Dead zones in the coastal oceans have spread exponentially since the 1960s and have serious consequences for ecosystem functioning. The formation of dead zones has been exacerbated by the increase in primary production and consequent worldwide coastal eutrophication fueled by riverine runoff of fertilizers and the burning of fossil fuels. Enhanced primary production results in an accumulation of particulate organic matter, which encourages microbial activity and the consumption of dissolved oxygen in bottom waters. Dead zones have now been reported from more than 400 systems, affecting a total area of more than 245,000 square kilometers, and are probably a key stressor on marine ecosystems.

Supporting Online Material for Spreading Dead Zones and Consequences for Marine Ecosystems

The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) is an independent organization devoted to the development of standards.

American Society for Testing and Materials

Distribution and accumulation of heavy metals in the sediments of Kaohsiung Harbor, Taiwan.

What are Marine Diatoms

Stelios Katsanevakis*, Inger Wallentinus, Argyro Zenetos, Erkki Leppakoski, Melih Ertan Cinar, Bayram Ozturk, Michal Grabowski, Daniel Golani and Ana Cristina Cardoso European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Institute for Environment and Sustainability (IES), Ispra, Italy Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Sweden Institute of Marine Biological Resources and Inland Waters, Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Ag. Kosmas, Greece Department of Biosciences, Environmental and Marine Biology, Abo Akademi University, Turku, Finland Ege University, Faculty of Fisheries, Department of Hydrobiology, Bornova, Izmir, Turkey Faculty of Fisheries, Marine Biology Laboratory, University of Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey Department of Invertebrate Zoology & Hydrobiology, University of Lodz, Poland Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior and the National Natural History Collections, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel

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Impacts of invasive alien marine species on ecosystem services and biodiversity: a pan-European review.

Assessment of contamination by heavy metals and petroleum hydrocarbons in sediments of Montevideo Harbour (Uruguay)

Testing the applicability of a Marine Biotic Index (AMBI) to assessing the ecological quality of soft-bottom benthic communities, in the South America Atlantic region

Analyses of organic matter content, organic carbon, nitrogen, sulfur and granulometric variables were performed on 101 surface sediment samples from Ubatuba Bay in order to investigate the spatial distribution of organic matter, its origin and the relationships among its components. The samples were obtained with a manual corer, from water depths between 1 and 15m during 5 cruises of the R/V ‘‘Veliger II’’, two months apart. Pearson correlation, regression and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) statistical methods were used to analyze the data. Strong correlations between organic matter and fine sediment fractions were obtained. The PCA revealed at least two main sample groups that reflect the different environmental conditions prevalent in the bay. There is a simple linear relationship between organic carbon content and the organic matter content determined by the calcination technique. Taking into account that the analysis of organic matter content is less expensive and less time consuming than the analysis of organic carbon, the present method of estimation can be useful when fast evaluation of the organic carbon content is needed for samples from similar environments.

/pdf/spatial-distribution-of-organic-matter-in-the-surface-4fo7jtf8pn.pdf

Pablo Muniz

Papers

Assessment of contamination by heavy metals and petroleum hydrocarbons in sediments of Montevideo Harbour (Uruguay)

Testing the applicability of a Marine Biotic Index (AMBI) to assessing the ecological quality of soft-bottom benthic communities, in the South America Atlantic region

Spatial distribution of organic matter in the surface sediments of Ubatuba Bay (Southeastern - Brazil)

First assessment of the highly contaminated harbour of Montevideo, Uruguay.

Foraminiferal responses to polluted sediments in the Montevideo coastal zone, Uruguay