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This work deals with an environmental issue affecting particularly the Mediterranean coastal countries, that of dredges handling, and investigates how it is nationally designed and regulated. The described legislative frames are based upon relevant European regulatory systems and highlight the differences in the legislation between the Northern European and the Mediterranean countries. The report has been based on legal information supplied by specific national dredging policies that are considered accurate. Each European coastal region has developed its own dredging management system for port areas, taking into consideration its special needs and regional characteristics. In comparison with the North, it is scoped that the Southern areas are barren of a general legal dredging plan, dealing with dredges and their disposal, and consequently, they follow non-cohered practices. The Mediterranean Sea is surrounded by many countries with different legal strategies; however, its physical protection and its sustainable development could be achieved only by following a unified and well-planned approach. The establishment of a Mediterranean regulatory framework adopting some of the existing relative legislative formulas will ensure the sustainability of dredges exploitation and their proper disposal at a non-border level.

The method of Levenberg-Marquardt learning algorithm was investigated for estimating tropospheric ozone concentration. The Levenberg-Marquardt learning algorithm has 12 input neurons (6 pollutants and 6 meteorological variables), 28 neurons in the hidden layer, and 1 output neuron for the Ozone (O3) estimate. The Multilayer Perceptron Model (MLP) performance was found to make good predictions with the mean square error (MSE) less than 1 µg/m3 (0.002 µg/m3). In addition, the correlation coefficient ranges from 0.74 to 0.95 in The Levenberg-Marquardt learning. The Levenberg-Marquardt learning algorithm that a multilayer perception method of Artificial Neural Network (ANN) has performed well and an effective approach for predicting tropospheric ozone. Ozone concentration was influenced predominantly by the nitrogen oxide (NOx, NO2, NO), SO2 and temperature. The model did not predict solar radiation to ozone with sufficient accuracy.

In this study, chemical composition of coarse (PM2.5-10) and fine (PM2.5) aerosols and their seasonal characteristics was used to investigate factors affecting seasonal variations in concentrations of species. Concentrations of 17 trace elements and SO42- were determined in coarse and fine aerosol samples collected at a high altitude (1115 m above sea level) site (Torul, 40°32’34”N 39°16’57”E) between March 2011 to November 2012 on the Eastern Black Sea region of Turkey. The samples were analyzed by energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) using an Oxford ED–2000 Spectrometer. Measured concentrations varied between approximately 0.40 ± 0.7 ng m-3 for As and 2070 ± 1270 ng m-3 for SO42-. Soil-derived elements, Al, Si, K, Ca, Ti, V and Fe, had higher concentrations in the coarse fraction as expected. The results indicated that concentrations of elements showed well-defined seasonal variations. Crustal elements showed higher concentration in summer. Na, which is an element generally associated with sea salt had also higher concentrations in summer season, suggesting a strong crustal contribution to Na concentration at our station. Anthropogenic elements As, Zn, Pb and Cr had comparable concentrations in both seasons. Cu, Ni, and V, had higher concentrations in winter season due to sources close to sampling point. Crustal enrichment factors of Ni, Cu, Cr, As, Pb, Zn and SO42- varied between 12 for Ni and 800 for SO42-. Upper atmospheric flow climatology showed that most frequent flow direction was the sector between West and North, indicating the regions between these wind sectors are the potential source regions for the observed levels of species.

The determination of organotin compounds (OTCs) in environmental matrices has been subject to great scientific attention during last years, as the accuracy and sensitivity of analytical methods need to be improved in order to be able to detect the compounds of interest in a complex matrix such as sediment. The European Union Water Framework Directive (2013/39/EU) sets very restrictive environmental quality standards for 45 priority substances and other pollutants, including OTCs. Therefore, it is necessary to develop analytical methods in compliance with the environmental quality standard (EQSs) proposed to protect the aquatic environment and human beings. So far various analytical procedures have been used, including gas chromatographic analyses. Most of these methods comprise different steps such as extraction, derivatisation, clean up and the use of several sophisticated instrumentations, as well. Among them the conversion of tributyltin into Sn to allow its determination by Atomic Absorption Spectrometry or Anodic Stripping Voltammetry (AVS) has also been attempted. A great number of studies have been performed on OTCs analysis in marine sediment. However, the only review available in literature discussing the upgrades of analytical methods is dated back to 1997. We reviewed the analytical procedures and discussed them comparatively in order to identify the current state-of-the-art in OTCs detection. Finally, environmental concerns about OTCs were discussed.