Organotin compounds in surface sediments of the Southern Baltic coastal zone: a study on the main factors for their accumulation and degradation

Abstract Sediment samples were collected in the Gulf of Gdańsk, and the Vistula and Szczecin Lagoons—all located in the coastal zone of the Southern Baltic Sea—just after the total ban on using harmful organotins in antifouling paints on ships came into force, to assess their butyltin and phenyltin contamination extent. Altogether, 26 sampling stations were chosen to account for different potential exposure to organotin pollution and environmental conditions: from shallow and well-oxygenated waters, shipping routes and river mouths, to deep and anoxic sites. Additionally, the organic carbon content, pigment content, and grain size of all the sediment samples were determined, and some parameters of the nearbottom water (oxygen content, salinity, temperature) were measured as well. Total concentrations of butyltin compounds ranged between 2 and 182 ng Sn g−1 d.w., whereas phenyltins were below the detection limit. Sediments from the Gulf of Gdańsk and Vistula Lagoon were found moderately contaminated with tributyltin, whereas those from the Szczecin Lagoon were ranked as highly contaminated. Butyltin degradation indices prove a recent tributyltin input into the sediments adjacent to sites used for dumping for dredged harbor materials and for anchorage in the Gulf of Gdańsk (where two big international ports are located), and into those collected in the Szczecin Lagoon. Essential factors affecting the degradation and distribution of organotins, based on significant correlations between butyltins and environmental variables, were found in the study area

Evaluating the potential of ecological niche modelling as a component in marine non-indigenous species risk assessments

Marine biological invasions have increased with the development of global trading, causing the homogenization of communities and the decline of biodiversity. A main vector is ballast water exchange from shipping. This study evaluates the use of ecological niche modelling (ENM) to predict the spread of 18 non-indigenous species (NIS) along shipping routes and their potential habitat suitability (hot/cold spots) in the Baltic Sea and Northeast Atlantic. Results show that, contrary to current risk assessment methods, temperature and sea ice concentration determine habitat suitability for 61% of species, rather than salinity (11%). We show high habitat suitability for NIS in the Skagerrak and Kattegat, a transitional area for NIS entering or leaving the Baltic Sea. As many cases of NIS introduction in the marine environment are associated with shipping pathways, we explore how ENM can be used to provide valuable information on the potential spread of NIS for ballast water risk assessment

Past landscapes of the Bay of Puck

Na podstawie opracowań i publikacji naukowych oraz wspomnień starszych rybaków i mieszkańców rejonu Zatoki Puckiej opisano stan Zatoki z lat 50. i 60. XX w. Przeanalizowano przyczyny degradacji Zatoki, w tym wskazano na konkretne przedsięwzięcia oraz decyzje gospodarcze, które doprowadzały do niekorzystnych zmian przyrodniczych. Omówiono działania podjęte na rzecz ochrony tego akwenu, które polegały głównie na uporządkowaniu gospodarki ściekowej w obrębie zlewiska. Wskazano, że Zatoka Pucka nadal jest nadmiernie obciążona dopływem związków odżywczych, a także eksploatacją turystyczną. Rośnie presja deweloperów i prowadzone są modernizacje portów rybackich, wskutek czego w rejonie Zatoki Puckiej wciąż zachodzą niekorzystne zmiany krajobrazowe.The study presents the basic hydrological features of the Bay of Puck which have allowed for the emergence and development of a diverse flora and fauna, including a rich ichthyofauna. On the basis of research and scientific publications, as well as the memories of older fishermen and inhabitants of the region, its state in the 1950s and 1960s is described. The reasons for its degradation were analyzed, including the specific projects and economic decisions that led to unfavorable environmental change. Action taken to protect the bay mainly consists of organizing wastewater management within the catchment area. It is pointed out that the Bay of Puck is still too heavily burdened with an inflow of nutrients as well as tourist overexploitation. Pressure from developers and the modernization of ports and fishing harbors is growing. As a result, unfavorable landscape changes in the Bay of Puck are still taking place

AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS AS A MEANS OF DOCUMENTATION OF HISTORICAL URBAN SETTINGS IN POLAND

While reviewing the historical development of aerial photography and the applied aero-photogrammetric methods, the author discusses the usability of aerial photographs for the townplanning and for solving the problems accompanying adaptation of historical u rban settings to their new, present-day functions. The aerial photographs form an extremely valuable material for those responsible for conservation of historical monuments, in several instances becoming a source of additional information or in some cases the substitutes for a conventional cartographic or geodetic surveys. In this conviction a decision has been taken in the Historical Monuments Documentation Centre to prepare a series of aerial views of ancient towns throughout Poland which the action was carried out within a period of 1966—69. On the background of the previously worked out criteria the most interesting towns were chosen with their best preserved plans and ancient building. It was assumed that the aerial photographs have to illustrate in the best possible manner all the features present in topographic layout and the urban landscape of a given town, their general views as well as the building of the separate quarters, street courses, market and square frontages, fragments of old fortification systems and so forth. Within the detailed views it was planned to photograph the most interesting objects dominating over a given urban setting as the town halls, churches or castles. The thematic outlines required that two kinds of aerial photographs be taken, namely these in vertical projection and those inclined. During the flights carried out some 750 localities were photographed of which the number about 600 towns for whom more than 5.000 negatives of 6X6 or 6X9 cm sizes were obtained. Collection of these photographs will be used for a many-volume publication „Historical Urban Centres in Poland” now under preparation in the Historical Monuments Documentation Centre. From the viewpoint of those involved in conservation the above publication can be considered as one of entirely unique character not only in this country