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Occurrence and Fate of Emerging Contaminants in Soil-Water Systems
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Occurrence and Fate of Emerging Contaminants in Soil-Water Systems

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Soil and Water".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2026 | Viewed by 1141

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Yufeng Jiang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Municipal and Environmental Engineering, Lanzhou Jiatong University, Lanzhou, China
Interests: POPs; emerging contaminants; environmental fate; risk assessment; transfer and transformation; soil
Dr. Yingqin Wu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resources Research, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Lanzhou 730000, China
Interests: environmental geochemistry; POPs; fate; PAHs; fate and behaviour of pol-lutants
Dr. Wei Chen

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430078, China
Interests: environmental (geo)chemistry; passive water sampling; emerging organic contaminants (EOCs); fate and behaviour of pollutants
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Emerging contaminants (ECs), including pharmaceuticals, personal care products, microplastics, and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), pose increasing threats to soil and water ecosystems due to their persistence, toxicity, and potential for bioaccumulation. Understanding their occurrence, transportation, transformation, and ultimate fate in interconnected soil–water environments is critical for environmental risk assessment and sustainable management.

This Special Issue aims to gather high-quality research and review articles that explore the behavior, distribution, and impact of ECs across soil–water interfaces. We welcome studies employing advanced analytical techniques, modeling approaches, and interdisciplinary methodologies to elucidate contamination pathways, biogeochemical interactions, and ecological consequences.

Topics of interest in this Special Issue include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Detection and analysis of ECs in soil and water matrices;
  • Transport mechanisms and transformation pathways in porous media;
  • Bioavailability, uptake, and trophic transfer in ecosystems;
  • Interactions between microplastics, antibiotics, PFAS, and other ECs;
  • Advanced remediation technologies for ECs in soil and groundwater;
  • Ecological and human health risk assessments;
  • Policy and regulatory frameworks for controlling EC pollution.

We invite contributions that support the development and enhance the scientific understanding of effective solutions for mitigating EC pollution in natural environments.

Dr. Yufeng Jiang
Dr. Yingqin Wu
Dr. Wei Chen
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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. Water 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 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

  • emerging contaminants
  • soil
  • water
  • contaminant fate and transport
  • ecological risk assessment

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

24 pages, 19606 KB  
Article
Long-Term (2007–2024) Thermal and Water Quality Dynamics in Lake Tisza (Kisköre Reservoir), Hungary: A Shallow Freshwater Ecosystem Under Climate Pressure
by David Matamoros, György Szabó, Eduárd Csépes, Borbála Benkhard, Emőke Kiss, Mária Vasvári, Péter Csorba and Tamás Mester
Water 2026, 18(11), 1365; https://doi.org/10.3390/w18111365 - 3 Jun 2026
Abstract
Freshwater shallow lakes are vulnerable to global warming, putting entire aquatic ecosystems at risk, but evidence from managed reservoirs remains limited despite the existence of long-term empirical data. Using data from 29 stations on Lake Tisza covering an 18-year period (2007–2024), this study [...] Read more.
Freshwater shallow lakes are vulnerable to global warming, putting entire aquatic ecosystems at risk, but evidence from managed reservoirs remains limited despite the existence of long-term empirical data. Using data from 29 stations on Lake Tisza covering an 18-year period (2007–2024), this study quantifies warming rates, thermal stress patterns and trends in water quality in lacustrine, transitional and riverine zones. Lake areas warmed at a rate of 0.90 °C/decade (p < 0.001), faster than the river/transition areas and even than global averages in shallow lakes. Temperature-critical years now affect 90.4% of lake stations, compared with 59.6% in 2007–2012. A strong negative correlation between temperature and dissolved oxygen was observed along all systems (Spearman’s p; river: −0.83, transition: −0.65, lake: −0.53), indicating thermal-driven deoxygenation risk. At the same time, a water quality index (conductivity, pH, BOD5, total nitrogen and phosphorus, total coliforms) showed an improvement (lake WQI: 63.7 to 74.3). Principal component analysis explained 85% of its variance, showing spatial gradients of eutrophication and fecal contamination, with lacustrine homogenization suggesting management interventions. Lake Tisza is warming faster than global shallow lake averages, with critical implications for the ecosystem’s function; nonetheless, the coexistence of thermal deterioration with improvements in its WQI reveals the effectiveness of the intermittent discharge system and the need for climate-adapted monitoring frameworks that incorporate thermal vulnerability into water quality assessment for regulated shallow lakes under climate change pressure. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Occurrence and Fate of Emerging Contaminants in Soil-Water Systems)
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17 pages, 1974 KB  
Article
Humic Acid Enhances Ciprofloxacin Sorption in a Typical Loess Soil: Implications for the Fate of Veterinary Antibiotics in Soil–Water Systems
by Chuanji Qin, Yunfei Wang, Yifan Yao, Lingxiao Zhang, Zanzan Gao and Yufeng Jiang
Water 2025, 17(24), 3478; https://doi.org/10.3390/w17243478 - 8 Dec 2025
Viewed by 799
Abstract
Studies have shown that natural organic matter can regulate pollutant behavior through multiple pathways; however, research on the environmental behavior of veterinary antibiotics (VAs) in typical alkaline calcareous loess soil under the influence of exogenous organic matter remains limited. This study investigated the [...] Read more.
Studies have shown that natural organic matter can regulate pollutant behavior through multiple pathways; however, research on the environmental behavior of veterinary antibiotics (VAs) in typical alkaline calcareous loess soil under the influence of exogenous organic matter remains limited. This study investigated the influence of humic acid (HA), as a representative of natural organic matter, on the sorption behavior of ciprofloxacin (CIP) in sierozem—a typical alkaline calcareous loess soil. Using the batch equilibrium method, we examined how HA affects CIP sorption under various environmental conditions to better understand the environmental fate of VAs in soil–water systems with low organic matrix content. Results showed that CIP sorption onto sierozem involved both fast and slow processes, reaching equilibrium within 2 h, with sorption capacity increasing as HA concentration increased. Kinetic data were well described by the pseudo-second-order model regardless of HA addition, suggesting multiple mechanisms governing CIP sorption, such as chemical sorption reaction, intraparticle diffusion, film diffusion, etc. Sorption decreased with increasing temperature both before and after HA amendment, indicating an exothermic process. Isotherm analysis revealed that both the Linear and Freundlich models provided excellent fits (R2 ≈ 1), implying multilayer sorption dominated by hydrophobic distribution. In ion effect experiments, cations at concentrations above 0.05 mol/L consistently inhibited CIP sorption, with inhibition strength following the order: Mg2+ > K+ > Ca2+ > NH4+, and intensifying with increasing ionic strength. However, HA addition significantly mitigated this inhibition, likely due to complexation between HA’s functional groups (e.g., carboxyl and hydroxyl) and cations, which reduced their competitive effect and enhanced CIP sorption. pH-dependent experiments indicated stronger CIP sorption under acidic conditions. HA addition increased soil acidity, further promoting CIP retention. In summary, HA enhances CIP sorption in sierozem by providing additional sorption sites and modifying soil surface properties. These findings improve our understanding of how exogenous organic matter influences the behavior of emerging contaminants such as antibiotics in soil–water systems, offering valuable insights for environmental risk assessment in semi-arid agricultural regions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Occurrence and Fate of Emerging Contaminants in Soil-Water Systems)
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