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Pollution of the North Sea pp 36–58Cite as

Geobiological Effects on the Mobility of Contaminants in Marine Sediments

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Abstract

The marine environment of the North Sea is the major receptacle of waste products introduced by atmospheric and river input from the adjacent highly industrialized countries. However, this environment is too readily assumed to represent an efficient and inert sink. This assumption is based mainly on the concept that the sea acts as an infinite dilutor of the introduced pollutants, and on the concept that most of the inorganic and organic pollutants will ultimately be buried at sea bottom, at least within distinct sediment accumulation areas such as the tidal flats, the inner German Bight, and Skagerrak basin. However, contaminated sediments encountered in such areas within the North Sea may pose a serious problem in the near future through potential secondary pollution effects with yet quite unknown release potential for the next decades. This chapter will review the increasing alarming evidence that such secondary pollution effects may indeed arise from marine deposits.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Arbeitsbereich Umweltschutztechnik, Technische Universität Hamburg-Harburg, Postfach 90 14 03, D-2100, Hamburg 90, Germany

    M. Kersten

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  1. M. Kersten
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Soil Fertility, Delft Hydraulics Laboratory, P.O. Box 30003, 9750 RA, Haren (Gr), The Netherlands

    Wim Salomons

  2. Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Prospect Place, The Hoe, Plymouth, PL 13 DH, UK

    Brian L. Bayne

  3. Netherland Institute for Sea Research, P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB, Den Burg/Texel, The Netherlands

    Egbert Klaas Duursma

  4. Arbeitsbereich Umweltschutztechnik, Technische Universität Hamburg-Harburg, Eißendorfer Str. 40, 2100, Hamburg 90, Fed. Rep. of Germany

    Ulrich Förstner

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Kersten, M. (1993). Geobiological Effects on the Mobility of Contaminants in Marine Sediments. In: Salomons, W., Bayne, B.L., Duursma, E.K., Förstner, U. (eds) Pollution of the North Sea. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-73709-1_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-73709-1_3

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