Situated within the richest oil area in the world, the Arabian Gulf represents a stressed ecosystem with scarce published data and environmental studies.

The oil-related activities cause significant damages to different ecosystem components such as coral reefs, algal mats, mangrove and other habitats. In addition to the increasing potential of pollution and its adverse effect on the ecosystem, oil spills and relevant implications can severely affect the main source of desalinated water for the Gulf countries due to their limited water resources. Interest in pollution issues associated with Arabian Gulf has been growing in the last few years. These issues include identification and documentation of the major sources of oil pollution in the Gulf region, evaluation of the analytical methods used to identify the different types of pollutants, review of the recent advances in oil pollution impact treatment and prevention, develop stronger cooperation ties between interested members of the community, and encourage awareness of the oil pollution as a serious environmental problem in the region.

This book compiles recent studies addressing the above issues grouped in four categories; monitoring and characterizing oil spills, modeling the fate of pollutants and oil slicks in marine water, environmental effects of oil pollution on the ecosystem components, and combating, prevention and treatment of oil pollution.
* Studies oil pollution issues in association with the Arabian Gulf
* Compiles recent case studies conducted in the Arabian Gulf
* Addresses diverse topics related to pollution issues in the marine water in general and in the Arabian Gulf in particular

Drinking water quality has been a matter of concern for several decades. Disinfection of drinking water improves its microbiological quality and prevents disease outbreaks. However, continuously increasing scientific research concerns the presence of organic and inorganic contaminants in water. Many of these compounds, named haloforms, originate from the procedure of disinfection, being formed during reactions of disinfectants with natural organic matter present in water. Haloforms may possess carcinogenic or mutagenic properties; therefore minimization of their concentrations in drinking water is a critical issue. Regulatory measures are becoming more and more stringent, as new health effects become known and optimized high-sensitivity analytical methodologies are being developed. Up-to-date research findings concerning all these aspects have been collected, critically reviewed, summarized, and are presented and discussed in the present book.

Drinking water quality has been a matter of concern for several decades. Disinfection of drinking water improves its microbiological quality and prevents disease outbreaks. However, continuously increasing scientific research concerns the presence of organic and inorganic contaminants in water. Many of these compounds, named haloforms, originate from the procedure of disinfection, being formed during reactions of disinfectants with natural organic matter present in water. Haloforms may possess carcinogenic or mutagenic properties; therefore minimization of their concentrations in drinking water is a critical issue. Regulatory measures are becoming more and more stringent, as new health effects become known and optimized high-sensitivity analytical methodologies are being developed. Up-to-date research findings concerning all these aspects have been collected, critically reviewed, summarized, and are presented and discussed in the present book.