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Since seafood is a significant source of nutrients with known health benefits, its consumption is promoted as a healthy food choice. However, seafood can also contain potentially hazardous environmental pollutants. In the context of the ECsafeSEAFOOD FP7 project, FishChoice (www.fishchoice.eu) was developed as a communication tool to help to the consumers to take the most appropriate decisions on their seafood consumption habits. FishChoice relies on scientific information that allows calculating, on an individual basis, intakes of nutrients and pollutants derived from seafood consumption. In the framework of the EU-H2020 funded SEAFOODTOMORROW project, an optimized version of the online tool has been released. FishChoice is available in 25 EU languages with a customized list of seafood species per EU country, considering specific (national) consumption habits. The list of nutrients has been extended according to the latest EFSA recommendations, while pollutants data incorporate results from recent studies. The sustainability of seafood consumption has been also implemented, providing recommendations to help preserve the marine environment. Finally, FishChoice is suitable not only for consumers, but also health professionals, schools and academia, as well as the industrial sector and public health providers.

Data refer to export fluxes of carbonate produced by calcifying phytoplankton (coccolithophores), and coccolith-CaCO₃ percent contribution to total carbonate flux across the tropical North Atlantic, from upwelling affected NW Africa, via three ocean sites along 12°N to the Caribbean. Sampling was undertaken by means of a spatial array of four time-series sediment traps (i.e., CB at 21°N 20°W; M1U at 12°N 23°W; M2U at 14°N 37°W; M4U at 12°N 49°W; Guerreiro et al., 2021) collecting particle fluxes in two-week intervals, from October 2012 to February 2014, allowing to track temporal changes along the southern margin of the North Atlantic central gyre. Auxiliary PIC (Particulate Inorganic Carbon) data from NASA's Ocean Biology Processing Group (https://oceancolor.gsfc.nasa.gov) are also provided for the sediment sampling period at all four trap sites. Particle flux data (mg/m²/d) of CaCO₃, organic matter, particulate organic carbon (POC), biogenic silica (bSiO₂) and unspecified residual fraction are provided for sediment trap site CB.

Microplastics (MPs) are accessible for organisms with active filter feeding strategies, as are many marine molluscs, which live attached or semi-buried in sediments. In the present study, MPs (from 0.02 to 5 mm) concentration, morphology, and composition were determined in consumed mollusc species of the Catalan coast (NW Mediterranean Sea). Microplastic concentrations, morphologic characteristics and composition were studied according to species, catchment zones and depuration condition. Finally, human intake of MPs through molluscs' consumption was determined. >2300 individuals were analysed, being 1460 MPs extracted and their size, and polymeric composition registered. Big oysters and mussels showed the highest MPs concentration by individual, with levels of 22.8 ± 14.4 and 18.6 ± 23.0 MPs/individual, respectively. Mean annual MPs (≥20 μm) consumption for adult population was estimated in 8103 MPs/year, with a 95th percentile of 19,418 MPs/year. It suggests that the consumption of molluscs is an important route of MPs exposure for the Catalan population.

Parallel measurements performed on the Lock-In core, drilled on the East Antarctic plateau. All data characterize the gas trapping zone of the firn (where atmospheric gases are enclosed in polar ice), as well as the methane record below the close-off of the firn. The datasets include: - High-resolution density (cm scale variability resolved) - High-resolution liquid conductivity - High-resolution methane concentrations - Major ions in the firn ice - Closed porosity data obtained with the two independent methods of pycnometry and tomography.

Seafood, one of the most important food commodities consumed worldwide, is considered a high-quality, healthy, and safe food option. However, marine ecosystems are the ultimate destination for a large group of chemicals, including contaminants of emerging concern, and seafood consumption is a major pathway of human exposure. With growing awareness of food safety and food quality, and increased demand for information on the risk of contaminants of emerging concern, there is a need to assess food safety issues related to harmful contaminants in seafood and ensure the safety of marine food resources. In this study, the risks of emerging compounds (endocrine disruptors, brominated flame retardants, pharmaceuticals and personal care products, and toxic elements) in fish and seafood were analyzed according to their PBT (persistence, bioaccumulation, toxicity) properties as well as in terms of their concentration levels in seafood. A hazard index (HI) was estimated for each compound by applying an artificial neural network (ANN) approach known as Self-Organizing-Maps. Subsequently, an integrated risk rank (IRI) was developed considering the values of HI and the concentrations of emerging compounds in seafood species gathered from the scientific literature. Current results identified HHCB, MeHg, NP, AHTN and PBDE209 as the top five highest ranked compounds present in seafood, according to the 50th percentile (mean) of the IRI. However, this ranking slightly changed when taking into account the 99th percentile of the IRI, showing toxic elements, methylmercury and inorganic arsenic, as having the highest risk. The outcome of this study identified the priority contaminants and should help in regulatory decision-making and scientific panels to design screening programs as well as t

Here we present the data of a sequential extraction scheme, which aims to evaluate the effect of barite-bound Sr in the residual fraction after decarbonation. The investigation is done with pertinent examples for Mediterranean sediments, focusing on the most-recent sapropel S1 interval. A total of 130 samples were taken from 10 cores in the eastern Mediterranean Sea (EMS) and 1 core in the western Mediterranean Sea. This selection represents a geographic and bathymetric coverage of the EMS and permits the basin-wide comparison between organic-rich and -lean sediments. After decarbonation using 1 M HCl solution, the residual sediments were subject to NH4Cl extraction (2 M, pH 7), known to selectively dissolve barite. Our results demonstrate the presence of Sr-bearing barite after traditional carbonate removal and its effect on the derived “detrital” Sr signature, with important implications for detrital provenance studies.

Here we present data of multiple types of fish debris in a composite record covering the last 25 kyr BP. The fish debris include fish scales, vertebrae and other bones. We also include 4 preservation indices, total organic carbon and carbonate fluxes.

Tropospheric ozone (O3) concentrations depend on a combination of hemispheric, regional, and local-scale processes. Estimates of how much O3 is produced locally vs. transported from further afield are essential in air quality management and regulatory policies. Here, a tagged-ozone mechanism within the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with chemistry (WRF-Chem) is used to quantify the contributions to surface O3 in the UK from anthropogenic nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from inside and outside the UK during May–August 2015. The contribution of the different source regions to three regulatory O3 metrics is also examined. It is shown that model simulations predict the concentration and spatial distribution of surface O3 with a domain-wide mean bias of −3.7 ppbv. Anthropogenic NOx emissions from the UK and Europe account for 13 % and 16 %, respectively, of the monthly mean surface O3 in the UK, as the majority (71 %) of O3 originates from the hemispheric background. Hemispheric O3 contributes the most to concentrations in the north and the west of the UK with peaks in May, whereas European and UK contributions are most significant in the east, south-east, and London, i.e. the UK's most populated areas, intensifying towards June and July. Moreover, O3 from European sources is generally transported to the UK rather than produced in situ. It is demonstrated that more stringent emission controls over continental Europe, particularly in western Europe, would be necessary to improve the health-related metric MDA8 O3 above 50 and 60 ppbv. Emission controls over larger areas, such as the Northern Hemisphere, are instead required to lessen the impacts on ecosystems as quantified by the AOT40 metric.

The importance of ciguatoxins (CTXs) in seafood safety and their emerging occurrence in locations far away from tropical areas highlight the need for simple and low-cost methods for the sensitive and rapid detection of these potent marine toxins to protect seafood consumers. Herein, an electrochemical immunosensor for the detection of CTXs is presented. A sandwich configuration is proposed, using magnetic beads (MBs) as immobilization supports for two capture antibodies, with their combination facilitating the detection of CTX1B, CTX3C, 54-deoxyCTX1B, and 51-hydroxyCTX3C. PoIyHRP-streptavidin is used for the detection of the biotinylated detector antibody. Experimental conditions are first optimized using colorimetry, and these conditions are subsequently used for electrochemical detection on electrode arrays. Limits of detection at the pg/mL level are achieved for CTX1B and 5 1-hydroxyCTX3C. The applicability of the immunosensor to the analysis of fish samples is demonstrated, attaining detection of CTX1B at contents as low as 0.01 mu g/kg and providing results in correlation with those obtained using mouse bioassay (MBA) and cell-based assay (CBA), and confirmed by liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-HRMS). This user-friendly bioanalytical tool for the rapid detection of CTXs can be used to mitigate ciguatera risk and contribute to the protection of consumer health.