• Energy Research

Eutrophication, coupled with ocean acidification and warming, results in an increased concentration of marine algae, severely impacting some regions. Several algae are a rich source of protein and minerals. Marine algae are rich in bioactive molecules with antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal, and antimicrobial properties. These properties make them attractive for usage in the pharmaceutical industry. This study evaluated Sargassum sp., Spirulina sp., and Gracilaria sp. for use as poultry feed. Chemical analyses show that crude protein (CP) in analyzed algae was 9.07–63.63%, with a fiber content of 0.15–17.20%, and a crude fat range of 0.152–2.11%, suggesting that algae can partially substitute imported protein sources used for poultry feed. A rapid impact assessment matrix (RIAM) was used to assess the environmental footprint of algae usage in poultry feed. The environmental assessment results show promising opportunities to help harvest the algae from the marine area. However, the feasibility of establishing outdoor algal ponds is not environmentally viable in the Middle East.

Waterlogging is an acute problem in the agricultural areas of arid regions. This study highlights the main reasons for water table rise in the Wafra agriculture area of South Kuwait. A two-tier aquifer system exists in the area, which consists of the Kuwait Group aquifer underlain by a semi-confined Dammam aquifer. Improper sealing of wells tapping the semi-confined Dammam aquifer and over-irrigation were the main reasons for water level rise, and an increase in total dissolved solids was due to high evaporation of brackish water used for irrigation in the area. Other issues such as thin soil cover, topographic variation, and geomorphology within the area play an interactive role in the development of salt crusts on the ground surface. The key solution to the problem lies with proper well design and irrigation management. The sealing of the wells tapping the Dammam Formation has resulted in the lowering of the water level, which has allowed the reclamation of farms. For sustainable management of the Wafra agriculture area, it is observed that only the Kuwait Group aquifer should be utilized for irrigation, dewatering should be carried out in selective low-lying areas, and the adoption of best irrigation practices can be the only way for sustainable agriculture development in the area. The use of tertiary-treated wastewater, along with groundwater from the Kuwait Group (KG) aquifer, can be a solution to sustain agriculture. The crop water requirement should be considered for irrigation application while using best practices such as drip irrigation.

The wastewater stream is the most significant contributor of microplastics (MPs) to the environment. There are five wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in Kuwait. This baseline study provides an overview of MP removal in three major WWTPs in Kuwait that treat some 81.31% of the wastewater produced. The Sulabiya WWTP was the most efficient in MP removal, followed by the Kabd and Umm Al-Haiman WWTPs. The MP removal efficiency of plants in Kuwait is very high for Sulabiya WWTP and Kabd WWTP with an average of 2.5 MP L−1 in treated effluent comparable to the WWTPs in Australia, the United States, and Europe. The standard methodology of sample collection, preparation, and identification using microscopic examination and micro-Raman spectrometry was followed. Over 94.5 billion MPs enter the three WWTPs daily; 92.3 billion MPs are retained in sludge, while 2.2 billion are passed into the environment due to the use of treated effluent. The influent, effluent, and sludge MP inventories ranged between 119 and 230 MP L−1, 1 and 12 MP L−1, and 72 and 103 MP 10 g−1 respectively. The fiber was the dominant shape, and white, transparent, and black were prevalent colors. Currently, sludge is not used in Kuwait for any terrestrial or agricultural application; however, sludge is routinely used in many countries as a soil additive in agricultural farms. Using effluent water in irrigation leads to MP dissemination in the terrestrial environment. It is necessary to assess how far these MPs move in the soil profile and if they can contaminate the shallow aquifers. The observation of MP retention in sludge and effluent is empirical, and the use of these matrixes in agriculture is likely to raise an issue of food safety.

Coral reefs are harboring a large part of the marine biodiversity and are important ecosystems for the equilibrium of the oceans. As a consequence of anthropogenic CO2 emission, a drop in pH and an increase in seawater temperature is observed in the Gulf coastal waters that potentially threaten coral assemblages. An experimental study was conducted on two species of corals to assess the effect of ocean warming and ocean acidification on the net calcification rate. Two pH conditions 8.2 and 7.5 and three temperatures, 22.5, 27.5 and 32.5 °C, were considered. Net calcification rates were measured using 45Ca radiotracer. Both temperature and pH had a significant effect on net calcification rates following a similar pattern for both species. The highest calcification rate was observed at low temperature and high pH. Increased temperature and decreased pH led to a decrease in net calcification rates. An interactive effect was observed as the effect of pH decreased with increasing temperature. However, the two species of coral were able to calcify in all the tested combination of temperature and pH suggesting that they are adapted to short term changes in temperature and pH. Ability to calcify even at a high temperature of 32.5 °C that is identical to the summertime Gulf seawater temperature under both the ambient and low pH condition with no mortalities, raises a question: are these corals adapted to high seawater temperatures and low pH? More in-depth assessments will be required to confirm if this is an adaptation to higher temperatures in Persian Gulf corals.

Marine sediments are a sink for antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and antibiotic-resistant microbes (ARMs). Wastewater discharge into the aquatic environment is the dominant pathway for pharmaceuticals reaching aquatic organisms. Hence, the characterization of ARGs is a priority research area. This baseline study reports the presence of ARGs in 12 coastal sediment samples covering the urban coastline of Kuwait through whole-genome metagenomic sequencing. The presence of 402 antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) were recorded in these samples; the most prevalent were patA, adeF, ErmE, ErmF, TaeA, tetX, mphD, bcrC, srmB, mtrD, baeS, Erm30, vanTE, VIM-7, AcrF, ANT4-1a, tet33, adeB, efmA, and rpsL, which showed resistance against 34 drug classes. Maximum resistance was detected against the beta-lactams (cephalosporins and penam), and 46% of genes originated from the phylum Proteobacteria. Low abundances of ESKAPEE pathogens (Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumonia, Acinetobacter baumanii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterobacter sps., and Escherichia coli) were also recorded. Approximately 42% of ARGs exhibited multiple drug resistance. All the ARGs exhibited spatial variations. The major mode of action was antibiotic efflux, followed by antibiotic inactivation, antibiotic target alteration, antibiotic target protection, and antibiotic target replacement. Our findings supported the occurrence of ARGs in coastal marine sediments and the possibility of their dissemination to surrounding ecosystems.

Microplastics are ubiquitous in aquatic environments, and in most marine environments, copepods are the main metazoans. The ingestion of microplastics by zooplankton is linked to various stresses, including oxidative stress, reduced reproductive capacities, and even mortality in nauplii. Microplastics are also reported to serve as vectors for hydrophobic contaminants. Our experimental results highlight that the retention and contact time of microplastics in copepods is quite short. The experimental results show that Parvocalanus crassirostis and Acartia pacifica defecated 75–84% and 61–71% of ingested microplastics within 60 min of ingestion. The observation raises several questions on the hypothesis of microplastic toxicity and ecological stresses: would a 180-minute contact time result in acute toxicity reported by various workers? An interesting observation was that these two copepod species did not consume microplastics larger than 50 µm in size. Considering this fact, inventories of smaller microplastics might be more important for assessing the ecological effects of MP ingestion among primary consumers in the marine food chain. Another important aspect that this study highlights is the likely change in faecal pellet sinking velocities due to the incorporation of MPs, and faecal pellets are probably efficient vectors for MP transport in the aquatic environment.

This study presents antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Escherichia coli derived from marine sediment in Kuwait. In total, 395 isolates of E. coli obtained were screened for their potential resistance to five commonly deployed frontline antibiotics by using the disk diffusion method. The results demonstrated widespread resistance across all the sites and in 98% of isolates. The highest counts were recorded in the sediment collected from sites near outfalls associated with local hospitals, where 58% of isolates screened displayed resistance to different antibiotic classes. The resistance was highest to ampicilin (beta-lactame class) > cefpodoxime (3rd generation cephalosporin class) > ciprofloxacin (flouroqunolone class) with AMR observance at 95%, 67% and 50% respectively. The latter two are wide spectrum antibiotics heavily used in Kuwait. This study demonstrates the presence of AMR bacteria in Kuwait’s marine environment, suggesting a need for environmental surveillance for AMR to be adopted as part of a One Health approach to Kuwait’s developing AMR national action plan.

Significant efforts have been made by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) to establish a reliable basis of equivalent and effective doses due to radionuclides. The ICRP over years has been updating the dose coefficients to include recent developments and make it more realistic. This perspective highlights some issues that warrant updating the methodology used for estimating 210Po dose to humans. The need to underpin these dose coefficients with ever-increasing literature has encouraged us to share the observation on the significant loss of 210Po due to seafood cooking, considering the loss due to cooking warrants changing the factor for the dose from seafood ingestion. Most dose assessment approaches use whole-body concentration, while most 210Po is present in the liver and digestive system that often are not part of the edible portion. The other factor is the extremely high 210Po concentration in aerosols as a result of coal and oil-fired power plants, forest fires, and volcanic activities, especially in the inhalable fraction. The 210Po/210Pb concentration ratio in the Gulf was observed to be between 1.6 and 1.9 in contrast to the 0.1 ratio observed in non-impacted areas. This reassessment of the inhalation dose is also relevant globally due to increasing incidences of forest fires where a much higher than 0.1 210Po/210Pb ratio is expected and will result in a significant inhalation dose.