Marine Pollutants: Biological and Abiotic Degradation Mechanisms

Dear Colleagues,

The occurrence, fates and risks of pollutants have become an issue of concern due to their enhanced distribution in marine environments and their impacts on the marine ecosystem; these pollutants include persistent organic pollutants (POPs), heavy metals, emerging pollutants and marine biotoxins. Biological and abiotic degradation are the major sinks of marine pollutants, driving their fates and ecological risks in marine environments. Within the biotic degradation processes, marine pollutants may be susceptible to degradation by enzymes produced by bacteria, fungi, algae, and even macrobiota, whereas the abiotic degradation processes may be associated with hydrolysis and photolysis processes. In the natural marine environment, biotic and abiotic factors exist together and may exhibit a combined degradation mechanism.

In response to the worsening global climate change impacted by anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions, worldwide attention has been paid to strategies for achieving carbon neutrality by the 2050s. Since the marine environment serves as a global reservoir and final sink of carbon, recent studies have proposed strategies for enhancing negative carbon emissions in marine ecosystems in order to support the achievement of carbon neutrality. The core of marine negative emission technologies is the maximization of the blue carbon sequestration driven by the “biological pump” and the minimization of the “degradative pump” for recalcitrant dissolved organic carbon (a kind of natural organic matter). Because the carbon cycling and sequestration in the ocean are coupled with the pollutant biogeochemical cycling and degradation processes, marine negative emission technologies may inevitably influence the distribution, transport and fate of pollutants in the marine environment. Determination of the impact of marine organisms and their released organic matter on the biotic and abiotic degradation processes of pollutants is important for understanding pollutant fates in the marine environment and for formulating relevant environmental policies.

Hence, this Special Issue aims to publish papers describing the most recent scientific advancements in the biotic and abiotic degradation processes of marine pollutants, as well as the characterization of the underlying mechanisms.

Dr. Rui Hou
Dr. Tiantian Chen
Dr. Chunjie Wang
Dr. Junfeng Chen
Dr. Xinxin Zhang
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. Life is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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.