A field experiment in the waters off the south-eastern coast of Cyprus was carried out to study near-field formation of sediment plumes from dumping. Different loads of sediment were poured into calm and limpid waters one at the time from just above the sea surface. The associated plumes, gravitating towards the seafloor, were filmed simultaneously by four divers situated at different depths in...

Suspended sediment has long been recognized as an important contaminant affecting water resources. Besides its direct role in determining water clarity, bridge scour and reservoir storage, sediment serves as a vehicle for the transport of many binding contaminants, including nutrients, trace metals, semivolatile organic compounds, and numerous pesticides (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 20...

The relative contributions of sediment resuspension and external nutrient loading to seasonal fluctuations of the total nitrogen to total phosphorus (TN : TP) ratio in the water column of the shallow Kirkkojärvi basin were studied. In May, the TN : TP mass ratio was above 30, but it decreased to below 10 in July–August. In October, the ratio increased again. Water quality was regulated by exter...

Little is known regarding mixture effects of metals and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs) under environmentally relevant exposure regimes. Standard U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) procedures were applied and extended to test effects of phenanthrene (Phen) on sediment-Cd uptake, aqueous-Cd uptake, and Cd-elimination kinetics in the amphipod Hyalella azteca. In sediment expo...

The 2008 RMP Status and Trends program (RMP S&T) will be collecting benthos, sediment toxicity and chemistry at 27 stations this summer in order to implement and evaluate the Sediment Quality Objectives (SQOs) assessment methods for bays and estuaries that have been approved by the State of California. The RMP S&T conducts both acute and sub-lethal sediment toxicity tests as recommended by the ...