Effects of bottom trawling on trace metal contamination of sediments along the submarine canyons of the Gulf of Palermo (southwestern Mediterranean)
Document Type
Journal Article
Publication Title
Science of The Total Environment
Volume
814
Publisher
Elsevier
School
School of Science
RAS ID
51959
Funders
European Commission
Seventh Framework Programme Eurofleets2 (Grant no. 312762)
Assessment of Bottom-trawling Impacts in Deep-sea Sediments” (ABIDES) Spanish Research Project (CTM2015-65142-R)
Spanish Research Project ABRIC (RTI2018-096434-B-I00), grant 2017 SGR 863 of the Generalitat de Catalunya
Marine and Environmental Biogeosciences grant SGR- 1588 of the Generalitat de Catalunya
This work contributes to the Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence of the Institute of Marine Sciences (CEX2019-000928-S) and the Maria de Maetzu “Unit of Excellence” of the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (CEX2019-000940-M), H2020 MSC Action HABISS (GA 890815)
Abstract
Submarine canyons are preferential pathways for transport of particulate matter and contaminants from the shelf to the deep sea. The Gulf of Palermo continental margin has a very narrow shelf (about 2–3 km wide on average) and is incised by several submarine canyons that favour shelf-slope sediment transfer. A sediment core collected on the outer shelf and six sediment cores taken at different depths along the Oreto, Eleuterio and Anerella submarine canyons were analysed to study the transfer and historical record of trace metal contamination in the Gulf of Palermo continental margin. Trace metals, major elements, organic carbon and sediment grain size were analysed in these cores, which were dated with 210Pb to assess their historical compositional evolution since the late 19th century. Hg, Pb, Cu, Zn and Cd content increased until the 1970s and 1980s, associated with the increase in urbanization and industrial activities in the Palermo area, and Hg was the contaminant that reached the highest enrichments. However, the increasing trend of these metals contamination was reversed in the 1970s and 1980s, coinciding with drastic changes in the terrigenous content and grain size of sediments in the canyon axes. These changes occurred when bottom trawling fleets expanded to deeper fishing grounds equipped with powerful trawlers around the Gulf of Palermo canyon heads and flanks and along the Oreto canyon axis. Bottom trawlers have resuspended large amounts of sediment, which have been transferred into the canyons since the 1970s and 1980s and have thus increased sediment accumulation rates. This resuspended sediment has been mixing with the sediment transferred and accumulated along the canyons, diluting and reducing its trace metal contamination levels since the expansion of the bottom trawling fleets.
DOI
10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.152658
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Comments
Palanques, A., Paradis, S., Puig, P., Masqué, P., & Iacono, C. L. (2022). Effects of bottom trawling on trace metal contamination of sediments along the submarine canyons of the Gulf of Palermo (southwestern Mediterranean). Science of The Total Environment, 814, 152658.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.152658