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Climate change is expected to alter global temperature and precipitation patterns resulting in complex environmental impacts. The proposed higher precipitation in northern Scandinavia would increase runoff from land, hence increase the inflow of terrestrial dissolved organic matter (tDOM) in coastal regions. This could promote heterotrophic bacterial production and shift the food web structure, by favoring the microbial food web. The altered climate is also expected to affect transport and availability of organic micropollutants (MPs), with downstream effects on exposure and accumulation in biota. This study aimed to assess climate-induced changes in a Bothnian Sea food web structure as well as bioaccumulation patterns of MPs. We performed a mesocosms-study, focusing on aquatic food webs with fish as top predator. Alongside increased temperature, mesocosm treatments included tDOM and MP addition. The tDOM addition affected nutrient availability and boosted both phytoplankton and heterotrophic bacteria in our fairly shallow mesocosms. The increased tDOM further benefitted flagellates, ciliates and mesozooplankton, while the temperature increase and MP addition had minor effect on those organism groups. Temperature, on the other hand, had a negative impact on fish growth and survival, whereas tDOM and MP addition only had minor impact on fish. Moreover, there were indications that bioaccumulation of MPs in fish either increased with tDOM addition or decreased at higher temperatures. If there was an impact on bioaccumulation, moderately lipophilic MPs (log Kow 3.6 - 4.6) were generally affected by tDOM addition and more lipophilic MPs (log Kow 3.8 to 6.4) were generally affected by increased temperature. This study suggest that both increased temperatures and addition of tDOM likely will affect bioaccumulation patterns of MPs in shallow coastal regions, albeit with counteracting effects.

Climate change has been projected to cause increased temperature and amplified inflows of terrestrial organic matter to coastal areas in northern Europe. Consequently, changes at the base of the food web favoring heterotrophic bacteria over phytoplankton are expected, affecting the food web structure. We tested this hypothesis using an outdoor shallow mesocosm system in the northern Baltic Sea in early summer, where the effects of increased temperature (+ 3°C) and terrestrial matter inputs were studied following the system dynamics and conducting grazing experiments. Juvenile perch constituted the highest trophic level in the system, which exerted strong predation on the zooplankton community. Perch subsequently released the microbial food web from heavy grazing by mesozooplankton. Addition of terrestrial matter had a stronger effect on the microbial food web than the temperature increase, because terrestrial organic matter and accompanying nutrients promoted both heterotrophic bacterial production and phytoplankton primary production. Moreover, due to the shallow water column in the experiment, terrestrial matter addition did not reduce the light below the photosynthesis saturation level, and in these conditions, the net-autotrophy was strengthened by terrestrial matter enrichment. In combination with elevated temperature, the terrestrial matter addition effects were intensified, further shifting the size distribution of the microbial food web base from picoplankton to microphytoplankton. These changes up the food web led to increase in the biomass and proportion of large-sized ciliates (>60 µm) and rotifers. Despite the shifts in the microbial food web size structure, grazing experiments suggested that the pathway from picoplankton to nano- and microzooplankton constituted the major energy flow in all treatments. The study implies that the microbial food web compartments in shallow coastal waters will adjust to climate induced increased inputs of terrestrial matter and elevated temperature, and that the major energy path will flow from picoplankton to large-sized ciliates during the summer period.

Building related health effects or symptoms (BRS), known also as sick-building syndrome (SBS), are a phenomenon that is not well understood. In this study, air samples from 51 rooms associated with BRS and 34 control rooms were collected on multi-sorbent tubes and analyzed by a non-target approach using comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography and high-resolution mass spectrometry techniques. The large amount of data gathered was analyzed using multivariate statistics (principle component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares (PLS)).

This new analysis approach revealed that in rooms where people experienced BRS, petrochemicals and chemicals emitted from plastics were abundant, whereas in rooms where people did not experience BRS, flavor and fragrance compounds were abundant. Among the petrochemicals benzene and 2-butoxyethanol were found in higher levels in rooms where people experienced BRS. The levels of limonene were sometimes in the range of reported odor thresholds, and similarly 3-carene and beta-myrcene were found in higher concentrations in indoor air of rooms where people did not experience BRS. It cannot be ruled out that these compounds may have influenced the perceived air quality. However, the overall variability in air concentrations was large and it was not possible to accurately predict if the air in a particular room could cause BRS or not.

The consumption of pharmaceuticals worldwide coupled with modest removal efficiencies of sewage treatment plants have resulted in the presence of pharmaceuticals in aquatic systems globally. In this study, we investigated the environmental concentrations of a selection of 93 pharmaceuticals in 43 locations in the Baltic Sea and Skagerrak. The Baltic Sea is vulnerable to anthropogenic activities due to a long turnover time and a sensitive ecosystem in the brackish water. Thirty-nine of 93 pharmaceuticals were detected in at least one sample, with concentrations ranging between 0.01 and 80 ng/L. One of the pharmaceuticals investigated, the anti-epileptic drug carbamazepine, was widespread in coastal and offshore seawaters (present in 37 of 43 samples). In order to predict concentrations of pharmaceuticals in the sub-basins of the Baltic Sea, a mass balance-based grey box model was set up and the persistent, widely used carbamazepine was selected as the model substance. The model was based on hydrological and meteorological sub-basin characteristics, removal data from smaller watersheds and wastewater treatment plants, and statistics relating to population, consumption and excretion rate of carbamazepine in humans. The grey box model predicted average environmental concentrations of carbamazepine in sub-basins with no significant difference from the measured concentrations, amounting to 0.57–3.2 ng/L depending on sub-basin location. In the Baltic Sea, the removal rate of carbamazepine in seawater was estimated to be 6.2 10−9 s−1 based on a calculated half-life time of 3.5 years at 10 °C, which demonstrates the long response time of the environment to measures phasing out persistent or slowly degradable substances such as carbamazepine. Sampling, analysis and grey box modelling were all valuable in describing the presence and removal of carbamazepine in the Baltic Sea.

Halogenated natural products in biota of the Baltic Sea include bromoanisoles (BAs) and methoxylated bromodiphenyl ethers (MeO-BDEs). We identified biogenic 6-MeO-BDE47 and 2'-MeO-BDE68 in Baltic water and air for the first time using gas chromatography - high resolution mass spectrometry. Partial pressures in air were related to temperature by: log p/Pa=m/T(K)+b. We determined Henry's law constants (HLCs) of 2,4-dibromoanisole (2,4-DiBA) and 2,4,6-tribromoanisole (2,4,6-TriBA) from 5 to 30°C and revised our assessment of gas exchange in the northern Baltic. The new water/air fugacity ratios (FRs) were lower, but still indicated net volatilization in May-June for 2,4-DiBA and May - September for 2,4,6-TriBA. The net flux (negative) of BAs from Bothnian Bay (38,000km²) between May - September was revised from -1319 to -532kg. FRs of MeO-BDEs were >1, suggesting volatilization, although this is tentative due to uncertainties in their HLCs and binding to dissolved organic carbon.

Long-range atmospheric transport is a major pathway for delivering persistent organic pollutants to the oceans. Atmospheric deposition and volatilization of chlorinated pesticides and algae-produced bromoanisoles (BAs) were estimated for Bothnian Bay, northern Baltic Sea, based on air and water concentrations measured in 2011-2012. Pesticide fluxes were estimated using monthly air and water temperatures and assuming 4 months ice cover when no exchange occurs. Fluxes were predicted to increase by about 50 % under a 2069-2099 prediction scenario of higher temperatures and no ice. Total atmospheric loadings to Bothnian Bay and its catchment were derived from air-sea gas exchange and "bulk'' (precipitation ? dry particle) deposition, resulting in net gains of 53 and 46 kg year(-1) for endosulfans and hexachlorocyclohexanes, respectively, and net loss of 10 kg year(-1) for chlordanes. Volatilization of BAs releases bromine to the atmosphere and may limit their residence time in Bothnian Bay. This initial study provides baseline information for future investigations of climate change on biogeochemical cycles in the northern Baltic Sea and its catchment.

Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) plays a key role in determining the environmental fate of semivolatile organic environmental contaminants. The goal of the present study was to develop a method using commercially available hardware to rapidly characterize the sorption properties of DOC in water samples. The resulting method uses negligible-depletion direct immersion solid-phase microextraction (SPME) and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Its performance was evaluated using Nordic reference fulvic acid and 40 priority environmental contaminants that cover a wide range of physicochemical properties. Two SPME fibers had to be used to cope with the span of properties, 1 coated with polydimethylsiloxane and 1 coated with polystyrene divinylbenzene polydimethylsiloxane, for nonpolar and semipolar contaminants, respectively. The measured DOC–water distribution constants showed reasonably good reproducibility (standard deviation ≤ 0.32) and good correlation (R2 = 0.80) with log octanol–water partition coefficients for nonpolar persistent organic pollutants. The sample pretreatment is limited to filtration, and the method is easy to adjust to different DOC concentrations. These experiments also utilized the latest SPME automation that largely decreases total cycle time (to 20 min or shorter) and increases sample throughput, which is advantageous in cases when many samples of DOC must be characterized or when the determinations must be performed quickly, for example, to avoid precipitation, aggregation, and other changes of DOC structure and properties. The data generated by this method are valuable as a basis for transport and fate modeling studies.

The effects of predicted future climate change was investigated with special emphasis on the association of organic contaminants with dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in the Baltic Sea.

An automated method was developed for the measurements of DOC - water distribution constants at realistic DOC concentrations in brackish water. The method proved to be valid for 30 organic contaminants with different structural elements in the 5 – 100 mg car bon/L DOC concentration range. There were limitations of this method. Firstly, its applicability is limited towards contaminants with lower affinity to DOC. Secondly, at higher (>100 mg carbon/L) DOC concentrations the sorption of contaminants was underest imated.

Afterwards, water samples were collected from 15 points within the Baltic Sea in a north - south gradient t o examine the spatial differences in DOC characteristics and sorption properties . The DOC samples were analyzed using proton nuclear magnetic resonance and ultraviolet spectroscopy. Results from both techniques indicated that the aromatic nature of the DOC pool increased towards the northern Baltic Sea. This was expected as the freshwater inflow has high significance in controlling the hydrograp hic conditions in the Bothnian Bay. Sorption of organic contaminants was subsequently measured in the same samples. The results showed decreased sorption from north to south for hydrophobic contaminants such as chlorinated benzenes but for contaminants lik e tributyl - phosphate no spatial tendencies were observed. The data generated was used to determine molecular descriptors of DOC using linear free energy relationships. The results indicated a higher significance of hy drogen bond donor/acceptor functional g roups of the DOC in the south.

Changes in contaminant distribution were simulated in model pelagic ecosystems at possible endpoints predicted by future climate change scenarios. Separate and combined effects of temperature a nd DOC were studied in mesocosms. The results indicated interesting tendencies. Increased temperature resulted in increased losses in the amounts of organic contaminants. Increased DOC levels promoted sedimentation and sorption of contaminants to particulate matter and biota. Hi gher amounts of contaminants were retained. The combined effects of the two factors led to and overall decrease in dissolved amounts. Higher losses or increased sedimentation and sorption to particles were also observed depending on contaminant properties.

Regional climate change scenarios predict increased temperature and precipitation in the northern Baltic Sea, leading to a greater runoff of fresh water and terrestrial dissolved organic carbon (DOC) within the second part of the 21st century. As a result, the current north to south gradient in temperature and salinity is likely to be shifted further toward the south. To examine if such climate change effects would cause alterations in the environmental fate of organic pollutants, spatial variations of DOC quality and sorption behavior toward organic contaminants were examined using multiple analytical methods. The results showed declining contents of aromatic functional groups in DOC along a north to south gradient. Similarly, the sorption of a diverse set of organic contaminants to DOC also showed spatial differences. The sorption behavior of these contaminants was modeled using poly parameter linear energy relationships. The resulting molecular descriptors indicated clear differences in the sorption properties of DOC sampled in northern and southern parts of the Baltic Sea, which imply that more organic contaminants are sorbed to DOC in the northern part. The extent of this sorption process determines whether individual contaminants will partition to biota via direct uptake or through sorption to DOC, which serves as food source for bacteria-based food-webs.

Predicted consequences of future climate change in the northern Baltic Sea include increases in sea surface temperatures and terrestrial dissolved organic carbon (DOC) runoff. These changes are expected to alter environmental distribution of anthropogenic organic contaminants (OCs). To assess likely shifts in their distributions, outdoor mesocosms were employed to mimic pelagic ecosystems at two temperatures and two DOC concentrations, current: 15 °C and 4 mg DOC L− 1 and, within ranges of predicted increases, 18 °C and 6 mg DOC L− 1, respectively. Selected organic contaminants were added to the mesocosms to monitor changes in their distribution induced by the treatments. OC partitioning to particulate matter and sedimentation were enhanced at the higher DOC concentration, at both temperatures, while higher losses and lower partitioning of OCs to DOC were observed at the higher temperature. No combined effects of higher temperature and DOC on partitioning were observed, possibly because of the balancing nature of these processes. Therefore, changes in OCs' fates may largely depend on whether they are most sensitive to temperature or DOC concentration rises. Bromoanilines, phenanthrene, biphenyl and naphthalene were sensitive to the rise in DOC concentration, whereas organophosphates, chlorobenzenes (PCBz) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were more sensitive to temperature. Mitotane and diflufenican were sensitive to both temperature and DOC concentration rises individually, but not in combination.