Impaired benthic macrofauna function 4 years after sediment capping with activated carbon in the Grenland fjords, Norway.

ABSTRACT: The sediments in the Grenland fjords in southern Norway are heavily contaminated by large emissions of dioxins and mercury from historic industrial activities. As a possible in situ remediation option, thin-layer sediment surface capping with powdered activated carbon (AC) mixed with clay was applied at two large test sites (10,000 and 40,000 m²) at 30-m and 95-m depths, respectively, in 2009. This paper describes the long-term biological effects of the AC treatment on marine benthic communities up to 4 years after treatment. Our results show that the capping with AC strongly reduced the benthic species diversity, abundance, and biomass by up to 90%. Vital functions in the benthic ecosystem such as particle reworking and bioirrigation of the sediment were also reduced, analyzed

SUBMITTER: Raymond C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7969561 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature