Anthropogenic and Climatic Disturbances in Aquatic Ecosystems: Multiscale Spatio-Temporal Evolution and Effects

Dear Colleagues,

Freshwater systems, coastal zones and open sea regions are currently affected by a variety of hydrological, geochemical and biological transformations originated by a complex interaction of anthropogenic and climatic disturbances, which mainly act on spatial scales ranging from meso to mega and temporal scales from daily to centennial.

The spread of human-derived substances in aquatic systems and their mobilization through atmospheric and benthic fluxes have often caused the degradation of water quality, whereas the intensive usage of ecosystem services has caused the impoverishment of natural resources. Aquatic environments are also exposed to increasing disturbances originated by climate changes. Freshwater and coastal systems have long been impacted by the alteration of meteorological conditions, runoff, sediment transport, extreme events and sea level rise. More recently, oceanographic properties and circulation in open sea regions have also been seen to respond to climatic oscillations and trends.

This Special Issue is focused on the analysis of the evolution of aquatic ecosystems over a large variety of spatial and temporal scales, in order to identify the effects of concomitant anthropogenic and climatic forcings. Aquatic systems from tropical to polar regions can be considered. We encourage the submission of specific and multidisciplinary studies based on field and laboratory experiments, the reanalysis of data series, and ecological modelling, as well as papers providing reviews and synthesis of the scientific literature.

This Special Issue is the second volume, following the previous one titled “Anthropogenic and Climatic Disturbances in Freshwater and Coastal Ecosystems: Interactive Impacts and Expected Threats.”

Dr. Stefano Cozzi
Guest Editor

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