Reconstruction of metal pollution and recent sedimentation processes in Havana Bay (Cuba): A tool for coastal ecosystem management

Historical trends of organochlorine pesticides in a sediment core from the Gulf of Batabanó, Cuba

“…For the missing 239,240 Pu data, the activity was estimated by interpolating the activities of the two neighbour layers. The 239,240 Pu total inventory was 27 Bq m À2 for Coloma Estuary, which is in good agreement with the expected Pu inventory (15 to 42 Bq m À2 ) from global fallout in the Cuban region (Diaz-Asencio et al, 2011;Alonso-Hernández et al, 2012). This result suggests that the area was not highly affected by sediment focusing or erosion.…”

One century of sedimentation and Hg pollution at the mouth of the Sagua la Grande River (Cuba)

“…The 210 Pb ex fluxes were 127 ± 10 and 125 ± 7 Bq m -2 yr -1 in cores 8 and 12, respectively, and 90 ± 7 and 116 ± 12 Bq m -2 yr -1 in cores 18 and 19, respectively. In general, the values are lower than those reported by Alonso-Hernández et al (2006) for Cienfuegos Bay and by Díaz-Asencio et al (2011) for Havana Bay, but are within the range reported by Henderson et al (1999) for the Bahamas (74-147 Bq m -2 yr -1 ) and by Robbins et al (2000) for Florida Bay (100-133 Bq m -2 yr -1 ).…”

“…In the 5-9.5 cm section, 210 Pb ex activity was similar. As this behavior indicates increases in sedimentation in short time periods (Alonso-Hernández et al 2006, Díaz-Asencio et al 2011, it was considered a homogenous segment. The mean MAR were 1.9 ± 0.2 and 0.7 ± 0.1 kg m -2 yr -1 above and below the homogenous segment, respectively.…”

Impact of Herbivory, Structural Complexity, and Sediment on Caribbean Coral Reefs

“…Bay was considered one of the 10 most polluted bays on Earth, containing high concentrations of lead, zinc, selenium, and mercury along with heavy loads of organic sediment (Armenteros et al 2009, Diaz-Asencio et al 2011. Exposure to high sedimentation and high concentrations of nutrients and heavy metals can negatively affect growth, photosynthesis, fertilization, larval survival, and the microbiome of corals (Gilmour 1999, Jessen et al 2013, Tout et al 2015 the worst with more than 75% of corals bleached (Table D2, Alcolado 2006, Alcolado andIglesias 2010).…”