title: Historical pattern and mass balance of trace metals in sediments of the northwestern Adriatic Sea Shelf.
abstract: In view of the recent action in Marine Strategy Framework Directive, reconstructing the history of anthropogenic metal inputs and calculating the budgets for the northwestern part of the Italian Adriatic basin can provide a benchmark for comparison with new evidences and enlighten recent environmental changes. Among the metals, the attention was focused on Pb and Zn, as they provide the most significant anthropogenic signals. In 1988, areal distributions clearly identified the Po, Adige and Brenta rivers as the main sources of contaminants. The study area was divided in three compartments. The area in front of the Po delta represented a sink for metals but the accumulation of Zn and Pb integrated over the entire study area suggests an effective export throughout southern boundary. Most concentration-depth/year profiles in cores showed an upward increase from the Italian Unification (1861), with a still significant anthropogenic supply at the time of sampling.
authors.affiliation: CNR - Istituto di Scienze Marine, UOS Bologna, Via Gobetti 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy. Electronic address: stefania.romano@bo.ismar.cnr.it.
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Romano
authors.forename: Leonardo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Langone
authors.forename: Mauro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Frignani
authors.forename: Sonia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Albertazzi
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Focaccia
authors.forename: Luca Giorgio
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Bellucci
authors.forename: Mariangela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ravaioli
mesh_terms: D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry*; D008522:Mediterranean Sea; D008670:Metals / Q000032:analysis*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*; D014877:Water Pollution, Chemical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
chemical_list: D008670:Metals; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Budgets; Historical trends; Metals; Northern Adriatic Sea; Sediments