Environmental context. Some long-lived organic contaminants, such as chlorinated organics, brominated flame retardants and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, can undergo transport through the atmosphere to remote regions. A series of measurements of these compounds taken over almost 3 years in the air at a remote location was combined with meteorological data to try to reveal potential source areas. After adjusting several parameters to optimise the method’s ability to identify sources it was found that for most contaminants no definitive sources are revealed.

Environmental context. The mobility and bioavailability of both contaminants and nutrients in the environment depends, to a large extent, on their diffusion. Because the majority of microorganisms in the environment are embedded in biofilms, it is essential to quantify diffusion in biofilms in order to evaluate the risk of emerging contaminants, including nanomaterials and charged solutes. This study quantifies diffusion, in a model environmental biofilm, for a number of model contaminants of variable size and charge.

Environmental context. We report the baseline levels of dissolved nutrients, organic matter and metals in the main temperate rivers draining the three Northern Galicia rias. Because the rivers are pristine, these rias are little affected by anthropogenic inputs, and their properties reflect the lithological characteristics of the rivers’ watersheds. Useful information in the development of European and global initiatives for assessing anthropogenic inputs to estuarine, coastal and open-sea environments has been provided.

Environmental context. Identifying the sources responsible for air pollution is crucial for reducing the effect of the pollutants on human health. The sources of the pollutants were found here by applying two mathematical models to data consisting of particle size distribution and chemical composition data. The identified sources could be used as the basis for controlling or reducing emissions of air pollution into the atmosphere.

Environmental context. Nitrogen is an essential nutrient for marine organisms, and thus an understanding of the marine nitrogen cycle is a crucial factor in predicting the sensitivity of marine life to environmental change. Hydroxylamine is a short-lived intermediate in nitrogen transformation processes, and reliable detection of this compound in seawater can help to identify these processes within the marine nitrogen cycle.