Contaminant Transport, Risk Assessment, and Ecological Impacts in Karst
A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Water Quality and Contamination".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 September 2025 | Viewed by 1366
Special Issue Editors
Interests: karst hydrogeology; karst environment; karst geomorphology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: environmental (geo)chemistry; passive water sampling; emerging organic contaminants (EOCs); fate and behavior of pollutants
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
This Special Issue of Water focuses on the interdisciplinary aspects of studies of contaminant transport and ecological impacts in karst systems. Contaminant transport in karst systems presents unique challenges due to the complex hydrogeological and ecological dynamics of these environments. Karst systems, characterized by extensive subsurface pore and conduits, facilitate rapid contaminant movement, often bypassing natural filtration processes. Karst water systems, on the other hand, are influenced by surface water flow, sediment interactions, and seasonal variability, which affect contaminant dispersion and accumulation. Thus, contaminant transport and ecological impacts are even more complex within karst water systems.
This Special Issue will explore the mechanisms of contaminant transport in karst systems, emphasizing the role of hydrological pathways, geochemical interactions, and anthropogenic inputs. Risk assessment frameworks will be explored to evaluate the human and ecological exposure to pollutants, including heavy metals, nutrients, and emerging contaminants. Ecological impacts, such as biodiversity loss, habitat degradation, and disruptions to ecosystem services, are also included. Additionally, findings on integrated management strategies that account for the interconnectedness of surface and subsurface processes are also anticipated, ensuring the protection of water resources and aquatic ecosystems in karstic vulnerable environments.
In this Special Issue, we welcome articles that present results and new findings from field, laboratory, and modeling studies on contaminant transport, risk assessment, and ecological impacts in karst systems.
Dr. Wei Liu
Dr. Wei Chen
Dr. Matej Blatnik
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 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
- groundwater and surface contamination
- hydrological processes
- contaminant transport
- environmental risk evaluation
- ecological impacts
- karst systems
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