sacculus were responsible for the accumulation of lipophilic toxins belonging to the okadaic acid group (OAs) and pectenotoxins2 (PTX2) in bivalve mollusks. The highest HAS detection was recorded in the winter months; in particular, Dinophysis spp. was mostly present in January–February. Out of 1090 analyzed mollusk samples, 39 were non-compliant, exceeding the legal limits (160 μg OA eq/kg e.p.) reported in Regulation 853/2004 of the European Commission. A statistical analysis related to the presence of OA and PTX2 in mollusks with various environmental parameters (pH, water temperature, dissolved oxygen, algal density) was implemented, proving a clear winter seasonality. The present study highlights the necessity to better understand the different factors able to influence the production and accumulation of toxins in bivalve mollusks bred in an important Sardinian production area. The contribution of this research is important not only from an environmental and productive point of view but also from the view of implementing management in order to mitigate any harm to human health. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Monitoring and Assessment of Marine Environmental Pressures)
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12 pages, 2262 KiB  
Article
Effect of Maritime Traffic on Water Quality Parameters in Santa Marta, Colombia
by René Rodríguez-Grimón, Nestor Hernando Campos and Ítalo Braga Castro
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2021, 9(5), 474; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse9050474 - 28 Apr 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3200
Abstract
Since 2013, there has been an increase (>23%) in naval traffic using maritime routes and ports on the coastal fringe of Santa Marta, Colombia. Of major concern, and described by several studies, is the relationship between maritime traffic and coastal contamination. This study [...] Read more.
Since 2013, there has been an increase (>23%) in naval traffic using maritime routes and ports on the coastal fringe of Santa Marta, Colombia. Of major concern, and described by several studies, is the relationship between maritime traffic and coastal contamination. This study proposed a maritime traffic indicator considering the simultaneous effects of several relevant measurements of water quality parameters to estimate the impact of naval activity. The approach involved developing a model including the number of vessels, hull length, and permanence time in berths. In addition, water quality variables, considering climatic seasons, were used to verify association with maritime traffic and touristic activities. The high concentrations of total coliforms (TC) and dissolved/dispersed petroleum hydrocarbons in chrysene equivalents (DDPH) reported by the International Marina of Santa Marta (SM) were affected by the local anthropic activities, including tourism, naval traffic, and urban wastewater discharges. Moreover, our results suggest the occurrence of multiple chemical impacts within Tayrona National Natural Park (PNNT) affecting conservation goals. The estimation of the maritime traffic indicator proposed in this study may be an easy and more complete tool for future studies evaluating the impact of naval activities on environmental quality. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Monitoring and Assessment of Marine Environmental Pressures)
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16 pages, 2080 KiB  
Article
Use of Ecoacoustics to Characterize the Marine Acoustic Environment off the North Atlantic French Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon Archipelago
by Paul Nguyen Hong Duc, Dorian Cazau, Paul R. White, Odile Gérard, Joël Detcheverry, Frank Urtizberea and Olivier Adam
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2021, 9(2), 177; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse9020177 - 9 Feb 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3018
Abstract
Visual observations of the marine biodiversity can be difficult in specific areas for different reasons, including weather conditions or a lack of observers. In such conditions, passive acoustics represents a potential alternative approach. The objective of this work is to demonstrate how information [...] Read more.
Visual observations of the marine biodiversity can be difficult in specific areas for different reasons, including weather conditions or a lack of observers. In such conditions, passive acoustics represents a potential alternative approach. The objective of this work is to demonstrate how information about marine biodiversity can be obtained via detailed analysis of the underwater acoustic environment. This paper presents the first analysis of the Saint-Pierre-and-Miquelon (SPM) archipelago underwater acoustic environment. In order to have a better knowledge about the marine biodiversity of SPM, acoustic recordings were sampled at different time periods to highlight seasonal variations over several years. To extract information from these acoustic recordings, standard soundscape and ecoacoustic analysis workflow was used to compute acoustic metrics such as power spectral density, third-octave levels, acoustic complexity index, and sound pressure levels. The SPM marine acoustic environment can be divided into three main sound source classes: biophony, anthrophony, and geophony. Several cetacean species were encountered in the audio recordings including sperm whales (which were detected by visual observations and strandings of 3 males in 2014), humpback, and blue whales. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Monitoring and Assessment of Marine Environmental Pressures)
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