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Analytical and Environmental Chemistry Research toward Sustainable Coastal Environments

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Oceans".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (19 March 2024) | Viewed by 4178

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Institute of Geology and Geography, Nature Research Centre, Akademijos Str. 2, LT-08412 Vilnius, Lithuania
Interests: organic geochemistry; determination of pollutants in various environmental objects; seasonal and spatial changes in the distribution, dispersion and accumulation of nutrients and pollutants in water bodies and terrestrial objects; synthesis and analysis of functional inorganic materials and their application for treatment of the environment

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development focuses on conservation and sustainable use of water resources, with a special emphasis on coastal areas. The importance of coastal regions is undeniable given their importance for human and other species habitation, resource provisioning, shoreline stabilization, etc. Nonetheless, coastal ecosystems are enormously affected by climate change and human activities, and exposure to various anthropogenic water pollutants plays an important role in the hdegradation of these vital ecosystems. Analytical and environmental chemistry research is essential for the effective, sustainable, knowledge-based marine and coastal area management and development at the national, regional and global scales. The analysis of priority and emerging contaminants, microplastics, or nanoparticles is a challenging task that requires new approaches and the implementation of suitable methods and procedures for pollution risk assessment. Moreover, temporal and spatial distribution of the pollutants and trends, as well as identification of pollution sources and pathways of exposure, are all very important aspects of environmental research.

The objective of the proposed Special Issue is to assemble original papers related to recent developments in the methodologies and applications for identification and quantification of modern pollutants, in addition to progress made in risk management studies. Papers dealing with established analytical methods have to offer a significantly improved and original application of the method. Case studies and review articles on coastal pollution management, pollution sources, accumulation, and migration of the pollutants in the coastal areas worldwide are also welcome.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Eva Raudonytė-Svirbutavičienė
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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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

  • coastal pollution
  • sustainable development goals
  • environmental chemistry
  • analytical chemistry
  • microplastics
  • emerging contaminants
  • anthropogenic impacts

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

17 pages, 5177 KiB  
Article
Microplastics in Sandy Beaches of Puerto Vallarta in the Pacific Coast of Mexico
by Ixchel Alejandra Mejía-Estrella, Carolina Peña-Montes, Luis Alberto Peralta-Peláez, Jorge Del Real Olvera and Belkis Sulbarán-Rangel
Sustainability 2023, 15(21), 15259; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152115259 - 25 Oct 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3743
Abstract
In this research, the abundance and physical and chemical characteristics of microplastics (MPs) in coastal sediments from three beaches of Puerto Vallarta in Mexico were investigated. The objective of characterizing and finding MPs in sand is to generate information that is useful to [...] Read more.
In this research, the abundance and physical and chemical characteristics of microplastics (MPs) in coastal sediments from three beaches of Puerto Vallarta in Mexico were investigated. The objective of characterizing and finding MPs in sand is to generate information that is useful to manage macroplastic waste, prevent its additional generation, and thus reduce environmental pollution and achieve sustainable development. The MPs were classified according to their physical characteristics such as color, size, and shape under a stereoscopic microscope, and their wear and surface were observed using a scanning electron microscope. The chemical composition of the most representative types of polymers were detected by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. It can be observed that Los Muertos beach presents the highest number of MPs (97.5 particles/m2) followed by Boca de Tomates beach (69.75 particles/m2) and Oro beach (28.75 particles/m2). The differences found between the beaches are attributed to the tourist influx and proximity to the mouth of a river. In total, 37% of MPs were white, followed by 19% yellow, and 11% transparent. The shape distribution of microplastics of sizes < 5 mm and 1 mm was fragmented, the greatest abundance was microfibers, microfragments, and microfilms for MPs between <1 mm and 1 µm, and these corresponded to polyester, polyethylene, cellophane, and polystyrene, respectively. Full article
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