(Press-News.org) The Estero de Domingo Rubio wetland, located near the Marismas del Odiel Natural Area in the Huelva estuary, is regionally, nationally and internationally protected thanks to its ecological value. However, its tributary rivers and the Ría de Huelva estuary pump manmade pollutants into it, which could affect its water quality and ecosystem.
Industrial activity, accumulations of dangerous waste, the expansion of farming, and excessive extraction of sand and gravel for the construction industry are the leading threats to the Estero de Domingo Rubio wetland, the tidal system of which plays a "crucial" role in transporting and dispersing pollutants.
The wetland is "periodically flooded with high levels of dissolved elements such as copper (Cu), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), cobalt (Co), chrome (Cr), nickel (Ni) and zinc (Zn), which come from the water entering the estuary, which is affected by pollution from the mining industry", Cinta Barba-Brioso, co-author of the study and a researcher at the University of Seville (US), tells SINC.
The study, which has recently been published in the Marine Pollution Bulletin, shows that the wetland's tidal channel also receives acid lixiviates (liquid pollutants) that come from the dumping of sulphurous waste, industrial waste outflow pipes, and abandoned chemical plants, which all contribute to its metallic "enrichment".
Barba-Brioso says: "Agriculture is another significant source of diffuse contamination in the wetland" with nitrates and phosphates entering through agricultural runoff. "Domingo Rubio also receives inflows of phosphates from the Huelva estuary from the phosphogypsum stacks on the right hand banks of the Tinto river", the researcher explains.
Agriculture also generates pesticide concentrations in the water that "generally exceed the vulnerability levels set for wetlands by the European Commission (CCEE)", she stresses. "This contamination by agrochemicals could be prevented if there was greater control over the inflow of herbicides and fertilisers".
An altered ecosystem
Previous studies have used molecular biomarkers to document the biological consequences of pollution in the area and its effects on soils and plants in the wetland region.
To this must be added the alteration to local hydrodynamics, which has "a negative effect on the ecosystem, modifies the natural levels of heavy elements in it, and puts the wildlife communities that live in it at risk", points out Barba-Brioso.
The construction of roads has formed hydrological barriers in the upper parts of the Estero de Domingo Rubio, meaning the wetland now has two distinct hydrological and environmental areas – one marshland zone, with abundant halophile vegetation (characteristic of saline soils), and a lagoon zone – with aquatic and riverbank vegetation.
"Both of these zones are drained by a network of ephemeral tributaries, which are affected by intensively irrigated crops and industrial activities", the researcher says. The lagoon area and the streams in the river basin are "also affected by the lixiviates from this intensive agriculture, above all from the strawberry farming that is carried out in the area", the scientist explains.
However, the researchers say that hydrological restoration and environmental improvement work is currently being carried out in the area of the Estero lagoon by the Junta de Andalucía regional government and the European Union by means of the European Regional Development Fund.
INFORMATION:
References
Barba-Brioso, C.; Fernández-Caliani, J.C.; Miras, A.; Cornejo, J.; Galán, E. "Multi-source water pollution in a highly anthropized wetland system associated with the estuary of Huelva (SW Spain)" Marine Pollution Bulletin 60(8): 1259-1269, agosto de 2010.
Heavy metals and pesticides threaten a Huelva wetland
2011-01-15
[Attachments] See images for this press release:
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Tractors rolling over is top cause of agricultural deaths
2011-01-15
The people in Spain at greatest risk of suffering farming accidents are those aged over 65, followed by people under 16 and people from outside the agricultural sector. These are the results of a study by the Public University of Navarre (UPNA), which shows that most of these deaths are due to people being crushed by tractors.
"Aside from recognised farming workers, other employees die in this sector and these deaths are not recorded. Our objective was to compare the real and official data on fatal farming accidents and to classify the most commonly associated risks", ...
Bioactive compounds in berries can reduce high blood pressure
2011-01-15
Eating blueberries can guard against high blood pressure, according to new research by the University of East Anglia (UEA) and Harvard University.
High blood pressure – or hypertension – is one of the major cardiovascular diseases worldwide. It leads to stroke and heart disease and costs more than $300 billion each year. Around a quarter of
the adult population is affected globally – including 10 million people in the UK and one in three US adults.
Published next month in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the new findings show that bioactive compounds in ...
Dramatic ocean circulation changes revealed
2011-01-15
The unusually cold weather this winter has been caused by a change in the winds.
Instead of the typical westerly winds warmed by Atlantic surface ocean currents, cold northerly Arctic winds are influencing much of Europe.
However, scientists have long suspected that far more severe and longer-lasting cold intervals have been caused by changes to the circulation of the warm Atlantic ocean currents themselves.
Now new research led by Cardiff University, with scientists in the UK and US, reveals that these ocean circulation changes may have been more dramatic than ...
Interactive window shopping
2011-01-15
A woman passing by the window display is captivated and asks her companion "Isn't the leather bag chic?" "Which one do you mean? There are so many of them." The woman points to one of the bags and as if by magic the luxurious purse appears on a display behind the shop window. Then she points to a button and the designer object rotates on the screen. "So that's what it looks like from the back." The woman passing by is impressed. She makes another gesture to zoom the bag towards her letting her to see every detail.
This particular shopping experience is courtesy of new ...
Measles virus plays role in Paget's disease of bone, Pitt-led team says
2011-01-15
PITTSBURGH, Jan. 14 – A gene from the measles virus plays a key role in the development of Paget's disease of bone, according to a team of researchers led by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Their findings, recently published in Cell Metabolism, confirm a long-held speculation that the childhood infection is an environmental trigger for the disease and reveal how the viral gene contributes to the development of its characteristic bone lesions.
"Our earlier work showed that bone cells called osteoclasts in about 70 percent of these patients contain a certain ...
Learning while driving
2011-01-15
The days are long gone when all you needed to be a truck driver was a heavy goods vehicle license and the ability to read a map. Nowadays it is a skilled occupation which requires lots of qualifications. Modern truck drivers have to operate electronic devices, adapt their routes expertly to the given traffic and loading situation, know how to drive fuel-efficiently, be up to date with statutory regulations and monitor the safety of their load. Then there is all the complex legislation introduced at EU level. What's more, drivers who make trips to other countries also need ...
Enhanced early childhood education pays long-term dividends in better health
2011-01-15
January 14, 2011 -- Intensive early education programs for low-income children have been shown to yield numerous educational benefits, but few studies have looked more broadly at their impact on health and health behaviors. A new study conducted by researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health examines this issue, using data from a the well-known Carolina Abecedarian Project (ABC), a randomized control study that enrolled 111 infants in the 1970s and continued to follow them through age 21. Researchers found that individuals who had received the ...
Improved measurements of sun to advance understanding of climate change
2011-01-15
WASHINGTON—Scientists have taken a major step toward accurately determining the amount of energy that the sun provides to Earth, and how variations in that energy may contribute to climate change.
In a new study of laboratory and satellite data, researchers report a lower value of that energy, known as total solar irradiance, than previously measured and demonstrate that the satellite instrument that made the measurement—which has a new optical design and was calibrated in a new way—has significantly improved the accuracy and consistency of such measurements.
The new ...
Researchers discover way to halt lung inflammation in animal models
2011-01-15
AURORA, Colo. (Jan. 14, 2011) - Acute inflammation of the lung is a poorly recognized human disease that develops in surprising and unexpected ways. The acute lung injury (ALI) or adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a vital new concern for soldiers, but it can develop in anyone during a systemic infection, after severe trauma, as a result of bone fracture, following severe burns and in many other ways as well-- the initial cause may have nothing apparent to do with the lung itself. However, an answer to halting lung inflammation may have been discovered, thanks ...
Study finds fisheries management makes coral reefs grow faster
2011-01-15
An 18-year study of Kenya's coral reefs by the Wildlife Conservation Society and the University of California at Santa Cruz has found that overfished reef systems have more sea urchins—organisms that in turn eat coral algae that build tropical reef systems.
By contrast, reef systems closed to fishing have fewer sea urchins—the result of predatory fish keeping urchins under control—and higher coral growth rates and more structure.
The paper appears in the December 2010 issue of the scientific journal Ecology. The authors include Jennifer O'Leary of the University of ...