Coastal uses and contaminant spread in the desert coastal region of Atacama

Bonnail, Estefanía; Díaz-García, Alejandra; Cruces, Edgardo; García, Ayón; Borrero-Santiago, Ana R.

doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.132519

Cited by 5 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 80 publications

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“…The coastal waters in the South Pacific Ocean, especially along the Atacama Region of Northern Chile, are affected by intense anthropic activities. The rapid increase in industrial, agricultural, and fishing activities, together with the development of ports, desalination plants, and tourism, have strongly influenced the quality of the surrounding environment [28].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pollutants and Climate Change, Runoff, Behavior and Adverse Effects in Aquatic Ecosystems

Marini,

DelValls

2024

Applied Sciences

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pollutants and Climate Change, Runoff, Behavior and Adverse Effects in Aquatic Ecosystems

Marini,

DelValls

2024

Applied Sciences

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“…One such area is in northern Chile, including the Atacama Desert in the Atacama region, which occupies 10% of the national territory and is home to 1.6% of the national population. Here, the coastal waters are affected by human activities, such as industrial development, ports, desalination plants and tourism, among others [1]. One of the most important economic sectors in northern Chile is the mining of gold, silver, molybdenum, iron and lithium, and above all the extraction of copper (30% of global production).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Hence, human actions have a direct and indirect impact on the marine environment [3]. Despite these intensive human pressures in this desert area, [1] there is a considerable scientific knowledge gap about whether and how contaminants affect the health status of marine ecosystems.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…An earlier study [1] found that there was a lack of environmental studies and much data were obsolete for an adequate environmental assessment; these studies are the basis for creating national environmental legislation. The aim of the current study is to assess a sector of the Atacama Region at 26 • S along a stretch of 80 km with an expected pollution gradient, where an industrial area, a tourism/fishing area and a national park are located.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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An Integrated Approach for the Environmental Characterization of a Coastal Area in the Southern Atacama Desert

et al. 2023

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Desert areas in northern Chile are highly valuable ecosystems. While human activities are impacting the area in different ways, there are few environmental studies available. The current study analysed the ecological health status (water, sediment, biota) of a northern coastal area in the Atacama Region, including a national park (with a protected marine area), a tourist and benthic management area, and an industrial area. Results from the physical–chemical characterization and physiological state of organisms of ecological importance (macroalgae and microalgae) were integrated to determine pollution and toxic responses. The results identified high and moderate pollution levels for Bi, Ca, As, Ag and Cd in sediments. The As concentration in sediments is the leading environmental problem, with average values above the threshold effect level, associated with fine sediments. The stations showed increasing contamination and stress from north to south (national park > tourist and benthic management area > industrial area), associated with the proximity to the discharge of mining waste from the Salado River. The national park registered the poorest health status as demonstrated by high Cu bioaccumulation and high photosynthetic stress in the macroalgae and the lowest biomass concentration of the microalgae in water. The tourist and benthic management area demonstrated high As concentrations in sediments and Cd bioaccumulation. The industrial area was the least contaminated area, exhibiting lower photosynthetic stress and bioaccumulation.

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“…Based on GHG and microbiological characterization, these ecosystems have been classified as sensitive areas for global warming due to the impact on CH 4 emissions mediated by H 2 /CO 2 -based methanogens stimulation [ 22 ], highlighting the role of temperature as a driving factor of CH 4 emissions globally [ 23 ]. Additional studies have provided insights for desert coastal wetlands in Atacama mainly associated with drainage catchment areas and river mouths [ 24 , 25 ] and hypersaline pools [ 26 ], where salinity and substrate availability control methanogenesis/sulfate reduction competition. To our knowledge, there are no studies exploring the relation between GHG distribution and microbial communities in coastal wetlands of the semiarid region of central-northern area, as a transition between the hyper arid and humid areas.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dissolved greenhouse gases and benthic microbial communities in coastal wetlands of the Chilean coast semiarid region

et al. 2022

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Coastal wetlands are ecosystems associated with intense carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) recycling, modulated by salinity and other environmental factors that influence the microbial community involved in greenhouse gases production and consumption. In this study, we evaluated the influence of environmental factors on GHG concentration and benthic microbial community composition in coastal wetlands along the coast of the semiarid region. Wetlands were situated in landscapes along a south-north gradient of higher aridity and lower anthropogenic impact. Our results indicate that wetlands have a latitudinal variability associated with higher organic matter content at the north, especially in summer, and higher nutrient concentration at the south, predominantly in winter. During our sampling, wetlands were characterized by positive CO2 μM and CH4 nM excess, and a shift of N2O nM excess from negative to positive values from the north to the south. Benthic microbial communities were taxonomically diverse with > 60 phyla, especially in low frequency taxa. Highly abundant bacterial phyla were classified into Gammaproteobacteria (Betaproteobacteria order), Alphaproteobacteria and Deltaproteobacteria, including key functional groups such as nitrifying and methanotrophic bacteria. Generalized additive model (GAM) indicated that conductivity accounted for the larger variability of CH4 and CO2, but the predictions of CH4 and CO2 concentration were improved when latitude and pH concentration were included. Nitrate and latitude were the best predictors to account for the changes in the dissolved N2O distribution. Structural equation modeling (SEM), illustrated how the environment significantly influences functional microbial groups (nitrifiers and methane oxidizers) and their resulting effect on GHG distribution. Our results highlight the combined role of salinity and substrates of key functional microbial groups with metabolisms associated with both carbon and nitrogen, influencing dissolved GHG and their potential exchange in natural and anthropogenically impacted coastal wetlands.

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Coastal uses and contaminant spread in the desert coastal region of Atacama

Cited by 5 publications

References 80 publications

Pollutants and Climate Change, Runoff, Behavior and Adverse Effects in Aquatic Ecosystems

Pollutants and Climate Change, Runoff, Behavior and Adverse Effects in Aquatic Ecosystems

An Integrated Approach for the Environmental Characterization of a Coastal Area in the Southern Atacama Desert

Dissolved greenhouse gases and benthic microbial communities in coastal wetlands of the Chilean coast semiarid region

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