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Pollution, Toxicology and Sustainable Solutions in Aquatic System
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Pollution, Toxicology and Sustainable Solutions in Aquatic System

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Pollution Prevention, Mitigation and Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 September 2025 | Viewed by 4735

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Hyeonseo Cho

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Ocean Integrated Science, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 59626, Republic of Korea
Interests: environmental monitoring; oceanography; marine chemistry; aquatic pollution; environmental pollutants; marine; freshwater; aquatic organism; aquatic environments
Prof. Dr. Gi Beum Kim

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Marine Environmental Engineering, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju 53064, Republic of Korea
Interests: environmental monitoring; oceanography; marine chemistry; aquatic pollution; persistent organic pollutants; chemical analysis
Dr. Huiho Jeong

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY 12237, USA
Interests: chemical oceanography; marine environment; environmental monitoring; marine pollution; POPs; heavy metals; microplastics; eutrophication; hypoxic/anoxic water
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Industrialization and urbanization have rapidly grown, improving economic activity and human convenience since the Industrial Revolution. However, indiscriminate development has resulted in various sources of environmental pollution derived from artificial and accidental emissions, particularly in the aquatic system. Notably, the toxicity and risk assessment of pollution should be further revealed with scientifically objective evidence. Based on this understanding of pollution and toxicity, a sustainable solution should be suggested for the critical point between humankind's development and environmental preservation. 

 This Special Issue, 'Pollution, Toxicology, and Sustainable Solutions in the Aquatic System,' includes (but is not limited to) a series of these procedures from determining and evaluating to solving pollution, such as the following:

  1. Recognizing and determining the characteristics of pollution (e.g., spatial and temporal fluctuations, distribution characteristics, extent, fate, and origin);
  2. Assessing the environmental or human health risks and evaluating the toxicity of pollution;
  3. Suggesting a sustainable solution for pollution.

This Issue aims to provide insight into managing global environmental pollution in the aquatic system.

 Authors can freely discuss pollutant issues following the aim of this Special Issue on aquatic systems, such as drinking water, lakes, agricultural water, groundwater, spring water, rivers, and seawater. Pollution includes adverse effects or toxicity potentials on aquatic organisms and humans (e.g., persistent organic pollutants, PPCPs, microplastics, heavy metals, pesticides, antifouling paints, eutrophic matter, etc.). For this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Hyeonseo Cho
Prof. Dr. Gi Beum Kim
Dr. Huiho Jeong
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • environmental contamination and pollution
  • toxicity
  • risk assessment
  • management
  • sustainable solution
  • limnetic, marine, and aquatic systems
  • water, sediment, soil, and biota

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

23 pages, 4406 KiB  
Article
Molten-Salt-Assisted Preparation of g-C3N4 for Photocatalytic Degradation of Tetracycline Hydrochloride: Degradation Mechanism, Pathway, and Toxicity Assessment
by Yujie Jiao, Yaqi Mao, Qikai Liu, Yongxia Ma, Fei Fu, Shenglong Jian, Yang Liu and Sujin Lu
Sustainability 2025, 17(3), 1166; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17031166 - 31 Jan 2025
Viewed by 782
Abstract
The sustainability of aquaculture tailwater plays a key role in the aquaculture industry. Photocatalytic degradation of recalcitrant antibiotics in aquaculture tailwater has emerged as a significant research focus, with gCN-based photocatalysis offering a promising approach. To address the issue of inefficient degradation associated [...] Read more.
The sustainability of aquaculture tailwater plays a key role in the aquaculture industry. Photocatalytic degradation of recalcitrant antibiotics in aquaculture tailwater has emerged as a significant research focus, with gCN-based photocatalysis offering a promising approach. To address the issue of inefficient degradation associated with gCN, melamine was modified using NaCl solution, resulting in the synthesis of NaMe-x with distinctive microstructure through molten salt assistance. The ability of NaMe-x to degrade tetracycline hydrochloride (TC-HCl) was examined, including an analysis of its degradation pathway, intermediate products, mechanism, and toxicity of the by-products. The results demonstrated that NaCl-based precursor modification markedly enhanced the degradation capacity of gCN for TC-HCl, achieving a maximum degradation rate of 0.02214 min−1, which is 2.1 times higher than that of unmodified gCN. LC-MS analysis revealed intermediates at various degradation stages, and two potential pathways for TC-HCl degradation in the presence of NaMe-1 were identified. In this process, ·O2− and ·OH are the reactive radicals that play a dominant role, and their degradation mechanism is thus proposed. It was confirmed by toxicity experiments that the products after the degradation of TC-HCl by NaMe-1 were not significantly toxic to Chlorella vulgaris (p ˃ 0.05). However, it had a significant effect on Vibrio fischeri (p < 0.01). These findings suggest that the synthesis of NaMe-x via melamine precursor modification substantially improves the degradation performance of gCN and enhances the sustainability of aquaculture tailwater. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pollution, Toxicology and Sustainable Solutions in Aquatic System)
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22 pages, 7610 KiB  
Article
Microplastic Distribution Characteristics Considering the Marine Environment Based on Surface Seawater Quality Parameters in Southern Sea of Korea, 2019
by Ki Yoon Kim, Hui Ho Jeong, Ji Hoo Kim, Byeong Kyu Min, Chon Rae Cho, Ho Young Soh, Yasuhiro Ishibashi and Hyeon Seo Cho
Sustainability 2024, 16(15), 6272; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16156272 - 23 Jul 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1675
Abstract
The present study determined the microplastic distributions in the surface water of the Southern Sea of Korea (SS01–SS09) in September 2019, depending on three groups (Groups A, B, and C) categorized via the principal component analysis and cluster analysis using the water quality [...] Read more.
The present study determined the microplastic distributions in the surface water of the Southern Sea of Korea (SS01–SS09) in September 2019, depending on three groups (Groups A, B, and C) categorized via the principal component analysis and cluster analysis using the water quality parameters (water temperature, salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen, suspended particulate matter, and chlorophyll-a). The microplastic samples in the surface water were collected using a 300 μm-mesh neuston net. The microplastic abundance ranged from 0.10 to 5.08 (average 0.71 ± 1.64) particles/m3 in the entire sampling area. Median values in Groups A (SS01, SS02, and SS07), B (SS05, SS08, and SS09), and C (SS03, SS04, and SS06) were 0.14 ± 0.02, 0.12 ± 0.14, and 0.17 ± 2.85 particles/m3, respectively, and there were no statistically significant differences (p < 0.050). However, it was highlighted that the most considerably numerous microplastic abundance in SS04 (5.08 particles/m3) revealed relatively high water temperatures distinguished from other sampling areas. Polystyrene, consisting mainly of expanded polystyrene, was the predominant polymer type, accounting for 81.5% in Groups A, 84.4% in B, and 97.0% in C. The particle size in Group C (average 3.11 ± 1.08 mm) was statistically larger (p < 0.001) than those of Groups A (average 0.71 ± 1.06 mm) and B (average 0.98 ± 1.22 mm). Only fragment and sheet shapes were found in all the sampling points and the former, which consisted of the secondary microplastics regardless of the groups, was the dominant type. The fragment composition gradually increased from 77.3% in Group A, 96.7% in B, to 99.1% in C. However, the strategy studies should be investigated in the foreseeable future to supplement the current study limitations, such as verifying the effect of the Yangtze River and the Tsushima warm current, and seasonal fluctuation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pollution, Toxicology and Sustainable Solutions in Aquatic System)
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16 pages, 3280 KiB  
Article
Bibliometric Analysis of Remote Sensing over Marine Areas for Sustainable Development: Global Trends and Worldwide Collaboration
by Ljerka Vrdoljak, Ivana Racetin and Mladen Zrinjski
Sustainability 2024, 16(14), 6211; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16146211 - 20 Jul 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1559
Abstract
More than two-thirds of the Earth’s surface is covered by oceans and yet only a small portion of these oceans has been directly explored in detail, highlighting the need for powerful tools like remote sensing (RS) technology to bridge this gap. International frameworks, [...] Read more.
More than two-thirds of the Earth’s surface is covered by oceans and yet only a small portion of these oceans has been directly explored in detail, highlighting the need for powerful tools like remote sensing (RS) technology to bridge this gap. International frameworks, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and Ocean Decade point out the significance of marine areas for achieving sustainable growth. This study conducts a bibliometric analysis of RS over marine areas for sustainable development to identify key contributors, collaboration networks, and evolving research themes from the beginning of the 21st century until last year. Using the Web of Science Core Collection database, 499 relevant articles published between 2000 and 2023 were identified. The bibliometric analysis showed a significant increase in scientific productivity related to the field. On an international level, China emerges as the most productive country, but international collaboration has played a crucial role, with 36.87% of articles resulting from international co-authorship, pointing to the global nature of research in this field. RS technology has continuously evolved from airborne sensors to the augmentation of Earth Observation missions. Our findings reveal a shift towards automated analysis and processing of RS data using machine learning techniques to integrate large datasets and develop robust scientific solutions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pollution, Toxicology and Sustainable Solutions in Aquatic System)
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