Harmful Elements in Estuarine and Coastal Systems

Estuaries and coastal zones are dynamic transitional systems which provide many economic and ecological benefits to humans, but also are an ideal habitat for other organisms as well. These areas are becoming contaminated by various anthropogenic activities due to a quick economic growth and urbanization. This chapter explores the sources, chemical speciation, sediment accumulation and removal mechanisms of the harmful elements in estuarine and coastal seawaters. It also describes the effects of toxic elements on aquatic flora and fauna. Finally, the toxic element pollution of the Venice Lagoon, a transitional water body located in the northeastern part of Italy, is discussed as a case study, by presenting the procedures adopted to measure the extent of the pollution, the impacts on organisms and the restoration activities

Runnel development on granitic boulders on the foothills of Mount Kinabalu (Pinosuk Gravel Formation, Sabah, N Borneo)

Runnels are characteristic erosional features on karstified soluble rocks and can occasionally develop on less soluble rocks (i.e. sandstones and granites) but are poorly reported in Malaysia. This research summarizes boulder distribution, size, petrology and runnel morphology in a Pleistocene post-glacial mudflow on Mount Kinabalu. The goal is to investigate the runnel formation on granites. Colonization of boulders by cyanobacteria, mosses, lichens and higher plants is observed and related to rock surface meso-scale and micro-scale features. The coarse porphyritic texture of the granite contributes to the fragmentation and mechanical weathering of large K-feldspar crystals in the runnels. The damp runnel micro-environment is preferentially covered with mosses further enhancing weathering and erosion. As runnels deepen, the remnant protruding fins of rock weaken and may break off. The runnels are subaerial pseudokarst features, not the result of dissolution

Bayesian estimation of proportion and sensitivity level in randomized response procedures

Randomized response method, Proportion estimation, Sensitivity level estimation, Bayesian inference, Beta distribution mixture,