Anthropocene mineralogy and geochemistry of nearshore surface sediments from urban-influenced coastal zones of Athens (Greece) and Fujairah (UAE)

Anthropocene mineralogy and geochemistry of nearshore surface sediments from urban-influenced coastal zones of Athens (Greece) and Fujairah (UAE) | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Anthropocene mineralogy and geochemistry of nearshore surface sediments from urban-influenced coastal zones of Athens (Greece) and Fujairah (UAE) A. Santos, Chr. Tsabaris, J. Zavašnik, I. Panagiotopoulos, A. Gondikas, and 3 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9528694/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 8 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Coastal zones adjacent to urban areas and harbors are often impacted by marine traffic, shipyard activities, sewage discharge, and waste accumulation. These pressures interact with seafloor sediments composed mainly of inorganic particles, mixed with organic matter and marine biota. While most sediments contain common minerals such as quartz, clays, and Fe oxides/oxyhydroxides, increasing attention has focused on "Anthropocene minerals" introduced since the Industrial Revolution and the Atomic Age. This study investigated trace metals, metalloids, and inorganic solid particles in nearshore sediments from Athens, Greece (Kifissos River discharge into the Saronikos Gulf) and Fujairah, UAE (near the harbor). Samples were investigated by by multiple mineralogical, chemical and advanced microscopic methods. Athens sediments are enriched in urban-derived elements (e.g. Cr, Zn, Ni, V, Cu, Pb, As, Co, and Sn). Stable Pb isotopes indicate that Pb likely originated from historical coal burning, Pb-containing paints, and industrial activities. Other metals occur in distinctive Anthropocene particles, including possible incidental nanoparticles / INPs (nearly perfect Fe microspheres and Fe–Cr microwires) and probable engineered nanoparticles / ENPs (Co-rich Fe nanoparticles and W–Au–Hg–Ca–Fe microcrystal aggregates). In contrast, Fujairah sediments show elevated Cr, Ni, and Co from predominantly natural sources (UAE–Oman ophiolites) and contain abundant natural nanoparticles / NNPs ((bio)mineral nanoparticles and nanominerals) along with possible INPs (Fe microspheres and non-spherical Fe nanoparticles) and Au-bearing microparticles of likely anthropogenic origin. Anthropocene minerals Coastal sediments Urban pollution Trace metals Micro- and nanoparticles Nanogeoscience Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviews received at journal 12 May, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 09 May, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 08 May, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 05 May, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 04 May, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 28 Apr, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 27 Apr, 2026 First submitted to journal 25 Apr, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9528694","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":637286652,"identity":"4f0b9bcc-1d0f-4255-9e79-ab430924a13a","order_by":0,"name":"A. Santos","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"National and Kapodistrian University of Athens","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"A.","middleName":"","lastName":"Santos","suffix":""},{"id":637286653,"identity":"62af5300-ea19-4253-8a54-57d77193fd7d","order_by":1,"name":"Chr. 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