Environmental Fate, Chemical Speciation and Bioaccumulation of Emerging Contaminants in Aquatic Systems

Aquatic ecosystems worldwide face growing pressure from anthropogenic chemical contamination. Beyond legacy pollutants, emerging contaminants, including per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), engineered nanomaterials, micro- and nanoplastics, and current-use agrochemical mixtures, pose complex challenges for aquatic environmental quality, biodiversity, and human health. Assessing their real ecological risk requires a chemical perspective that connects environmental chemistry, analytical chemistry, and aquatic biogeochemistry.This Research Topic focuses on how chemical speciation, phase partitioning, and environmental transformation govern the bioavailability, persistence, and bioaccumulation of emerging contaminants. For metal nanoparticles and inorganic contaminants, uptake and effects are mediated by dissolution kinetics, complexation with natural organic matter, and oxidation state. Organic contaminants such as PFAS and endocrine disruptors show distinct sorption and desorption dynamics, and microplastics and suspended particulate matter can act as transport vectors across rivers, estuaries, and coastal marine systems.We welcome contributions from freshwater and marine environments worldwide, and particularly encourage studies from Neotropical river basins, estuaries, and other Southern Hemisphere aquatic systems, where baseline monitoring data and speciation information under changing seasonal conditions remain scarce.We invite submissions on themes including, but not limited to:• Chemical speciation, complexation, and phase partitioning of inorganic emerging contaminants and engineered nanoparticles in aquatic media• Environmental fate, transport, and degradation of persistent organic pollutants, PFAS, and agrochemical formulations in surface waters and sediments• Interactions between micro- and nanoplastics and chemical contaminants: vector effects, co-transport, and sorption and desorption dynamics• Bioaccumulation, trophic transfer, and biomagnification of emerging contaminants in freshwater, estuarine, and marine food webs• Advanced analytical methods, including high-resolution mass spectrometry, passive sampling, and non-target screening• Biomarkers of exposure linked to chemical speciation, bioavailability, and internal concentrations in aquatic organisms• Occurrence, seasonal distribution, and biogeochemical behaviour of emerging contaminants in underrepresented Neotropical aquatic ecosystemsManuscripts should include a clear chemical component, such as chemical characterization, speciation, fate, or analytical measurement. Studies limited to biological or toxicological endpoints without chemical analysis fall outside the scope of the journal. Topic editors: Analía Ale, Hrissi Kassiani Karapanagioti Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/87084/environmental-fate-chemical-speciation-and-bioaccumulation-of-emerging-contaminants-in-aquatic-systems