The climate changes in recent years in the southern Baltic have been resulting in an increased frequency of natural extreme phenomena (i.e. storms, floods) and intensification of abrasion processes, which leads to introduction of large amounts of sedimentary deposits into the marine environment. The aim of this study was to determine the mercury load introduced to the Baltic Sea with deposits crumbling off the cliffs—parts of the coast that are the most exposed to abrasion. The studies were carried out close to five cliffs located on the Polish coast in the years 2011–2014. The results show that coastal erosion could be an important Hg source into the marine environment. This process is the third most important route, after riverine and precipitation input, by which Hg may enter the Gulf of Gdańsk. In the Hg budget in the gulf, the load caused by erosion (14.3 kg a−1) accounted for 80 % of the wet deposition and was 50 % higher than the amount of mercury introduced with dry deposition. Although the Hg concentration in the cliff deposits was similar to the natural background, due to their large mass, this problem could be significant. In addition, the preliminary studies on the impact of coastal erosion on the Hg level in the marine ecosystem have shown that this process may be one of the Hg sources into the trophic chain.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11356-016-6753-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Sediment samples were collected in two Polish ports of international significance-the Port of Gdańsk and the Port of Gdynia (Gulf of Gdańsk, Baltic Sea)-in order to assess their butyltin and phenyltin contamination; this was done in 2008, just after the total ban on using harmful organotins in antifouling paints on ships came into force. Altogether, 21 sampling stations were chosen to present a diversity of port sites: from port canals and shipyards to anchorages and dumping sites. The organic carbon content and grain size of all the sediment samples were determined, and some environmental parameters (oxygen content, salinity) were measured as well. Total concentrations of butyltin compounds in sediment samples were very different and ranged between 1 and 18,520 ng Sn g −1 d.w. Phenyltin

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The aim of this paper is to determine the impact of human activity on the soil formation at the mouth of the Vistula Cross-Cut (northern Poland). The detailed research was conducted in the test area (about 500 ha) for which the soil map was created. The three major soil belts were distinguished, grouping the soils formed on marine, aeolian and technogenic sediments, deposited both naturally and anthropogenically as a result of the hydrotechnical works. Initial soils, arenosols, gleysols, brackish marsh soils and industrial soils predominate across the study area. Most of them were characterized by high spatial diversity and multi-layering. Their properties reflected varied dynamics of the local environment on both sides of the river channel, greatly enhanced by the human activity. Based of the obtained results, some proposals concerning arenosols, marsh soils and industrial soils for the Polish Soil Classification (2011) were presented.

The paper presents the results of toxicity determinations carried out on sediment samples collected in the vicinity of the wreck of the German s/s Stuttgart (the southern part of the Gulf of Gdańsk, off the Polish coast) in relation to the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The toxicity of surface and core sediment samples was assessed using two biotest organisms-the bioluminescent bacteria Vibrio fischeri and the ostracod Heterocypris incongruens. PAH levels in these samples were determined by GC-MS. The surface sediments collected at W2 (ca. 34 m north of the shipwreck) and W4 (ca. 415 m north-east of the wreck) as well as the core sediments collected at WR3 (ca. 400 m north-east of the wreck) were the most heavily polluted with substances toxic to the biotest organisms. The chronic and acute toxicities in the case of most of the surface sediment samples studied are correlated. This may suggest that not only hydrophobic chemicals (like PAHs from fuel residues) but also more polar chemicals (resulting from the conversion of aromatic hydrocarbons) are responsible for the toxicity levels found. There is a clear dependence between the levels of chronic toxicity and PAH concentrations in the core sediment samples. In addition, a simultaneous decrease in the PAH content and chronic toxicity was noted in all the core sediment samples at depths below 80 cm.