Biogeochemical Cycling and the Fate of Heavy Metals in the Environment

A special issue of Minerals (ISSN 2075-163X). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Mineralogy and Biogeochemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2026 | Viewed by 539

Special Issue Editors

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The large-scale extraction of mineral resources inevitably releases heavy metals into the environment. Once introduced, these metals persist as a serious threat to both ecosystems and human health, owing to their non-degradable nature and their tendency to bioaccumulate through food chains. Toxic elements, such as chromium, arsenic, cadmium, mercury, and lead, inflict severe ecological and physiological damage by disrupting enzymatic functions and impairing organ systems when they occur in soluble, bioavailable forms.

This Special Issue brings together cutting-edge research on the fate of heavy metals—tracing their transport pathways through environmental compartments, their bioaccumulation in biota, and the development of innovative detection techniques and sustainable remediation strategies—while also examining how global change influences metal mobilization. Its goal is to foster a comprehensive understanding of metal cycling dynamics and to inform effective risk management and policy development in the face of enduring metal contamination.

Dr. Chongchong Qi
Dr. Qiusong Chen
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • source appointment
  • transfer mechanism
  • toxicity
  • plant uptake
  • bioaccumulation
  • advanced detection and monitoring
  • environmental and health implications

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

19 pages, 15535 KB  
Article
Impact of Landfill Sites on Coastal Contamination Using GIS and Multivariate Analysis: A Case from Al-Qunfudhah in Western Saudi Arabia
by Talal Alharbi, Abdelbaset S. El-Sorogy, Naji Rikan and Hamdi M. Algarni
Minerals 2025, 15(8), 802; https://doi.org/10.3390/min15080802 - 30 Jul 2025
Viewed by 404
Abstract
The contamination due to coastal landfill is a growing environmental concern, particularly in fragile marine ecosystems, where leachate can mobilize toxic elements into soil, water, air, and sediment. This study aims to assess the impact of a coastal landfill in Al-Qunfudhah, western Saudi [...] Read more.
The contamination due to coastal landfill is a growing environmental concern, particularly in fragile marine ecosystems, where leachate can mobilize toxic elements into soil, water, air, and sediment. This study aims to assess the impact of a coastal landfill in Al-Qunfudhah, western Saudi Arabia, on nearby coastal sediments by identifying the concentration, distribution, and ecological risk of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) using geospatial and multivariate analysis tools. The results indicate significant accumulation of Pb, Zn, Cu, and Fe, with Pb reaching alarming levels of up to 1160 mg/kg in the landfill area, compared to 120 mg/kg in the coastal sediments. Zn contamination also exhibited substantial elevation, with values reaching 278 mg/kg in landfill soil and 157 mg/kg in coastal sediment. The enrichment factor values indicate moderate to severe enrichment for Pb (up to 73.20) and Zn (up to 6.91), confirming anthropogenic influence. The contamination factor analysis categorized Pb contamination as very high (CF > 6), suggesting significant ecological risk. Comparison with sediment quality guidelines suggest that Pb, Zn, and Cu concentrations exceeded threshold effect levels (TEL) in some samples, posing potential risks to marine organisms. The spatial distribution maps revealed pollutant migration from the landfill toward the coastal zone, emphasizing the necessity of monitoring and mitigation strategies. As the first comprehensive study on landfill-induced PTEs contamination in Al-Qunfudhah, these findings provide essential insights for environmental management and pollution control policies along the Red Sea coast. Full article
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