The Aristeia (“Excellence”) Project for the “Integrated study of trace metals biogeochemistry in the coastal marine environment”

Abstract

Trace Metals have attracted significant scientific interest due to their wide dispersal in the environment, their provenance from a variety of natural and anthropogenic sources, and their toxicity to biota and humans. European Environmental issues and related policies, such as, the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), the Water Framework Directive (WFD), the Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) Adaptation protocol, the Horizon 2020, the REACH EU regulatory framework etc., refer to trace metal distributions, speciation and behavior. The understanding the environmental biogeochemical cycling of metals that include their sources and sinks, as well as their transport and interaction patterns requires sound knowledge of their chemical speciation which is also useful for assessing the impacts of pollutants to the overall ecosystem functioning including their toxicity and bioavilability. The Aristeia (“Excellence”) project aimed to elucidate the trends in trace metal pollution of a notorious hot spot coastal areas (The Gulf of Elefsis as well as the Evoikos Gulf) and evaluate the effectiveness of measures and policies that have been applied for the reduction/prevention of pollution of the coastal zone. Furthermore we aimed to identify in detail the current environmental status of these areas including potential risks for the ecosystem and human health and compare them with past records. Finally through the Dissemination Actions we aimed to communicate these results to local stakeholders and the general public.