Department Environmental Chemistry

For 60 years, the Environmental Science & Technology research community has helped to define the fields of environmental science and engineering. The research topics have evolved over time to respond to the most pressing societal needs, from treatment technologies and pollution control strategies to address severe environmental pollution, to pollution prevention and industrial ecology to help mitigate emissions, and to defining planetary boundaries for sustainability. Since ES&T launched in 1967, it has helped to create a robust global network of researchers, with researchers from 144 countries now contributing to address critical global environmental and human health challenges. Throughout its six decades, ES&T research has remained highly relevant to understanding, addressing, and advancing solutions to both current and emerging challenges and for developing science-based policies to protect the environment and human health. We are optimistic that the ES&T research community will continue to serve to help shape research and action toward a healthier, resilient, and sustainable planet for all of us in the next 60 years.

This work reviews the complex interplay between climate change and the fate of persistent mobile (PM) and very persistent very mobile (vPvM) substances, with a particular focus on how rising temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, shifts in pH, and changes in how organic matter concentrations impact these contaminants in the aquatic environment. According to literature research, climate change exerts opposing effects on the persistence (P) and mobility (M) of these substances in the environment. The high uncertainties discussed here underscore the need for comprehensive monitoring, improved process understanding, and appropriate modeling strategies to assess the climate change impacts on PM and vPvM substances.