| 1. |
- Andersson, Agneta, et al.
(författare)
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Microbial food web changes induced by terrestrial organic matter and elevated temperature in the coastal northern Baltic Sea
- 2023
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Marine Science. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 2296-7745. ; 10
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Climate change has been projected to cause increased temperature and amplified inflows of terrestrial organic matter to coastal areas in northern Europe. Consequently, changes at the base of the food web favoring heterotrophic bacteria over phytoplankton are expected, affecting the food web structure. We tested this hypothesis using an outdoor shallow mesocosm system in the northern Baltic Sea in early summer, where the effects of increased temperature (+ 3°C) and terrestrial matter inputs were studied following the system dynamics and conducting grazing experiments. Juvenile perch constituted the highest trophic level in the system, which exerted strong predation on the zooplankton community. Perch subsequently released the microbial food web from heavy grazing by mesozooplankton. Addition of terrestrial matter had a stronger effect on the microbial food web than the temperature increase, because terrestrial organic matter and accompanying nutrients promoted both heterotrophic bacterial production and phytoplankton primary production. Moreover, due to the shallow water column in the experiment, terrestrial matter addition did not reduce the light below the photosynthesis saturation level, and in these conditions, the net-autotrophy was strengthened by terrestrial matter enrichment. In combination with elevated temperature, the terrestrial matter addition effects were intensified, further shifting the size distribution of the microbial food web base from picoplankton to microphytoplankton. These changes up the food web led to increase in the biomass and proportion of large-sized ciliates (>60 µm) and rotifers. Despite the shifts in the microbial food web size structure, grazing experiments suggested that the pathway from picoplankton to nano- and microzooplankton constituted the major energy flow in all treatments. The study implies that the microbial food web compartments in shallow coastal waters will adjust to climate induced increased inputs of terrestrial matter and elevated temperature, and that the major energy path will flow from picoplankton to large-sized ciliates during the summer period.
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| 2. |
- Bataineh, Mahmoud, et al.
(författare)
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Recent analytical methods for risk assessment of emerging contaminants in ecosystems
- 2021
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Ingår i: Pollution Assessment for Sustainable Practices in Applied Sciences and Engineering. - : Elsevier. - 9780128095829 ; , s. 739-778
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The analysis of emerging contaminants (ECs) remains a dynamic and challenging field because this involves analyzing chemicals with widely varying properties in a large variety of environmental matrices. Usually, concentration levels of ECs are particularly low, such that sensitive and selective analytical methods are required for their analysis. This chapter focuses on five classes of ECs (pharmaceuticals and personal care products, disinfection by-products, perfluorinated compounds, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, and benzotriazoles and dioxane [B and D]) in terms of their occurrence and level of detection. It also highlights the rule of regulatory agencies on the EC detection limit. Sampling techniques used to detect ECs in different environmental matrices are discussed, such as (1) water grab samples from inland and offshore; (2) large-volume solid-phase extraction for water samples; (3) passive samplers (Polar Organic Chemical Integrative Sampler, Chemcatcher, Altesil SR sheet, and semipermeable membrane devices); (4) sediment grab samples (Van Veen and gravity-free fall corer); (5) biota grab samples with different trophic levels (sediment microorganisms, mussels, fish, and mammals; and (6) air passive samplers (inland and/or offshore). In addition, the latest progress is reviewed in sample preparation, extraction, and cleanup.
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| 3. |
- Berglund, Åsa M. M., 1978-, et al.
(författare)
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Effects on the food-web structure and bioaccumulation patterns of organic contaminants in a climate-altered Bothnian Sea mesocosms
- 2023
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Marine Science. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 2296-7745. ; 10
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Climate change is expected to alter global temperature and precipitation patterns resulting in complex environmental impacts. The proposed higher precipitation in northern Scandinavia would increase runoff from land, hence increase the inflow of terrestrial dissolved organic matter (tDOM) in coastal regions. This could promote heterotrophic bacterial production and shift the food web structure, by favoring the microbial food web. The altered climate is also expected to affect transport and availability of organic micropollutants (MPs), with downstream effects on exposure and accumulation in biota. This study aimed to assess climate-induced changes in a Bothnian Sea food web structure as well as bioaccumulation patterns of MPs. We performed a mesocosms-study, focusing on aquatic food webs with fish as top predator. Alongside increased temperature, mesocosm treatments included tDOM and MP addition. The tDOM addition affected nutrient availability and boosted both phytoplankton and heterotrophic bacteria in our fairly shallow mesocosms. The increased tDOM further benefitted flagellates, ciliates and mesozooplankton, while the temperature increase and MP addition had minor effect on those organism groups. Temperature, on the other hand, had a negative impact on fish growth and survival, whereas tDOM and MP addition only had minor impact on fish. Moreover, there were indications that bioaccumulation of MPs in fish either increased with tDOM addition or decreased at higher temperatures. If there was an impact on bioaccumulation, moderately lipophilic MPs (log Kow 3.6 - 4.6) were generally affected by tDOM addition and more lipophilic MPs (log Kow 3.8 to 6.4) were generally affected by increased temperature. This study suggest that both increased temperatures and addition of tDOM likely will affect bioaccumulation patterns of MPs in shallow coastal regions, albeit with counteracting effects.
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| 4. |
- Blum, Kristin M., 1989-, et al.
(författare)
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Comprehensive assessment of organic contaminant removal from on-site sewage treatment facility effluent by char-fortified filter beds
- 2019
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Ingår i: Journal of Hazardous Materials. - : Elsevier. - 0304-3894 .- 1873-3336. ; 361, s. 111-122
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The removal of organic contaminants from wastewater using cost-efficient and easily accessible methods have been increasingly studied in recent years. Most studies have focused on municipal sewage treatment plants; however, our study investigated treatment with char-fortified filter beds for on-site sewage treatment facilities (OSSFs). OSSFs are commonly used in rural and semi-urban areas all over the world to treat wastewater to reduce eutrophication and water-related diseases. To screen for a wide range of organic contaminants in order to improve the understanding of wastewater treatment efficiency and molecular properties, samples were taken from an OSSF field study site that used three filter types: sand, char-fortified sand, and char-fortified gas concrete. First, we screened for organic contaminants with state-of-the-art gas chromatography and liquid chromatography mass spectrometry-based targeted and untargeted analysis and then we developed quantitative structure-property relationship models to find the key molecular features responsible for the removal of organic contaminants. We identified 74 compounds, of which 24 were confirmed with reference standards. Amongst these 74 compounds were plasticizers, UV stabilizers, fragrances, pesticides, surfactant and polymer impurities, pharmaceuticals and their metabolites, and many biogenic compounds. Sand filters that are sometimes used as a last treatment step in OSSFs can remove hydrophobic contaminants. The addition of biochar significantly increases the removal of these and a few hydrophilic compounds (Wilcoxon signed-rank test, α = 0.05). Gas concrete did not appear to be suitable for the removal of organic contaminants. This study showed that, besides hydrophobic effects, biodegradation is the most important removal pathway in long-term field applications. However, further improvements are necessary to remove very hydrophilic contaminants as they were not removed with sand and biochar-fortified sand.
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| 5. |
- Liem-Nguyen, Van, 1986-, et al.
(författare)
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Determination of picomolar concentrations of thiol compounds in natural waters and biological samples by tandem mass spectrometry with online preconcentration and isotope-labeling derivatization
- 2019
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Ingår i: Analytica Chimica Acta. - : Elsevier. - 0003-2670 .- 1873-4324. ; 1067, s. 71-78
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present a sensitive, selective and robust method for the determination of 14 thiol compounds in aqueous samples. Thiols were derivatized with omega-bromoacetonylquinolinium bromide (BQB) and its deuterium labeled equivalent D7-omega-bromoacetonylquinolinium bromide (D7). Derivatized thiols were preconcentrated by online solid-phase extraction (SPE) followed by liquid chromatography separation and electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry determination (SPE/LC-ESI-MS/MS). The robustness of the method was validated for wide ranges in pH, salinity, and concentrations of sulfide and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) to cover contrasting natural water types. The limits of detection (LODs) for the thiols were 3.1-66 pM. Between 6 and 14 of the thiols were detected in different natural sample types at variable concentrations: boreal wetland porewater (0.7-51 nM), estuarine sediment porewater (50 pM-11 nM), coastal sea water (60 pM-16 nM), and sulfate reducing bacterium cultures (80 pM-4 nM). MS/MS fragmentation of the compounds produces two pairs of common product ions, m/z 130.2/137.1 and 218.1/225.1, which enables scanning for unknown thiols in precursor ion scan mode. Using this approach, we identified cysteine, mercaptoacetic acid, N-acetyl-L-cysteine and sulfurothioic S-acid in boreal wetland porewater. The performance of the developed method sets a new state of the art for the determination of thiol compounds in environmental and biological samples.
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| 6. |
- Massei, Riccardo, et al.
(författare)
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Toxicity and neurotoxicity profiling of contaminated sediments from Gulf of Bothnia (Sweden) : a multi-endpoint assay with Zebrafish embryos
- 2019
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Ingår i: Environmental Sciences Europe. - : Springer. - 2190-4707 .- 2190-4715. ; 31
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The toxicological characterization of sediments is an essential task to monitor the quality of aquatic environments. Many hazardous pollutants may accumulate in sediments and pose a risk to the aquatic community. The present study provides an attempt to integrate a diagnostic whole mixture assessment workflow based on a slightly modified Danio rerio embryo acute toxicity test with chemical characterization. Danio rerio embryos were directly exposed to sieved sediment (≤ 63 μm) for 96 h. Sediment samples were collected from three polluted sites (Kramfors, Sundsvall and Örnsköldsvik) in the Gulf of Bothnia (Sweden) which are characterized by a long history of pulp and paper industry impact. Effect data were supported by chemical analyses of 237 organic pollutants and 30 trace elements.
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| 7. |
- Oesterle, Pierre, 1990-, et al.
(författare)
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Fate of trimethoprim, sulfamethoxazole and caffeine after hydrothermal regeneration of activated carbon
- 2023
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Ingår i: Journal of Cleaner Production. - : Elsevier. - 0959-6526 .- 1879-1786. ; 421
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Emerging contaminants are found in all parts of our environment. Adsorption of these contaminants by activated carbon in water treatment plants is well-known; however, a problem resides in the handling of the spent adsorbents. As current regenerative technologies are expensive, the adsorbents are often destructed or landfilled. Here, we examine a novel regeneration method for the used adsorbents with subcritical water – i.e., hydrothermal treatment. The degradation of three well-known emerging contaminants – caffeine, trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole – was studied with regard to processing temperature (160–280 °C), concentration (2 and 20 mg/L), and the impact of adsorbents. In addition to trimethoprim in the mix at 20 mg/L, the other contaminants were entirely degraded at 280 °C. To obtain insight into transformation products formed during hydrothermal regeneration, we performed non-target and targeted analyses with LC-MS-QTOF using two types of columns, C18 and ZIC-HILIC. This approach ensured a wide range of hydrophilicities. Results showed more transformation products for trimethoprim (20) compared to sulfamethoxazole and caffeine (4). To assess the regeneration efficiencies of the activated carbons, we conducted three cycles of regeneration at 280 °C and between 61 and 120 % degradation was achieved. Moreover, only two transformation products were detected and readsorbed on the adsorbent after regeneration. Hydrothermal regeneration efficiently degraded the target emerging contaminants, suggesting a potential approach for enabling alternative, sequential uses for regenerated activated carbon.
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| 8. |
- Rebryk, Andriy, et al.
(författare)
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A time-trend guided non-target screening study of organic contaminants in Baltic Sea harbor porpoise (1988–2019), guillemot (1986–2019), and white-tailed sea eagle (1965–2017) using gas chromatography–high-resolution mass spectrometry
- 2022
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Ingår i: Science of the Total Environment. - : Elsevier. - 0048-9697 .- 1879-1026. ; 829
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The rate of decline in regulated persistent organic pollutant (POP) concentrations in Baltic Sea biota has leveled off in recent years, with new contaminants frequently being discovered. There is, therefore, a need for comprehensive approaches to study occurrence and temporal trends of a wide range of environmental contaminants, including legacy POPs, contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), and new contaminants. In the current work, non-target screening (NTS) workflows were developed and used for, to the best of our knowledge, the first time-trend directed NTS of biota using gas chromatography–high-resolution mass spectrometry (GC-HRMS). To maximize contaminant coverage, both electron ionization (EI) and electron capture negative ion chemical ionization (ECNI) were used. The EI data were treated using highly automated workflows to find, prioritize, and tentatively identify contaminants with statistically significant temporal trends. The ECNI data were manually processed and reviewed prior to time-trend analysis. Altogether, more than 300 tentatively identified contaminants were found to have significant temporal trends in samples of Baltic guillemot, harbor porpoise, or white-tailed sea eagle. Significant decreases were found for many regulated chemicals, as could be expected, such as PCBs, polychlorinated terphenyls, chlorobenzenes, toxaphenes, DDT, other organochlorine pesticides, and tri- and tetra- bromodiphenyl ethers (BDEs). The rate of decline of legacy POPs agreed well with data reported from targeted analyses. Significant increases were observed for small polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, heptaBDEs, CECs, and terpenes and related compounds. The CECs included, among others, one plasticizer tributyl acetylcitrate (ATBC), two antioxidants 2,6-bis(1,1-dimethylethyl)phenol and 2,6-bis(tert-butyl)-4-(4-morpholinyl-methyl)phenol, and two compounds used in polymer production, trimethyl isocyanurate and 2-mercaptobenzothiazole, which had not previously been reported in biota. Their increased concentrations in biota indicate increased use and release. The increase in ATBC may be linked to increased use of it as a substitute for di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), which has been phased out over the last decade.
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| 9. |
- Rebryk, Andriy, 1989-
(författare)
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Comprehensive non-target screening to find and identify new biomagnifying organic contaminants in Baltic Sea top consumers
- 2022
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The development of industrial processes in the 19th and 20th centuries, in particular oil refining, resulted in a huge discovery and subsequent large-scale production of a variety of chemicals. These useful chemicals supposedly made the everyday lives of people easier and better by, for instance, controlling the spread of diseases such as malaria, through the use of DDT and other organochlorine pesticides (OCPs).During the 1970s and following decades, it was hypothesized and later shown, that these, and other “helpful chemicals” such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), played a crucial role in the steep population decline observed for multiple species in the Baltic Sea. They were classified as anthropogenic (man-made) hazardous substances (AHSs). Many AHSs can be stored in fatty tissues of the organisms and magnify in species at high trophic levels (predators) of the food web, as a result of persistence and transfer from lower-level organisms (prey). This process is called biomagnification and is characterized by biomagnification or trophic magnification factors (BMFs or TMFs, respectively). AHSs can be roughly divided into known chemicals of concern, such as persistent organic pollutants (POPs), and contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), that include novel flame retardants, polymer additives, and many more. Both the production and use of a number of AHSs have been regulated since the 1970s. To understand the outcome of the regulations, retrospective analysis of samples from different years, a time-trend study, is often utilized.The main aim of this work was to develop a non-selective sample extraction, purification, and analysis method, and then find and identify as many biomagnifying contaminants as possible. To assess both biomagnification and temporal trends of a wide range of chemical contaminants in a given Baltic Sea food web, non-target screening (NTS) was used. A clean-up method was established and tested with a satisfactory outcome: processed extracts were pure enough for gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. Also, accompanying NTS data processing workflows were developed. Application of these resulted in BMFs for more than 100 contaminants (Paper I). The data processing workflow was refined for faster detection of chemicals that demonstrate temporal trends and/or biomagnify. It was possible to detect and tentatively identify more than 300 legacy POPs and CECs with statistically significant temporal trends in three Baltic top consumers (Paper II). Adjusted NTS workflows were used to reveal more than 250 compounds that possessed trophic magnification properties (Paper III). Inspired by the discovery of a novel flame retardant Dechlorane 602 (Paper I), a suspect screening for dechlorane-related compounds and their transformation products was carried out. A total of 31 compounds were detected and tentatively identified, many of which showed significant temporal trends and biomagnification (Paper IV). A number of compounds reported in Papers I–IV were tentatively identified for the first time in wildlife. In addition, the papers provide valuable spectral and retention information for the researchers in the field.In conclusion, this thesis presents useful GC-MS-based NTS workflows and biomagnification or time-trend data for a plethora of organic contaminants in the Baltic Sea food web. The data can contribute to i) the assessment of the influence pollutants have on the ecosystem and ii) various mitigation actions for AHSs, such as evaluating dechloranes for regulation under the Stockholm Convention on POPs, helping in the fight for a better environment and future.
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| 10. |
- Ripszám, Mátyás, 1986-, et al.
(författare)
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Effects of predicted climatic changes on distribution of organic contaminants in brackish water mesocosms
- 2015
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Ingår i: Science of the Total Environment. - : Elsevier. - 0048-9697 .- 1879-1026. ; 517, s. 10-21
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Predicted consequences of future climate change in the northern Baltic Sea include increases in sea surface temperatures and terrestrial dissolved organic carbon (DOC) runoff. These changes are expected to alter environmental distribution of anthropogenic organic contaminants (OCs). To assess likely shifts in their distributions, outdoor mesocosms were employed to mimic pelagic ecosystems at two temperatures and two DOC concentrations, current: 15 °C and 4 mg DOC L− 1 and, within ranges of predicted increases, 18 °C and 6 mg DOC L− 1, respectively. Selected organic contaminants were added to the mesocosms to monitor changes in their distribution induced by the treatments. OC partitioning to particulate matter and sedimentation were enhanced at the higher DOC concentration, at both temperatures, while higher losses and lower partitioning of OCs to DOC were observed at the higher temperature. No combined effects of higher temperature and DOC on partitioning were observed, possibly because of the balancing nature of these processes. Therefore, changes in OCs' fates may largely depend on whether they are most sensitive to temperature or DOC concentration rises. Bromoanilines, phenanthrene, biphenyl and naphthalene were sensitive to the rise in DOC concentration, whereas organophosphates, chlorobenzenes (PCBz) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were more sensitive to temperature. Mitotane and diflufenican were sensitive to both temperature and DOC concentration rises individually, but not in combination.
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