Mobility, turnover and storage of pollutants in soils, sediments and waters: achievements and results of the EU project AquaTerra. A review

J.A.C. Barth, P. Grathwohl, H.J. Fowler, A. Bellin, M.H. Gerzabek, G.J. Lair, D. Barcelo, M. Petrovic, A. Navarro, P. Negrel, E. Petelet-Giraud, D. Darmendrail, H.H.M. Rijnaarts, A.A.M. Langenhoff, J.P.A. de Weert, A. Slob, B.M. van der Zaan, J. Gerritse, E. Frank, A. GutierrezR. Kretzschmar, T. Gocht, D. Steidle, F. Garrido, K.C. Jones, S. Meijer, C. Moeckel, A. Marsman, G. Klaver, T. Vogel, C. Burger, O. Kolditz, H.P. Broers, N. Baran, J. Joziasse, W. von Tumpling, P. van Gaans, C. Merly, A. Chapman, S. Brouyere, J.B. Aguilar, P. Orban, N. Tas, H. Smidt

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

35 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

AquaTerra is one of the first environmental projects within the 6th Framework program by the European Commission. It began in June 2004 with a multidisciplinary team of 45 partner organizations from 13 EU countries, Switzerland, Serbia, Romania and Montenegro. Results from sampling and modeling in 4 large river basins (Ebro, Danube, Elbe and Meuse) and one catchment of the Brévilles Spring in France led to new evaluations of diffuse and hotspot input of persistent organic and metal pollutants including dynamics of pesticides and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, as well as metal turnover and accumulation. While degradation of selected organic compounds could be demonstrated under controlled conditions in the laboratory, turnover of most persistent pollutants in the field seems to range from decades to centuries. First investigations of long-term cumulative and degradation effects, particularly in the context of climate change, have shown that it is also necessary to consider the predictions of more than one climate model when trying to assess future impacts. This is largely controlled by uncertainties in climate model responses. It is becoming evident, however, that changes to the climate will have important impacts on the diffusion and degradation of pollutants in space and time that are just at the start of their exploration
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)161-173
JournalAgronomy for Sustainable Development
Volume29
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2009

Keywords

  • ebro river-basin
  • polycyclic aromatic-hydrocarbons
  • polybrominated diphenyl ethers
  • brominated flame retardants
  • regional climate models
  • quantitative-analysis
  • temporal variability
  • groundwater quality
  • organic pollutants
  • metal availability

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Mobility, turnover and storage of pollutants in soils, sediments and waters: achievements and results of the EU project AquaTerra. A review'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this