Development of a comprehensive multidisciplinary approach for monitoring marine port environments

Monitoring is an essential tool to understand the environment, periodically check processes in place, and highlight the occurrence of natural or human-induced changes, especially in case of anthropic environments, such as ports and their water bodies. To ensure that as much information as possible is collected, monitoring plans need to be implemented analyzing multiple matrices and parameters simultaneously. This study presents a comprehensive monitoring approach targeting physical water parameters and traditional and emerging contaminants (metals, hydrocarbons, asbestos fibers, organic micro-contaminants, pharmaceuticals, and pesticides), along with their ecotoxicological impacts in port marine environments, applied to the Port of Genoa (NW Italy). Two monitoring sites with differing characteristics regarding marine hydrodynamics, port activities, freshwater inflows, and vessel traffic were selected and compared. Organic contaminants and metals were analyzed through direct seawater measurements and passive samplers; sediments were chemically and mineralogically characterized; and ecotoxicological tests were conducted. Hydrodynamic conditions and water physical parameters were measured and correlated with chemical results. Detailed characterization of the two port sites was performed. Hydrodynamic activity was higher at Site 2, whereas higher concentrations of Fe were observed in seawater (Site 1 > Site 2), sediments (Site 1 ≫ Site 2), and DGT samplers (Site 1 > Site 2). Caffeine, cocaine, and anti-inflammatory pharmaceuticals were detected at both sites, but with higher concentration in Site 2. Slight differences in toxicity levels were observed between the two sites. The proposed monitoring approach proved effective for characterizing the port basin and revealing significative differences between the two sites.