Inorganic and Organic Pollutants in Marine and Coastal Environment

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Background

A number of natural and anthropogenic processes emit toxic elements into the ocean that can cause hazards to humans, animals, plants, and the environment as a whole. A large amount of harmful and toxic organic and inorganic compounds is polluting the water column and sediments, causing significant environmental damage, which is accelerated by climate change drivers.
Marine environments have become an easily reasonable exposure site for pollutants such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) compounds. PAHs are a group of environmental contaminants formed during the incomplete combustion of organic materials such as coal, fossil fuel, and wood, as well as from forest fires, volcanic activity, and petroleum seeps. PAHs are well known environmental pollutants and are included in the priority pollutant list of the European Union and US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) due to their mutagenic and carcinogenic properties.

Heavy metals represent an example of inorganic pollutants; they are emitted by the combustion of fossil fuels, high-temperature combustion plants, metal processing industries, vessel construction and marine traffic. Heavy metals interact in the biota-water-sediment systems by adsorbing on sediments, and binding to organic matter and carbonate chemical forms. From these forms under adverse eco-chemical conditions, such as pH lowering, altering the reducing-oxidizing conditions of the environment, they return to soluble forms and become bioavailable to marine organisms, therefore entering the food chain.
In addition, due to the growing global demand for fish, the aquaculture industry is resulting in a progressive increase, which will surpass fisheries as the main source of seafood worldwide in the near future. Aquaculture provides undoubted economic benefits and diverts part of the fishing pressures exerted on wild stocks. However, there have been several examples showing that it could also represent the origin of many impacts on the marine environment and biota due to biological, chemical, and physical effects.
Marine aquaculture farms, mainly represented by sea cage aquaculture farms, are more or less invasive structures that physically modify and alter the marine environment, while the relative main organic pollution sources are fish faeces, uneaten feed and dead individuals, which contain also antibiotics. Their decomposition increases the biological demand in oxygen and causes the deterioration of water and sediment quality.
Since the majority of human populations live or develop their anthropogenic activities (including aquaculture, fisheries and aquatic biotechnologies) in marine and coastal areas, the aquatic environments acquire special importance in terms of ecological impacts of inorganic and organic compounds into the ecosystem, trophic webs and human health, due to marine products consumption.
This Research Topic aims to bring together experts in marine and coastal pollution research in different abiotic compartments (like rivers, lakes, lagoons and coastal and marine areas) as well as their influence on the biosphere (organisms and communities) with severe impacts on ecosystem health and services.

In this Research Topic we welcome manuscripts focusing on, but not limited to, the following themes:

• Anthropogenic and natural emission sources of inorganic and organic pollutants into the coastal and marine areas
• Xenobiotics in environmental compartments and their interactions with marine biota
• Evaluated effects and relative threats to human health and aquatic ecosystems
• New methodologies and actions to mitigate the risks, while conducting adaptations to the climate change effects

Keywords: PAH, Heavy Metals, Antibiotic, Marine Biota, Aquaculture, Fisheries, Aquatic Biotechnologies

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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