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This paper presents the state-of-the-art research conducted as part of EN.I.R.I.S.S.T. regarding the emerging impact of shipping and transport to the environment. More specifically, it presents the digital platforms and services that are developed as part of the research infrastructure and are related to environmental sciences. The first is the “EcoMarpol Platform”, which caters for collecting and analyzing pollution-driven data as well as calculating the environmental imprint (atmospheric emissions, waste production, chemical pollution of marine waters and sediments) of maritime activities. This platform additionally includes the online monitoring of in-port emissions from shipping and pollution from ship-to-ship transfer operations or accidents and the environmental risk assessment management. The other platform is the “Passenger Sustainable Travel Platform”, as part of which a tool for calculating aircraft emissions (CO2 and air pollutants) will be developed and applied in the Greek airspace and airports.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were investigated in surficial sediments collected from 39 stations in the open Aegean Sea, in order to assess their occurrence, distribution and major sources. Total PAH concentrations were generally low, comparable to those reported in relatively unpolluted marine areas. The highest values were recorded in the northern part Aegean Sea, which apparently receives more anthropogenic inputs both from continental runoff and atmospheric deposition. Several diagnostic criteria were used to investigate PAHs’ origin. Their molecular profile reveals contributions from both pyrolytic and petrogenic sources, with their relative importance displaying significant regional variability. Phenanthrenes, which are known to mostly originate from unburned fossil fuels were found in percentages higher than 50% in the Central part of Aegean Sea and their occurence was correlated with the marine traffic in the area. The PAH concentrations are significantly correlated with the total organic carbon (TOC) content of sediments, which indicates that the latter exerts an important control on their transport and ultimate accumulation in sediments

Herein we examine the spatial and temporal imprint of the September 2017 Agia Zoni II tanker heavy fuel oil spill on the marine ecosystem of the Saronikos Gulf, Greece. Based on the chemical fingerprinting approach, by means of gas chromatography - flame ionization detector and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and the use of various diagnostic ratios, we characterize changes in the composition of the spilled oil across sampling sites and evaluate major mechanisms affecting its fate i.e. dissolution/dispersion, evaporation, biodegradation, photo-oxidation and sediment accumulation during the first six months from the spill. Overall, the main effects of the incident were confined to the coastal zone during the first three months after the spill, where an extended petroleum imprint was recorded in many cases with determined total petroleum hydrocarbons and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons concentrations falling within the highest range of concentrations previously reported in similar oil spill incidents worldwide. In the first three months following the spill the oil was affected by a combination of rapid biodegradation, volatilization processes and photodegradation, the later playing a role in its early days weathering. Regarding sediments, an imprint related to the incident was recorded in some cases but mild in respect to the high chronic petroleum-associated anthropogenic background of the affected area.