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The coupling of scientific evidence from sediment cores with historical information represents an effective way to reconstruct and quantify recent anthropogenic impacts in transitional and marine-coastal areas. These are both key points pertaining to studies that aim at establishing the responsibility for envi ronmental pollution. Good practices for the selection of sampling sites and specific survey techniques are fundamental to understand pollution histories and dynamics, together with reliable dating methods and analytical procedures. In addition, a certain degree of flexibility and willingness to explore different research pathways is necessary, particularly when unexpected questions arise from scientific data or from requests posed by authorities in charge of preliminary investigations or court debates. In this paper, two different study cases are reviewed, and the approaches developed to tackle with specific issues are presented. Its main purpose is both to explain study paths undertaken to answer challenging scientific-legal questions and to provide examples for developing countries that present similar risks of uncontrolled industrialization. Results were used in preliminary investigations or court debates for the attribution of responsibility for environmental pollution to past or present industrial managements. In addition, they were fundamental for other studies aiming at implementing models that simulate the fate and distribution of contaminants and human exposure. In the Augusta Harbor, an integrated approach merged archive information, bathymetry, and high-resolution seismic profiles with the results of an independent tracer (hexachlorobenzene, HCB). This approach helped attribute the presence of high surficial Hg concentrations to resuspension and redistribution of deep sediments caused by dredging and maritime traffic and not to active outfalls. In the Venice Lagoon, an extensive literature search supported analytical results for the correct identification of industrial processes responsible for the contamination by polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and furans (PCDD/Fs) in the canals of the Porto Marghera Industrial Area. In addition, sedimentary profiles of PCDD/Fs in local salt marshes ("barene") recorded well the events relative to the industrial development and management of the area reported by historical documents, confirming their potential for this kind of investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a high-resolution palaeomagnetic and rock magnetic study of two cores, MS06 and MS06-SW (6.7 and 1.1 m long, respectively), collected at 72 m below sea level in the Augusta Bay shelf (Eastern Sicily, Ionian Sea, Italy) about 2.3 km from the coastline. Geophysical surveying carried out in the sampling area highlighted the presence of a homogeneous sedimentary sequence that most likely was deposited after the Last Glacial Maximum and was not affected by anthropogenic disturbances. The two cores penetrated a monotonous mud sedimentary sequence, interrupted at ∼3 m depth by a 3-4-cm-thick volcanic sandy layer that is correlated with the tephra fallout deposit produced by the 122 BC plinian eruption of Mt Etna. This tephra, along with radiocarbon dating of nine marine shells and with radioactive tracers for the uppermost 0.3 m (Pb and Cs), provide the chronological constraints for the stratigraphic sequence that resulted younger than 4500 yr BP. Palaeomagnetic and rock magnetic data show that the sample sequence is magnetically homogeneous. A single peak of high magnetic mineral concentration is present and corresponds to the volcanic sandy layer. Palaeomagnetic data allowed the identification of a well-defined characteristic remanent magnetization that provides a high-resolution record of palaeosecular variation (PSV) at the sampling site. The reconstructed PSV curve is in good agreement with the available regional reference PSV curves and with the prediction from recent PSV modelling for Europe. The palaeomagnetic data obtained in this study on the one hand support and refine the age model for the cores, derived from other independent constraints, and on the other hand provide an original high-resolution PSV curve that can serve as a reference for the central Mediterranean over the last 4 ka. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were measured in a sediment core from the tropical freshwater inner lagoon of Las Matas, near the petroleum industrial area of Minatitlán-Coatzacoalcos, in the Gulf of Mexico. A 210Pb-derived chronology was used to reconstruct the historical PAH and PCB accumulation in the site during one century (1906–2005). Both geochemical and sedimentological data indicated that a major change occurred in 1947±4, including a shift to coarser sediments and a significant decrease of Al, Li, Fe, organic C and total N contents. This was likely due to the changes in hydrology caused by the confinement of Las Matas Lagoon due to the construction of the Trans-Isthmus road in 1946. PAHs in these samples show relatively low concentrations (259–1176ngg−1), and the congener relative abundances indicate the influence of pyrogenic (petroleum combustion) sources. Total PCB concentrations in the sediments ranged from 24 to 77ngg−1, and are composed by low chlorinated PCBs, with 3- and 4-CB as the prevalent species (51–65% and 29–40%, respectively). PAHs and PCBs were detected at depths corresponding to the early 1900s, when Minatitlán refinery started operations, although their time evolution appears to be influenced by different accumulation processes. The PCB background is most likely produced by the combustion of natural organic matter, and an industrial contribution can be recognized when normalizing with OC contents. We concluded that atmospheric deposition is the most significant source of PAHs and PCBs for this water body. This study also provided evidence of the alteration of the wetlands surrounding this industrial area due to urbanization; the fragmentation and alteration of Las Matas Lagoon hydrology contributes to the gradual loss of the wetlands in the zone. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]