DICATECh-Department of Civil, Environmental, Land, Building Engineering and Chemistry, Polytechnic University of Bari, via Orabona 4, 70125, Bari, Italy.
CNR, IRPI, National Research Center, Via Amendola 122/I, 70126, Bari, Italy.
Sci Rep. 2021 Feb 17;11(1):4017. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-82879-w.
The paper presents the results of the analysis of the geo-chemo-mechanical data gathered through an innovative multidisciplinary investigation campaign in the Mar Piccolo basin, a heavily polluted marine bay aside the town of Taranto (Southern Italy). The basin is part of an area declared at high environmental risk by the Italian government. The cutting-edge approach to the environmental characterization of the site was promoted by the Special Commissioner for urgent measures of reclamation, environmental improvements and redevelopment of Taranto and involved experts from several research fields, who cooperated to gather a new insight into the origin, distribution, mobility and fate of the contaminants within the basin. The investigation campaign was designed to implement advanced research methodologies and testing strategies. Differently from traditional investigation campaigns, aimed solely at the assessment of the contamination state within sediments lying in the top layers, the new campaign provided an interpretation of the geo-chemo-mechanical properties and state of the sediments forming the deposit at the seafloor. The integrated, multidisciplinary and holistic approach, that considered geotechnical engineering, electrical and electronical engineering, geological, sedimentological, mineralogical, hydraulic engineering, hydrological, chemical, geochemical, biological fields, supported a comprehensive understanding of the influence of the contamination on the hydro-mechanical properties of the sediments, which need to be accounted for in the selection and design of the risk mitigation measures. The findings of the research represent the input ingredients of the conceptual model of the site, premise to model the evolutionary contamination scenarios within the basin, of guidance for the environmental risk management. The study testifies the importance of the cooperative approach among researchers of different fields to fulfil the interpretation of complex polluted eco-systems.
本文介绍了通过在意大利南部塔兰托市附近的受污染严重的海洋湾——马尔皮科洛盆地进行的一项创新的多学科调查活动所收集的地球化学力学数据的分析结果。该盆地是意大利政府宣布为高环境风险区的一部分。该场地环境特征的前沿方法是由塔兰托紧急开垦、环境改善和重建的特别专员推动的，涉及来自多个研究领域的专家，他们合作深入了解了污染物在盆地内的来源、分布、迁移和归宿。该调查活动旨在实施先进的研究方法和测试策略。与传统的调查活动不同，传统的调查活动仅旨在评估位于顶层沉积物中的污染状况，新的调查活动提供了对海底沉积物的地球化学力学特性和状态的解释。综合的、多学科的和整体的方法考虑了岩土工程、电气和电子工程、地质、沉积学、矿物学、水利工程、水文学、化学、地球化学、生物学领域，支持了对污染对沉积物水力学特性的影响的全面理解，这需要在风险缓解措施的选择和设计中考虑到。该研究的发现为该场地的概念模型提供了输入成分，是对盆地内污染演化情景进行建模的前提，为环境风险管理提供了指导。该研究证明了不同领域的研究人员之间合作方法的重要性，以实现对复杂污染生态系统的解释。
