research papers in environmental science

2019 Best Papers published in the Environmental Science journals of the Royal Society of Chemistry

In 2019, the Royal Society of Chemistry published 180, 196 and 293 papers in Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts , Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology , and Environmental Science: Nano , respectively. These papers covered a wide range of topics in environmental science, from biogeochemical cycling to water reuse to nanomaterial toxicity. And, yes, we also published papers on the topic of the environmental fate, behavior, and inactivation of viruses. 1–10 We are extremely grateful that so many authors have chosen our journals as outlets for publishing their research and are equally delighted at the high quality of the papers that we have had the privilege to publish.

Our Associate Editors, Editorial Boards, and Advisory Boards were enlisted to nominate and select the best papers from 2019. From this list, the three Editors-in-Chief selected an overall best paper from the entire Environmental Science portfolio. It is our pleasure to present the winners of the Best Papers in 2019 to you, our readers.

Overall Best Paper

In this paper, Johansson et al. examine sea spray aerosol as a potential transport vehicle for perfluoroalkyl carboxylic and sulfonic acids. The surfactant properties of these compounds are well known and, in fact, key to many of the technical applications for which they are used. The fact that these compounds are enriched at the air–water interface makes enrichment in sea spray aerosols seem reasonable. Johansson et al. systematically tested various perfluoroalkyl acids enrichment in aerosols under conditions relevant to sea spray formation, finding that longer chain lengths lead to higher aerosol enrichment factors. They augmented their experimental work with a global model, which further bolstered the conclusion that global transport of perfluoroalkyl acids by sea spray aerosol is and will continue to be an important process in determining the global distribution of these compounds.

Journal Best Papers

Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts

First Runner-up Best Paper: Yamakawa, Takami, Takeda, Kato, Kajii, Emerging investigator series: investigation of mercury emission sources using Hg isotopic compositions of atmospheric mercury at the Cape Hedo Atmosphere and Aerosol Monitoring Station (CHAAMS), Japan , Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts , 2019, 21 , 809–818, DOI: 10.1039/C8EM00590G .

Second Runner-up Best Paper: Avery, Waring, DeCarlo, Seasonal variation in aerosol composition and concentration upon transport from the outdoor to indoor environment , Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts , 2019, 21 , 528–547, DOI: 10.1039/C8EM00471D .

Best Review Article: Cousins, Ng, Wang, Scheringer, Why is high persistence alone a major cause of concern? Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts , 2019, 21 , 781–792, DOI: 10.1039/C8EM00515J .

Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology

First Runner-up Best Paper: Yang, Lin, Tse, Dong, Yu, Hoffmann, Membrane-separated electrochemical latrine wastewater treatment , Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol. , 2019, 5 , 51–59, DOI: 10.1039/C8EW00698A .

Second Runner-up Best Paper: Genter, Marks, Clair-Caliot, Mugume, Johnston, Bain, Julian, Evaluation of the novel substrate RUG™ for the detection of Escherichia coli in water from temperate (Zurich, Switzerland) and tropical (Bushenyi, Uganda) field sites , Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol. , 2019, 5 , 1082–1091, DOI: 10.1039/C9EW00138G .

Best Review Article: Okoffo, O’Brien, O’Brien, Tscharke, Thomas, Wastewater treatment plants as a source of plastics in the environment: a review of occurrence, methods for identification, quantification and fate , Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol. , 2019, 5 , 1908–1931, DOI: 10.1039/C9EW00428A .

Environmental Science: Nano

First Runner-up Best Paper: Janković, Plata, Engineered nanomaterials in the context of global element cycles , Environ. Sci.: Nano , 2019, 6 , 2697–2711, DOI: 10.1039/C9EN00322C .

Second Runner-up Best Paper: González-Pleiter, Tamayo-Belda, Pulido-Reyes, Amariei, Leganés, Rosal, Fernández-Piñas, Secondary nanoplastics released from a biodegradable microplastic severely impact freshwater environments , Environ. Sci.: Nano , 2019, 6 , 1382–1392, DOI: 10.1039/C8EN01427B .

Best Review Article: Lv, Christie, Zhang, Uptake, translocation, and transformation of metal-based nanoparticles in plants: recent advances and methodological challenges , Environ. Sci.: Nano , 2019, 6 , 41–59, DOI: 10.1039/C8EN00645H .

Congratulations to the authors of these papers and a hearty thanks to all of our authors. As one can clearly see from the papers listed above, environmental science is a global effort and we are thrilled to have contributions from around the world. In these challenging times, we are proud to publish research that is not only great science, but also relevant to the health of the environment and the public. Finally, we also wish to extend our thanks to our community of editors, reviewers, and readers. We look forward to another outstanding year of Environmental Science , reading the work generated not just from our offices at home, but also from back in our laboratories and the field.

Kris McNeill, Editor-in-Chief

Paige Novak, Editor-in-Chief

Peter Vikesland, Editor-in-Chief

• A. B Boehm, Risk-based water quality thresholds for coliphages in surface waters: effect of temperature and contamination aging, Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts , 2019, 21 , 2031–2041,   10.1039/C9EM00376B .
• L. Cai, C. Liu, G. Fan, C Liu and X. Sun, Preventing viral disease by ZnONPs through directly deactivating TMV and activating plant immunity in Nicotiana benthamiana , Environ. Sci.: Nano , 2019, 6 , 3653–3669,   10.1039/C9EN00850K .
• L. W. Gassie, J. D. Englehardt, N. E. Brinkman, J. Garland and M. K. Perera, Ozone-UV net-zero water wash station for remote emergency response healthcare units: design, operation, and results, Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol. , 2019, 5 , 1971–1984,   10.1039/C9EW00126C .
• L. M. Hornstra, T. Rodrigues da Silva, B. Blankert, L. Heijnen, E. Beerendonk, E. R. Cornelissen and G. Medema, Monitoring the integrity of reverse osmosis membranes using novel indigenous freshwater viruses and bacteriophages, Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol. , 2019, 5 , 1535–1544,   10.1039/C9EW00318E .
• A. H. Hassaballah, J. Nyitrai, C. H. Hart, N. Dai and L. M. Sassoubre, A pilot-scale study of peracetic acid and ultraviolet light for wastewater disinfection, Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol. , 2019, 5 , 1453–1463,   10.1039/C9EW00341J .
• W. Khan, J.-Y. Nam, H. Woo, H. Ryu, S. Kim, S. K. Maeng and H.-C. Kim, A proof of concept study for wastewater reuse using bioelectrochemical processes combined with complementary post-treatment technologies, Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol. , 2019, 5 , 1489–1498,   10.1039/C9EW00358D .
• J. Heffron, B. McDermid and B. K. Mayer, Bacteriophage inactivation as a function of ferrous iron oxidation, Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol. , 2019, 5 , 1309–1317,   10.1039/C9EW00190E .
• S. Torii, T. Hashimoto, A. T. Do, H. Furumai and H. Katayama, Impact of repeated pressurization on virus removal by reverse osmosis membranes for household water treatment, Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol. , 2019, 5 , 910–919,   10.1039/C8EW00944A .
• J. Miao, H.-J. Jiang, Z.-W. Yang, D.-y. Shi, D. Yang, Z.-Q. Shen, J. Yin, Z.-G. Qiu, H.-R. Wang, J.-W. Li and M. Jin, Assessment of an electropositive granule media filter for concentrating viruses from large volumes of coastal water, Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol. , 2019, 5 , 325–333,   10.1039/C8EW00699G .
• K. L. Nelson, A. B. Boehm, R. J. Davies-Colley, M. C. Dodd, T. Kohn, K. G. Linden, Y. Liu, P. A. Maraccini, K. McNeill, W. A. Mitch, T. H. Nguyen, K. M. Parker, R. A. Rodriguez, L. M. Sassoubre, A. I. Silverman, K. R. Wigginton and R. G. Zepp, Sunlight mediated inactivation of health relevant microorganisms in water: a review of mechanisms and modeling approaches, Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts , 2018, 20 , 1089–1122,   10.1039/C8EM00047F .

Cerium-based metal–organic-frameworks with ligand tuning of the microstructures for fluoride adsorption: linear and nonlinear kinetic and isotherm adsorption models

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Year around study of tubular solar still with green almond shells biowaste as energy storage material: energy, economic, and environmental analysis

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Two decades of research trends in microbial-induced carbonate precipitation for heavy metal removal: a bibliometric review and literature review

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Non-thermal plasma-catalytic processes for CO 2 conversion toward circular economy: fundamentals, current status, and future challenges

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Tracking the impact of heavy metals on human health and ecological environments in complex coastal aquifers using improved machine learning optimization

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Heavy metal toxicity leads to accumulation of insoluble proteins and induces endoplasmic reticulum stress–specific unfolded protein response in Arabidopsis thaliana

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Ion-exchange resins improve the analysis of metal nanoparticles in wastewater using single-particle inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry

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Insecticidal activity of isoborneol derivatives against Musca domestica adults and Culex quinquefasciatus larvae

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Transitioning to a green economy in China: The environmental and economic impacts of green credit

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Evaluation of reduced graphene oxide from cotton waste as an efficient phenol adsorbent in aqueous media

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Hydrotreated vegetable oil migrates through soil and degrades faster than fossil diesel and hydrotreated vegetable oil-fossil diesel blend

• Katariina Lahti-Leikas
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Carbon emission warning method for machine tool manufacturing process based on dynamic adaptive EWMA control chart

• Zhenan Song
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Fabrication of electrospun PA66 nanofibers loaded with biosynthesized silver nanoparticles: investigation of dye degradation and antibacterial activity

• Havva Tutar Kahraman

Coupling coordination between digital village construction and agricultural carbon emissions in China

• Ke-Liang Wang
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A new attention-based CNN_GRU model for spatial–temporal PM 2.5 prediction

• Sara Haghbayan
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Ecotoxicological risk assessment on coagulation-flocculation in water/wastewater treatment: a systematic review

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Pioneering and innovative strategies for environmental remediation, sustainable energy, and advanced farming technology

• Kumaresan Govindasamy

Experimental study of diesel engine performance and emissions from microalgae fuel blends with SiO 2 nanoadditives: RSM and Taguchi optimization

• Chandrabhushan Tiwari
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Efficacy of propolis and royal jelly in attenuating cadmium-induced spermatogenesis and steroidogenesis dysregulation, causing infertility in rats

• Ahmed E. Abdel Karim
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Effect of applying a magnetic field on the biofiltration of hexane over long-term operation period

• Mónica Cortés-Castillo
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Comparative assessment of domestic wastewater treatment via Vermifiltration through various filter bed material

• Ankit Kumar
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Efficient photocatalytic degradation of diclofenac drug using the Zn 1-x-y Pr x Al y O photocatalyst under UV light irradiation

• Emanoel Martins
• Pollyana Trigueiro
• Ramón R. Peña-Garcia

Nanoscale zero-valent iron/biochar composites containing persistent free radicals (PFRs) for degradation of p-nitrophenol

Green synthesis of zinc ferrite nanoparticles from Nyctanthes arbor-tristis : unveiling larvicidal potential, protein binding affinity and photocatalytic activities

• Kavitha Duraisamy
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Utilizing machine learning to classify persistent organic pollutants in the serum of pregnant women: a predictive modeling approach

• Maya Mahfouz
• Yara Mahfouz
• Jean-François Narbonne

An assessment of latrine front-end characteristics and associated surface E. coli indicated faecal contamination in rural Fiji

• Sabita Adhikari
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Bifunctional properties of Ag/α-Fe 2 O 3 /rGO nanocomposite for supercapacitor and electrochemical nitrate sensing using tetradodecyl ammonium nitrate as ion-selective membrane

• Percy J. Sephra
• Tharini Chandrapagasam
• Manikandan Esakkimuthu

A study of the impact of the environmental protection tax on corporate employment: Evidence based on listed companies in polluting industries

• Jianguo Zhao
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Migration of copper(II) ions in humic systems—effect of incorporated calcium(II), magnesium(II), and iron(III) ions

• Martina Klučáková
• Vojtěch Enev

Assessment of the mobility of potentially toxic trace elements (PTEs) and radionuclides released in soils stabilized with mixtures of bentonite-lime-phosphogypsum

• Achraf Harrou
• Meriam El Ouahabi
• ElKhadir Gharibi

Assessment of rainwater harvesting potential from rooftops in Jordan’s Twelve Governorates

• Anas Jaradat

A simple model for predicting the hydraulic conductivity of MICP-treated sand

• Yanning Wang
• Longjian Huang

Herbicide and nutrient monitoring in surface waters and groundwater of a paddy district in northern Italy

• Alice Tediosi
• Federico Ferrari
• Arianna Facchi

Insightful analysis of physical properties, kinetics, absorption capacity, and regeneration heat duty of monoethanolamine and N -methyl-4-piperidinol blended solvent in post-combustion carbon capture

• Rattanaporn Apaiyakul
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Transport and fate of Fukushima-derived 137 Cs and 134 Cs in the seawater of the Northwest Pacific in 2015

• Fenfen Wang

Coping with the tale of natural resources and environmental inequality: an application of the machine learning tools

• Bilel Souissi
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Monitoring nonlinear large gradient subsidence in mining areas through SBAS-InSAR with PUNet and Weibull model fusion

• Yuanjian Wang
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Spatiotemporal and vertical variability of water quality in lentic small water bodies: implications of varying rainfall and land use conditions

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Adsorption and photocatalytic degradation of 2,4-dicholrophenol using surgical mask derived SMAC-Fe 2 O 3 composite; adsorption isotherms, kinetics, thermodynamics

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KOH-treated tire pyrolyzed carbon as green and easily available adsorbent for Bisphenol A and Methylene blue adsorption

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Using algorithmic game theory to improve supervised machine learning: A novel applicability approach in flood susceptibility mapping

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Review on antibiotic pollution dynamics: insights to occurrence, environmental behaviour, ecotoxicity, and management strategies

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Determination of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in indoor work environments by solid phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

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Selective removal of organic contaminants and ascorbic acid enhancement effect based on the magnetic Fe 0 /FeS 2 -doped carbon nanolayer

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Imazalil and prochloraz toxicokinetics in fish probed by a physiologically based kinetic (PBK) model

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Biochar-mediated bioremediation: a sustainable strategy to increase Avena sativa L. tolerance to crude oil soil contamination

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Green finance pilot policy and corporate environmental social responsibility: empirical evidence from China’s green finance reform and innovation pilot zones

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Does circularity mean environmental sustainability? Novel evidence from European countries

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From source to sink: part 1—characterization and Lagrangian tracking of riverine microplastics in the Mediterranean Basin

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Effect of thyroid disruption on ovarian development following maternal exposure to Bisphenol S

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Research Topics & Ideas: Environment

100+ Environmental Science Research Topics & Ideas

Finding and choosing a strong research topic is the critical first step when it comes to crafting a high-quality dissertation, thesis or research project. Here, we’ll explore a variety research ideas and topic thought-starters related to various environmental science disciplines, including ecology, oceanography, hydrology, geology, soil science, environmental chemistry, environmental economics, and environmental ethics.

NB – This is just the start…

The topic ideation and evaluation process has multiple steps . In this post, we’ll kickstart the process by sharing some research topic ideas within the environmental sciences. This is the starting point though. To develop a well-defined research topic, you’ll need to identify a clear and convincing research gap , along with a well-justified plan of action to fill that gap.

If you’re new to the oftentimes perplexing world of research, or if this is your first time undertaking a formal academic research project, be sure to check out our free dissertation mini-course. Also be sure to also sign up for our free webinar that explores how to develop a high-quality research topic from scratch.

Overview: Environmental Topics

• Ecology /ecological science
• Atmospheric science
• Oceanography
• Soil science
• Environmental chemistry
• Environmental economics
• Environmental ethics
• Examples  of dissertations and theses

Topics & Ideas: Ecological Science

• The impact of land-use change on species diversity and ecosystem functioning in agricultural landscapes
• The role of disturbances such as fire and drought in shaping arid ecosystems
• The impact of climate change on the distribution of migratory marine species
• Investigating the role of mutualistic plant-insect relationships in maintaining ecosystem stability
• The effects of invasive plant species on ecosystem structure and function
• The impact of habitat fragmentation caused by road construction on species diversity and population dynamics in the tropics
• The role of ecosystem services in urban areas and their economic value to a developing nation
• The effectiveness of different grassland restoration techniques in degraded ecosystems
• The impact of land-use change through agriculture and urbanisation on soil microbial communities in a temperate environment
• The role of microbial diversity in ecosystem health and nutrient cycling in an African savannah

Topics & Ideas: Atmospheric Science

• The impact of climate change on atmospheric circulation patterns above tropical rainforests
• The role of atmospheric aerosols in cloud formation and precipitation above cities with high pollution levels
• The impact of agricultural land-use change on global atmospheric composition
• Investigating the role of atmospheric convection in severe weather events in the tropics
• The impact of urbanisation on regional and global atmospheric ozone levels
• The impact of sea surface temperature on atmospheric circulation and tropical cyclones
• The impact of solar flares on the Earth’s atmospheric composition
• The impact of climate change on atmospheric turbulence and air transportation safety
• The impact of stratospheric ozone depletion on atmospheric circulation and climate change
• The role of atmospheric rivers in global water supply and sea-ice formation

Topics & Ideas: Oceanography

• The impact of ocean acidification on kelp forests and biogeochemical cycles
• The role of ocean currents in distributing heat and regulating desert rain
• The impact of carbon monoxide pollution on ocean chemistry and biogeochemical cycles
• Investigating the role of ocean mixing in regulating coastal climates
• The impact of sea level rise on the resource availability of low-income coastal communities
• The impact of ocean warming on the distribution and migration patterns of marine mammals
• The impact of ocean deoxygenation on biogeochemical cycles in the arctic
• The role of ocean-atmosphere interactions in regulating rainfall in arid regions
• The impact of ocean eddies on global ocean circulation and plankton distribution
• The role of ocean-ice interactions in regulating the Earth’s climate and sea level

Tops & Ideas: Hydrology

• The impact of agricultural land-use change on water resources and hydrologic cycles in temperate regions
• The impact of agricultural groundwater availability on irrigation practices in the global south
• The impact of rising sea-surface temperatures on global precipitation patterns and water availability
• Investigating the role of wetlands in regulating water resources for riparian forests
• The impact of tropical ranches on river and stream ecosystems and water quality
• The impact of urbanisation on regional and local hydrologic cycles and water resources for agriculture
• The role of snow cover and mountain hydrology in regulating regional agricultural water resources
• The impact of drought on food security in arid and semi-arid regions
• The role of groundwater recharge in sustaining water resources in arid and semi-arid environments
• The impact of sea level rise on coastal hydrology and the quality of water resources

Topics & Ideas: Geology

• The impact of tectonic activity on the East African rift valley
• The role of mineral deposits in shaping ancient human societies
• The impact of sea-level rise on coastal geomorphology and shoreline evolution
• Investigating the role of erosion in shaping the landscape and impacting desertification
• The impact of mining on soil stability and landslide potential
• The impact of volcanic activity on incoming solar radiation and climate
• The role of geothermal energy in decarbonising the energy mix of megacities
• The impact of Earth’s magnetic field on geological processes and solar wind
• The impact of plate tectonics on the evolution of mammals
• The role of the distribution of mineral resources in shaping human societies and economies, with emphasis on sustainability

Topics & Ideas: Soil Science

• The impact of dam building on soil quality and fertility
• The role of soil organic matter in regulating nutrient cycles in agricultural land
• The impact of climate change on soil erosion and soil organic carbon storage in peatlands
• Investigating the role of above-below-ground interactions in nutrient cycling and soil health
• The impact of deforestation on soil degradation and soil fertility
• The role of soil texture and structure in regulating water and nutrient availability in boreal forests
• The impact of sustainable land management practices on soil health and soil organic matter
• The impact of wetland modification on soil structure and function
• The role of soil-atmosphere exchange and carbon sequestration in regulating regional and global climate
• The impact of salinization on soil health and crop productivity in coastal communities

Topics & Ideas: Environmental Chemistry

• The impact of cobalt mining on water quality and the fate of contaminants in the environment
• The role of atmospheric chemistry in shaping air quality and climate change
• The impact of soil chemistry on nutrient availability and plant growth in wheat monoculture
• Investigating the fate and transport of heavy metal contaminants in the environment
• The impact of climate change on biochemical cycling in tropical rainforests
• The impact of various types of land-use change on biochemical cycling
• The role of soil microbes in mediating contaminant degradation in the environment
• The impact of chemical and oil spills on freshwater and soil chemistry
• The role of atmospheric nitrogen deposition in shaping water and soil chemistry
• The impact of over-irrigation on the cycling and fate of persistent organic pollutants in the environment

Topics & Ideas: Environmental Economics

• The impact of climate change on the economies of developing nations
• The role of market-based mechanisms in promoting sustainable use of forest resources
• The impact of environmental regulations on economic growth and competitiveness
• Investigating the economic benefits and costs of ecosystem services for African countries
• The impact of renewable energy policies on regional and global energy markets
• The role of water markets in promoting sustainable water use in southern Africa
• The impact of land-use change in rural areas on regional and global economies
• The impact of environmental disasters on local and national economies
• The role of green technologies and innovation in shaping the zero-carbon transition and the knock-on effects for local economies
• The impact of environmental and natural resource policies on income distribution and poverty of rural communities

Topics & Ideas: Environmental Ethics

• The ethical foundations of environmentalism and the environmental movement regarding renewable energy
• The role of values and ethics in shaping environmental policy and decision-making in the mining industry
• The impact of cultural and religious beliefs on environmental attitudes and behaviours in first world countries
• Investigating the ethics of biodiversity conservation and the protection of endangered species in palm oil plantations
• The ethical implications of sea-level rise for future generations and vulnerable coastal populations
• The role of ethical considerations in shaping sustainable use of natural forest resources
• The impact of environmental justice on marginalized communities and environmental policies in Asia
• The ethical implications of environmental risks and decision-making under uncertainty
• The role of ethics in shaping the transition to a low-carbon, sustainable future for the construction industry
• The impact of environmental values on consumer behaviour and the marketplace: a case study of the ‘bring your own shopping bag’ policy

Examples: Real Dissertation & Thesis Topics

While the ideas we’ve presented above are a decent starting point for finding a research topic, they are fairly generic and non-specific. So, it helps to look at actual dissertations and theses to see how this all comes together.

Below, we’ve included a selection of research projects from various environmental science-related degree programs to help refine your thinking. These are actual dissertations and theses, written as part of Master’s and PhD-level programs, so they can provide some useful insight as to what a research topic looks like in practice.

• The physiology of microorganisms in enhanced biological phosphorous removal (Saunders, 2014)
• The influence of the coastal front on heavy rainfall events along the east coast (Henson, 2019)
• Forage production and diversification for climate-smart tropical and temperate silvopastures (Dibala, 2019)
• Advancing spectral induced polarization for near surface geophysical characterization (Wang, 2021)
• Assessment of Chromophoric Dissolved Organic Matter and Thamnocephalus platyurus as Tools to Monitor Cyanobacterial Bloom Development and Toxicity (Hipsher, 2019)
• Evaluating the Removal of Microcystin Variants with Powdered Activated Carbon (Juang, 2020)
• The effect of hydrological restoration on nutrient concentrations, macroinvertebrate communities, and amphibian populations in Lake Erie coastal wetlands (Berg, 2019)
• Utilizing hydrologic soil grouping to estimate corn nitrogen rate recommendations (Bean, 2019)
• Fungal Function in House Dust and Dust from the International Space Station (Bope, 2021)
• Assessing Vulnerability and the Potential for Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) in Sudan’s Blue Nile Basin (Mohamed, 2022)
• A Microbial Water Quality Analysis of the Recreational Zones in the Los Angeles River of Elysian Valley, CA (Nguyen, 2019)
• Dry Season Water Quality Study on Three Recreational Sites in the San Gabriel Mountains (Vallejo, 2019)
• Wastewater Treatment Plan for Unix Packaging Adjustment of the Potential Hydrogen (PH) Evaluation of Enzymatic Activity After the Addition of Cycle Disgestase Enzyme (Miessi, 2020)
• Laying the Genetic Foundation for the Conservation of Longhorn Fairy Shrimp (Kyle, 2021).

Looking at these titles, you can probably pick up that the research topics here are quite specific and narrowly-focused , compared to the generic ones presented earlier. To create a top-notch research topic, you will need to be precise and target a specific context with specific variables of interest . In other words, you’ll need to identify a clear, well-justified research gap.

Need more help?

If you’re still feeling a bit unsure about how to find a research topic for your environmental science dissertation or research project, be sure to check out our private coaching services below, as well as our Research Topic Kickstarter .

Need a helping hand?

12 Comments

research topics on climate change and environment

Researched PhD topics on environmental chemistry involving dust and water

I wish to learn things in a more advanced but simple way and with the hopes that I am in the right place.

Thank so much for the research topics. It really helped

the guides were really helpful

Research topics on environmental geology

Thanks for the research topics….I need a research topic on Geography

hi I need research questions ideas

Implications of climate variability on wildlife conservation on the west coast of Cameroon

I want the research on environmental planning and management

I want a topic on environmental sustainability

It good coaching

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Environmental Systems Research

Guest Editors: A.K.M. Saiful Islam,Achlesh Daverey, Khaled Benis Submission Status: Open from 15 July 2024   |   Submission Deadline: 25 March 2025

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Environmental Science Research Network

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Environmental Science Preprints

Environmental Science studies how the natural world works to understand how we as humans interact with the environment, and how we affect the environment. The Environmental Science Research Network on SSRN is an open access preprint server that provides a venue for authors to showcase their research papers in our digital library, speeding up dissemination and providing the scholarly community access to groundbreaking working papers and early-stage research. SSRN provides the opportunity to share different outputs of research such as preprints, preliminary or exploratory investigations, book chapters, PhD dissertations, course and teaching materials, presentations, and posters, among others. Scholars and researchers in environmental science analyze a wide variety of environmental problems and potential solutions, such as climate change and conservation. Practitioners help businesses follow regulations or improve their practices to limit their impact on the environment, advise government officials in writing policies, and assess the potential effects of development projects to prevent new environmental issues. SSRN helps environmental scientists discover the latest research in their own and other related areas of research including biology, chemistry, ecology, engineering, geology and sustainability, while providing a unique opportunity for researchers to submit early and novel work for review, feedback, and use by researchers within and beyond environmental science.

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50 Best Environmental Science Research Topics

May 31, 2023

Environmental science is a varied discipline that encompasses a variety of subjects, including ecology, atmospheric science, and geology among others. Professionals within this field can pursue many occupations from lab technicians and agricultural engineers to park rangers and environmental lawyers. However, what unites these careers is their focus on how the natural world and the human world interact and impact the surrounding environment. There is also one other significant commonality among environmental science careers: virtually all of them either engage in or rely on research on environmental science topics to ensure their work is accurate and up to date.

In this post, we’ll outline some of the best environmental science research topics to help you explore disciplines within environmental science and kickstart your own research. If you are considering majoring in environmental science or perhaps just need help brainstorming for a research paper, this post will give you a broad sense of timely environmental science research topics.

What makes a research topic good?

Before we dive into specific environmental science research topics, let’s first cover the basics: what qualities make for a viable research topic. Research is the process of collecting information to make discoveries and reach new conclusions. We often think of research as something that occurs in academic or scientific settings. However, everyone engages in informal research in everyday life, from reading product reviews to investigating statistics for admitted students at prospective colleges . While we all conduct research in our day-to-day lives, formal academic research is necessary to advance discoveries and scholarly discourses. Therefore, in this setting, good research hinges on a topic in which there are unanswered questions or ongoing debates. In other words, meaningful research focuses on topics where you can say something new.

However, identifying an interesting research topic is only the first step in the research process. Research topics tend to be broad in scope. Strong research is dependent on developing a specific research question, meaning the query your project will seek to answer. While there are no comprehensive guidelines for research questions, most scholars agree that research questions should be:

1) Specific

Research questions need to clearly identify and define the focus of your research. Without sufficient detail, your research will likely be too broad or imprecise in focus to yield meaningful insights. For example, you might initially be interested in addressing this question: How should governments address the effects of climate change? While that is a worthwhile question to investigate, it’s not clear enough to facilitate meaningful research. What level of government is this question referring to? And what specific effects of global warming will this research focus on? You would need to revise this question to provide a clearer focus for your research. A revised version of this question might look like this: How can state government officials in Florida best mitigate the effects of sea-level rise?

 2) Narrow

Our interest in a given topic often starts quite broad. However, it is difficult to produce meaningful, thorough research on a broad topic. For that reason, it is important that research questions be narrow in scope, focusing on a specific issue or subtopic. For example, one of the more timely environmental science topics is renewable energy. A student who is just learning about this topic might wish to write a research paper on the following question: Which form of renewable energy is best? However, that would be a difficult question to answer in one paper given the various ways in which an energy source could be “best.” Instead, this student might narrow their focus, assessing renewable energy sources through a more specific lens: Which form of renewable energy is best for job creation?

 3) Complex

As we previously discussed, good research leads to new discoveries. These lines of inquiry typically require a complicated and open-ended research question. A question that can be answered with just a “yes” or “no” (or a quick Google search) is likely indicative of a topic in which additional research is unnecessary (i.e. there is no ongoing debate) or a topic that is not well defined. For example, the following question would likely be too simple for academic research: What is environmental justice? You can look up a definition of environmental justice online. You would need to ask a more complex question to sustain a meaningful research project. Instead, you might conduct research on the following query: Which environmental issue(s) disproportionately impact impoverished communities in the Pacific Northwest? This question is narrower and more specific, while also requiring more complex thought and analysis to answer.

4) Debatable

Again, strong research provides new answers and information, which means that they must be situated within topics or discourses where there is ongoing debate. If a research question can only lead to one natural conclusion, that may indicate that it has already been sufficiently addressed in prior research or that the question is leading. For example, Are invasive species bad? is not a very debatable question (the answer is in the term “invasive species”!). A paper that focused on this question would essentially define and provide examples of invasive species (i.e. information that is already well documented). Instead, a researcher might investigate the effects of a specific invasive species. For example: How have Burmese pythons impacted ecosystems in the Everglades, and what mitigation strategies are most effective to reduce Burmese python populations?

Therefore, research topics, including environmental science topics, are those about which there are ample questions yet to be definitively answered. Taking time to develop a thoughtful research question will provide the necessary focus and structure to facilitate meaningful research.

10 Great Environmental Science Research Topics (With Explanations!)

Now that we have a basic understanding of what qualities can make or break a research topic, we can return to our focus on environmental science topics. Although “great” research topics are somewhat subjective, we believe the following topics provide excellent foundations for research due to ongoing debates in these areas, as well as the urgency of the challenges they seek to address.

1) Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation

Although climate change is now a well-known concept , there is still much to be learned about how humans can best mitigate and adapt to its effects. Mitigation involves reducing the severity of climate change. However, there are a variety of ways mitigation can occur, from switching to electric vehicles to enforcing carbon taxes on corporations that produce the highest carbon emission levels. Many of these environmental science topics intersect with issues of public policy and economics, making them very nuanced and versatile.

In comparison, climate change adaptation considers how humans can adjust to life in an evolving climate where issues such as food insecurity, floods, droughts, and other severe weather events are more frequent. Research on climate change adaptation is particularly fascinating due to the various levels at which it occurs, from federal down to local governments, to help communities anticipate and adjust to the effects of climate change.

Both climate change mitigation and adaptation represent excellent environmental science research topics as there is still much to be learned to address this issue and its varied effects.

2) Renewable Energy

Renewable energy is another fairly mainstream topic in which there is much to learn and research. Although scientists have identified many forms of sustainable energy, such as wind, solar, and hydroelectric power, questions remain about how to best implement these energy sources. How can politicians, world leaders, and communities advance renewable energy through public policy? What impact will renewable energy have on local and national economies? And how can we minimize the environmental impact of renewable energy technologies? While we have identified alternatives to fossil fuels, questions persist about the best way to utilize these technologies, making renewable energy one of the best environmental science topics to research.

3) Conservation

Conservation is a broad topic within environmental science, focusing on issues such as preserving environments and protecting endangered species. However, conservation efforts are more challenging than ever in the face of a growing world population and climate change. In fact, some scientists theorize that we are currently in the middle of a sixth mass extinction event. While these issues might seem dire, we need scientists to conduct research on conservation efforts for specific species, as well as entire ecosystems, to help combat these challenges and preserve the planet’s biodiversity.

4) Deforestation

The Save the Rainforest movement of the 1980s and 90s introduced many people to the issue of deforestation. Today, the problems associated with deforestation, such as reduced biodiversity and soil erosion, are fairly common knowledge. However, these challenges persist due, in part, to construction and agricultural development projects. While we know the effects of deforestation, it is more difficult to identify and implement feasible solutions. This is particularly true in developing countries where deforestation is often more prevalent due to political, environmental, and economic factors. Environmental science research can help reduce deforestation by identifying strategies to help countries sustainably manage their natural resources.

Environmental Science Topics (Continued)

5) urban ecology.

When we think of “the environment,” our brains often conjure up images of majestic mountain ranges and lush green forests. However, less “natural” environments also warrant study: this is where urban ecology comes in. Urban ecology is the study of how organisms interact with one another and their environment in urban settings. Through urban ecology, researchers can address topics such as how greenspaces in cities can reduce air pollution, or how local governments can adopt more effective waste management practices. As one of the newer environmental science topics, urban ecology represents an exciting research area that can help humans live more sustainably.

6) Environmental Justice

While environmental issues such as climate change impact people on a global scale, not all communities are affected equally. For example, wealthy nations tend to contribute more to greenhouse-gas emissions. However, less developed nations are disproportionately bearing the brunt of climate change . Studies within the field of environmental justice seek to understand how issues such as race, national origin, and income impact the degree to which people experience hardships from environmental issues. Researchers in this field not only document these inequities, but also identify ways in which environmental justice can be achieved. As a result, their work helps communities have access to clean, safe environments in which they can thrive.

7) Water Management

Water is, of course, necessary for life, which is why water management is so important within environmental science research topics. Water management research ensures that water resources are appropriately identified and maintained to meet demand. However, climate change has heightened the need for water management research, due to the occurrence of more severe droughts and wildfires. As a result, water management research is necessary to ensure water is clean and accessible.

8) Pollution and Bioremediation

Another impact of the increase in human population and development is heightened air, water, and soil pollution. Environmental scientists study pollutants to understand how they work and where they originate. Through their research, they can identify solutions to help address pollution, such as bioremediation, which is the use of microorganisms to consume and break down pollutants. Collectively, research on pollution and bioremediation helps us restore environments so they are sufficient for human, animal, and plant life.

9) Disease Ecology

While environmental science topics impact the health of humans, we don’t always think of this discipline as intersecting with medicine. But, believe it or not, they can sometimes overlap! Disease ecology examines how ecological processes and interactions impact disease evolution. For example, malaria is a disease that is highly dependent on ecological variables, such as temperature and precipitation. Both of these factors can help or hinder the breeding of mosquitoes and, therefore, the transmission of malaria. The risk of infectious diseases is likely to increase due to climate change , making disease ecology an important research topic.

10) Ecosystems Ecology

If nothing else, the aforementioned topics and their related debates showcase just how interconnected the world is. None of us live in a vacuum: our environment affects us just as we affect it. That makes ecosystems ecology, which examines how ecosystems operate and interact, an evergreen research topic within environmental science.

40 More Environmental Science Research Topics

Still haven’t stumbled upon the right environmental science research topic? The following ideas may help spark some inspiration:

• The effects of agricultural land use on biodiversity and ecosystems.
• The impact of invasive plant species on ecosystems.
• How wildfires and droughts shape ecosystems.
• The role of fire ecology in addressing wildfire threats.
• The impact of coral bleaching on biodiversity.
• Ways to minimize the environmental impact of clean energies.
• The effects of climate change on ocean currents and migration patterns of marine species.

Environmental Justice and Public Policy

• Opportunities to equalize the benefits of greenspaces for impoverished and marginalized communities.
• The impact of natural disasters on human migration patterns.
• The role of national parks and nature reserves in human health.
• How to address inequalities in the impact of air pollution.
• How to prevent and address the looming climate refugee crisis.
• Environmentally and economically sustainable alternatives to deforestation in less developed countries.
• Effects of environmental policies and regulations on impoverished communities.
• The role of pollutants in endocrine disruption.
• The effects of climate change on the emergence of infectious diseases.

AP Environmental Science Research Topics (Continued)

Soil science.

• Effects of climate change on soil erosion.
• The role of land management in maintaining soil health.
• Agricultural effects of salinization in coastal areas.
• The effects of climate change on agriculture.

Urban Ecology

• How road construction impacts biodiversity and ecosystems.
• The effects of urbanization and city planning on water cycles.
• Impacts of noise pollution on human health.
• The role of city planning in reducing light pollution.

Pollution and Bioremediation

• The role of bioremediation in removing “forever” chemicals from the environment.
• Impacts of air pollution on maternal health.
• How to improve plastic recycling processes.
• Individual measures to reduce consumption and creation of microplastics.
• Environmental impacts of and alternatives to fracking.

Environmental Law and Ethics

• Ethical implications of human intervention in the preservation of endangered species.
• The efficacy and impact of single-use plastic laws.
• Effects of religious and cultural values in environmental beliefs.
• The ethics of climate change policy for future generations.
• Ethical implications of international environmental regulations for less developed countries.
• The impact and efficacy of corporate carbon taxes.
• Ethical and environmental implications of fast fashion.
• The ethics and efficacy of green consumerism.
• Impacts of the hospitality and travel industries on pollution and emissions.
• The ethical implications of greenwashing in marketing.
• Effects of “Right to Repair” laws on pollution.

Final Thoughts: Environmental Science Research Topics

Environmental science is a diverse and very important area of study that impacts all aspects of life on Earth. If you’ve found a topic you’d like to pursue, it’s time to hit the books (or online databases)! Begin reading broadly on your chosen topic so you can define a specific research question. If you’re unsure where to begin, contact a research librarian who can connect you with pertinent resources. As you familiarize yourself with the discourse surrounding your topic, consider what questions spring to mind. Those questions may represent gaps around which you can craft a research question.

Interested in conducting academic research? Check out the following resources for information on research opportunities and programs:

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Emily Smith

Emily earned a BA in English and Communication Studies from UNC Chapel Hill and an MA in English from Wake Forest University. While at UNC and Wake Forest, she served as a tutor and graduate assistant in each school’s writing center, where she worked with undergraduate and graduate students from all academic backgrounds. She also worked as an editorial intern for the Wake Forest University Press as well as a visiting lecturer in the Department of English at WFU, and currently works as a writing center director in western North Carolina.

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Recommended Environmental Science Articles & Journals

Information about what is happening in the scientific community reaches us a variety of ways. Some may be through a group you follow on social media. Some may be via word of mouth, or CNN, BBC, in a class, on the radio as a public notice, overheard at a restaurant, etc. One tried and true way to get news is through print. Articles can be written by any scientific journalist with little regard to the “form” of the article. But a publication that goes through a peer review process, and is published in some of the following magazines, undergoes a much more scientific process of writing.

Daily Environmental Science News Articles

Although we have multiple choices of information for finding out local and national news, most of us have a specific source we use, whether it is radio, TV, or internet, or some combination. Environmental Science has its own news venues, and you may find one whose style is well suited for you.

For up-to-date information about happenings in the scientific world…

• Environmental News Network covers a variety of world environmental issues
• LiveScience also has updates throughout the day in their Planet Earth section
• Even NBCNews has an Environment section in their Science news
• ScienceDaily has an Environmental Science News
• Scientific American has an Earth and Environment section
• The New York Times has an Environmental section in their science news

Environmental Science Journals

If you are going to become an Environmental Scientist, then you need to be familiar with some major publications. Scientific journals that publish peer reviewed research present it in specific formats that should be familiar to you. The sooner you become comfortable reading papers this way, the easier it will be to both “think scientifically”, and to write your own papers. Many journals that are available online are only free to read if you are associated with a college or university that pays to access them. However, you can usually find the abstract, and determine if you need to pursue the article further.

• The American Meteorological Society publishes a number of journals, listed here , dealing with many specialty fields in Environmental Science.
• Energy & Environmental Science links environmental sciences to sciences concerned with energy and its storage.
• Environmental Health Perspectives is a leading magazine looking at the interactions between human health and the environment and is published through a cooperate effort by a number of leading human health agencies.
• Environmental Science and Policy looks to promote political solutions to environmental problems through awareness and communication.
• Environmental Science and Technology is a publication of The American Chemical Society which focuses on the latest worldwide environmental science innovations and issues.
• Journal of Environmental Engineering has a broad scope covering solutions and policies for environmental resources and sanitation and is published by the American Society of Civil Engineers.
• Journal of Environmental Health is published by the National Environmental Health Association and covers current issues concerning health safety such as air and water quality, among other issues.
• Journal of Environmental Sciences is designed to both promote awareness of discoveries, and strengthen professional relationships among academics.
• Journal of Geophysical Research breaks down many subjects of Earth Science into separate journals studying earth and solar system components; Atmospheres , the Biogeosciences , Earth Surface , Oceans , Planets , and Solid Earth . Environmental Scientists work in all of these fields.
• Water, Air, and Soil Pollution cover many aspects of environmental pollution and remediation throughout the world.

Recommended Readings

How ‘Silent Spring' Ignited the Environmental Movement - a little knowledge of environmental science history can go a long way for your career.

Population and Environment - a detailed look at the interaction between humans and their environment, good practice for reading a scientifically formatted article.

• Recent Posts
• Gaining International Experience in Environmental Science - September 11, 2014
• Recommended Environmental Science Articles & Journals - September 11, 2014
• Is Environmental Science Really a Good Major? - August 27, 2014

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Collection  12 March 2021

2020 Top 50 Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences Articles

We are pleased to share with you the 50 most downloaded Nature Communications articles* across Earth, environmental, and planetary sciences published in 2020. Featuring authors from around the world, these papers highlight valuable research from an international community. 

Browse all Top 50 subject area collections here .

* Data obtained from SN Insights (based on Digital Science's Dimensions) and has been normalised to account for articles published later in the year.

Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity

Mapping and quantifying degree of forest modification is critical to conserve and manage forests. Here the authors propose a new quantitative metric for landscape integrity and apply it to a global forest map, showing that less than half of the world’s forest cover has high integrity, most of which is outside nationally designed protected areas.

• H. S. Grantham
• J. E. M. Watson

Hysteresis of tropical forests in the 21st century

Tropical rainforests partly create their own climatic conditions by promoting precipitation, therefore rainforest losses may trigger dramatic shifts. Here the authors combine remote sensing, hydrological modelling, and atmospheric moisture tracking simulations to assess forest-rainfall feedbacks in three major tropical rainforest regions on Earth and simulate potential changes under a severe climate change scenario.

• Ingo Fetzer
• Obbe A. Tuinenburg

Understanding and managing new risks on the Nile with the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam

Several dams and reservoirs exist along the Nile, most notably the HAD (Egypt) and GERD (Ethiopia) dams. Due to the lack of strategies, the authors here explore potential risks and solutions how to use both dams simultaneously.

• Kevin G. Wheeler
• Marc Jeuland
• Dale Whittington

Renewable energy production will exacerbate mining threats to biodiversity

Renewable energy production is necessary to mitigate climate change, however, generating the required technologies and infrastructure will demand huge production increases of many metals. Here, the authors map mining areas and assess spatial coincidence with biodiversity conservation sites, and show that new mining threats to biodiversity may surpass those averted by climate change mitigation.

• Laura J. Sonter
• Marie C. Dade
• Rick K. Valenta

A steeply-inclined trajectory for the Chicxulub impact

The authors here present a 3D model that simulates the formation of the Chicxulub impact crater. Based on asymmetries in the subsurface structure of the Chicxulub crater, the authors diagnose impact angle and direction and suggest a steeply inclined (60° to horizontal) impact from the northeast.

• G. S. Collins
• Third-Party Scientists

Centennial response of Greenland’s three largest outlet glaciers

The Greenland Ice Sheet is the largest land ice contributor to sea level rise and understanding the long-term glacier response to external forcing is key to improved projections. Here the authors show Greenland’s three largest outlet glaciers will likely exceed current worst-case scenario

• Shfaqat A. Khan
• Anders A. Bjørk
• Toni Schenk

The economic costs of planting, preserving, and managing the world’s forests to mitigate climate change

Forests are critical for stabilizing our climate, but costs of mitigation remain uncertain. Here the authors show the global forest sector could reduce emissions by 6.0 GtCO 2  yr −1 in 2055, or roughly 10% of the mitigation needed to limit warming to 1.5 °C by mid-century, at a cost of 393 billion USD yr −1 , or $281/tCO 2 .

• K. G. Austin
• J. S. Baker

Greater Greenland Ice Sheet contribution to global sea level rise in CMIP6

The potential contribution of Greenland Ice Sheet to sea level rise in the future is known to be substantial. Here, the authors undertake new modelling showing that the Greenland Ice Sheet sea level rise contribution is 7.9 cm more using the CMIP6 SSP585 scenario compared to CMIP5 using multiple RCP8.5 simulations.

• Stefan Hofer
• Charlotte Lang
• Xavier Fettweis

Likely weakening of the Florida Current during the past century revealed by sea-level observations

Understanding trends in ocean circulation and dynamics is hampered by a lack of long-term records. Here the author uses probabilistic reanalysis of available data to show that transport by the Florida Current has declined over the past 110 years, indicating a slowdown of Atlantic Ocean circulation.

• Christopher G. Piecuch

Space station biomining experiment demonstrates rare earth element extraction in microgravity and Mars gravity

Rare earth elements are used in electronics, but increase in demand could lead to low supply. Here the authors conduct experiments on the International Space Station and show microbes can extract rare elements from rocks at low gravity, a finding that could extend mining potential to other planets.

• Charles S. Cockell
• Rosa Santomartino
• René Demets

Towards a global-scale soil climate mitigation strategy

Reducing soil degradation and improving soil management could make an important contribute to climate change mitigation. Here the authors discuss opportunities and challenges towards implementing a global climate mitigation strategy focused on carbon sequestration in agricultural soils, and propose a framework for guiding region- and soil-specific management options.

A spatial emergent constraint on the sensitivity of soil carbon turnover to global warming

The fate of the carbon locked away in soil is uncertain, and there are vast differences between models. Here the authors apply observational, spatio-temporal constraints on carbon turnover projections and find that uncertainty in estimations of carbon dynamics are reduced by 50%.

• Rebecca M. Varney
• Sarah E. Chadburn
• Peter M. Cox

High concentrations of plastic hidden beneath the surface of the Atlantic Ocean

The risks posed by plastic contamination of the ocean cannot be assessed as their amount and location remain largely unknown. Here the authors show that large quantities of microplastics exist below the ocean surface over the entire Atlantic in quantities greater than previously estimated.

• Katsiaryna Pabortsava
• Richard S. Lampitt

Iron mineral dissolution releases iron and associated organic carbon during permafrost thaw

Iron minerals trap carbon in permafrost, preventing microbial degradation and release to the atmosphere as CO 2 , but the stability of this carbon as permafrost thaws is unclear. Here the authors use nanoscale analyses to show that thaw conditions stimulate Fe-reducing bacteria that trigger carbon release.

• Monique S. Patzner
• Carsten W. Mueller
• Casey Bryce

Global hotspots for the occurrence of compound events

Compound climate events such as floods and droughts together can cause severe socio-economic impacts. Here, the authors analyse global hazard pairs from 1980–2014 and find global hotspots for the occurrence of compound events.

• Nina N. Ridder
• Andy J. Pitman
• Jakob Zscheischler

Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species

Not all plants are equally able to support native insects. Here, the authors use data on interactions among >12,000 Lepidoptera species and >2000 plant genera across the United States, showing that few plant genera host the majority of Lepidoptera species; this information is used to suggest priorities for plant restoration.

• Desiree L. Narango
• Douglas W. Tallamy
• Kimberley J. Shropshire

Remote sensing reveals Antarctic green snow algae as important terrestrial carbon sink

Snow algae bloom along the coast of Antarctica and are likely to be biogeochemically important. Here, the authors produced the first map of such blooms, show that they are driven by warmer temperatures and proximity to birds and mammals, and are likely to increase given projected climate changes.

• Andrew Gray
• Monika Krolikowski
• Matthew P. Davey

Farming fish in the sea will not nourish the world

Marine aquaculture is widely proposed as compatible with ocean sustainability, biodiversity conservation, and human nutrition goals. In this Perspective, Belton and colleagues dispute the empirical validity of such claims and contend that the potential of marine aquaculture has been much exaggerated.

• David C. Little
• Shakuntala H. Thilsted

Migrant birds and mammals live faster than residents

Migration is costly. In the first global analysis of migratory vertebrates, authors report that migratory birds and mammals have faster paces of life than their non-migratory relatives, and that among swimming and walking species, migrants tend to be larger, while among flying species, migrants are smaller.

• Andrea Soriano-Redondo
• Jorge S. Gutiérrez
• Stuart Bearhop

Global warming due to loss of large ice masses and Arctic summer sea ice

The disintegration of cryosphere elements such as the Arctic summer sea ice, mountain glaciers, Greenland and West Antarctica is associated with temperature and radiative feedbacks. In this work, the authors quantify these feedbacks and find an additional global warming of 0.43°C.

• Nico Wunderling
• Matteo Willeit
• Ricarda Winkelmann

Asteroid shower on the Earth-Moon system immediately before the Cryogenian period revealed by KAGUYA

Ancient impact events on Earth are not well characterized due to continuous re-surfacing of Earth. Here, the authors study impact craters on the Moon with ages up to 800 million years ago and present a cross correlation to Earth, linking up to mass extinction events throughout Earth’s history.

• Kentaro Terada
• Tomokatsu Morota

The cascading origin of the 2018 Kīlauea eruption and implications for future forecasting

• M. R. Patrick
• B. F. Houghton

The erosion of biodiversity and biomass in the Atlantic Forest biodiversity hotspot

Quantifying forest degradation and biodiversity losses is necessary to inform conservation and restoration policies. Here the authors analyze a large dataset for the Atlantic Forest in South America to quantify losses in forest biomass and tree species richness, functional traits, and conservation value.

• Renato A. F. de Lima
• Alexandre A. Oliveira
• Paulo I. Prado

Thousands of reptile species threatened by under-regulated global trade

There are gaps in international efforts to monitor the wildlife trade, with many species potentially being undetected by the established monitoring groups. Here the authors use an automated web search to document the sale of reptiles online, revealing over 36% of all known reptile species are in trade, including many missing from official databases.

• Benjamin M. Marshall
• Colin Strine
• Alice C. Hughes

Organo–organic and organo–mineral interfaces in soil at the nanometer scale

Historically it has been maintained that soil organic carbon (SOC) is stabilized through interactions with mineral interfaces. Here the authors use cryo-electron microscopy and spectroscopy to show that SOC interactions can also occur between organic forms in patchy, disordered structure.

• Angela R. Possinger
• Michael J. Zachman
• Johannes Lehmann

Atmospheric transport is a major pathway of microplastics to remote regions

Plastic pollution is a critical concern across diverse ecosystems, yet most research has focused on terrestrial and aquatic transport, neglecting other mechanisms. Here the authors show that atmospheric transport is a major pathway for road plastic pollution over remote regions.

• N. Evangeliou

Determining the current size and state of subvolcanic magma reservoirs

This study makes use of the total spread of zircon ages and trace elements to study the thermal evolution of magmatic systems. Applied to Nevado de Toluca, the authors determine the size of its subvolcanic magma reservoir and assess its potential of re-activation.

• Gregor Weber
• Luca Caricchi
• Axel K. Schmitt

Revised estimates of ocean-atmosphere CO 2 flux are consistent with ocean carbon inventory

Ocean uptake of carbon dioxide impacts the climate, but flux estimates from surface measurements have not been corrected for temperature differences between surface and water sampling depth. Making that correction, the authors find previous estimates for ocean uptake have been substantially underestimated.

• Andrew J. Watson
• Ute Schuster
• Lonneke Goddijn-Murphy

Large deep-sea zooplankton biomass mirrors primary production in the global ocean

Zooplankton biomass in the dark ocean is thought to be low and weakly coupled to epipelagic primary production, but recent evidence suggests otherwise. Here the authors analyse data from the Malaspina Circumnavigation Expedition and published data to estimate bathypelagic zooplankton biomass and assess its relationship to primary production, currently not well accounted for in oceanic C budget.

• S. Hernández-León
• R. Koppelmann
• C. M. Duarte

Just ten percent of the global terrestrial protected area network is structurally connected via intact land

The effectiveness of protected areas depends not only on whether they are intact, but also on whether they are mutually connected. Here the authors examine the structural connectivity of terrestrial protected areas globally, finding that less than 10% of the protected network can be considered connected.

• Michelle Ward
• Santiago Saura
• James E. M. Watson

Precise radiometric age establishes Yarrabubba, Western Australia, as Earth’s oldest recognised meteorite impact structure

The ~70 km-diameter Yarrabubba impact structure in Western Australia has previously been regarded as among Earth’s oldest meteorite craters, but has hitherto lacked absolute age constraints. Here, the authors determine a precise impact age of 2229 ± 5 Ma, which extends the terrestrial cratering record back in time by > 200 million years and establishes Yarrabubba as the oldest recognised meteorite impact structure on Earth.

• Timmons M. Erickson
• Christopher L. Kirkland
• Thomas M. Davison

Global phosphorus shortage will be aggravated by soil erosion

Phosphorus is an essential nutrient critical for agriculture, but because it is non-renewable its future availability is threatened. Here the authors show that across the globe most nations have net losses of phosphorus, with soil erosion as the major route of loss in Europe, Africa and South America.

• Christine Alewell
• Bruno Ringeval
• Pasquale Borrelli

Impacts of irrigated agriculture on food–energy–water–CO 2 nexus across metacoupled systems

Local human activities can lead to cross-border environmental impacts through the food–energy–water–CO 2 nexus. Here, the authors report wide variations in environmental impacts of irrigated agriculture across counties within the North China Plain under different environmental and socioeconomic scenarios.

• Xiuzhi Chen

The genomic timeline of cichlid fish diversification across continents

Cichlids are a model for adaptive radiation, but the timing of their diversification is debated. Here the authors assemble 14 cichlid genomes, introduce a Bayesian approach to account for fossil-assignment uncertainty, and present a dated phylogenomic hypothesis of cichlid and teleost evolution.

• Michael Matschiner
• Astrid Böhne
• Walter Salzburger

Pervasive subduction zone devolatilization recycles CO 2 into the forearc

The fate of subducted CO 2 remains debated, with estimates mainly from numerical predictions varying from wholesale decarbonation of the shallow subducting slab to massive deep subduction of CO 2 . Here, the authors present field-based data and show that ~40% to ~65% of the CO 2 in subducting crust is released via metamorphic decarbonation reactions at forearc depths.

• E. M. Stewart
• Jay J. Ague

Extinction of eastern Sahul megafauna coincides with sustained environmental deterioration

The causes of the Upper Pleistocene megafauna extinction in Australia and New Guinea are debated, but fossil data are lacking for much of this region. Here, Hocknull and colleagues report a new, diverse megafauna assemblage from north-eastern Australia that persisted until ~40,000 years ago.

• Scott A. Hocknull
• Richard Lewis
• Rochelle A. Lawrence

Strong hydroclimatic controls on vulnerability to subsurface nitrate contamination across Europe

Excess fertilizer use causes subsurface contamination. Here, the authors conduct an assessment of water quality vulnerability across Europe, finding that 75% of agricultural regions are susceptible to nitrate contamination for least one-third of the year, two times more than using standard estimation procedure.

• S. Attinger

Earthquake transformer—an attentive deep-learning model for simultaneous earthquake detection and phase picking

The authors here present a deep learning model that simultaneously detects earthquake signals and measures seismic-phase arrival times. The model performs particularly well for cases with high background noise and the challenging task of picking the S wave arrival.

• S. Mostafa Mousavi
• William L. Ellsworth
• Gregory C. Beroza

Glacial heterogeneity in Southern Ocean carbon storage abated by fast South Indian deglacial carbon release

A Southern Ocean influences on the carbon cycle is considered a key component of deglacial changes. Here, the authors show spatial differences in glacial Southern Ocean carbon storage that dissipated rapidly 14.6 kyr ago, revealing a South Indian Ocean contribution to rapid deglacial atmospheric CO 2 increases.

• Julia Gottschalk
• Elisabeth Michel
• Samuel L. Jaccard

Delayed emergence of a global temperature response after emission mitigation

Strong mitigation of anthropogenic emissions is necessary, but it is not clear how fast these efforts would lead to temperature changes. Here, the authors find that there is a substantial delay between reductions of emissions and a detectable change in surface temperature for a number of climate forcers.

• B. H. Samset
• J. S. Fuglestvedt

The human impact on North American erosion, sediment transfer, and storage in a geologic context

Human activities have accelerated soil erosion and landscape change in many areas. Here the authors show how rates of erosion, sediment transfer and alluvial sedimentation have increased by an order of magnitude across North America since European colonization, far exceeding the rates expected of natural processes.

• David B. Kemp
• Peter M. Sadler
• Veerle Vanacker

Breaking Earth’s shell into a global plate network

How Earth’s lithosphere first divided into tectonic plates remains uncertain. Here, the authors use 3D spherical shell models to demonstrate that anticipated warming of the early lithosphere should lead to thermal expansion and the initiation of a global network of rifts, dividing the lithosphere into tectonic plates.

• A. A. G. Webb

The influence of soil age on ecosystem structure and function across biomes

Soil age is thought to be an important driver of ecosystem development. Here, the authors perform a global survey of soil chronosequences and meta-analysis to show that, contrary to expectations, soil age is a relatively minor ecosystem driver at the biome scale once other drivers such as parent material, climate, and vegetation type are accounted for.

• Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo
• Peter B. Reich
• Noah Fierer

Episodes of fast crystal growth in pegmatites

Pegmatite crystals are thought to grow rapidly, yet their growth rates and conditions are not well constrained. Here, the authors find that the trace element distributions of pegmatitic quartz crystals indicate rapid growth in highly dynamic environments, suggesting that large meter-scale crystals can be formed within days.

• Patrick R. Phelps
• Cin-Ty A. Lee
• Douglas M. Morton

Regime shifts occur disproportionately faster in larger ecosystems

Little is known about how the speed of ecosystem collapse depends on ecosystem size. Here, Cooper, Willcock et al. analyse empirical data and models finding that although regime shift duration increases with ecosystem size, this relationship saturates and even large ecosystems can collapse in a few decades.

• Gregory S. Cooper
• Simon Willcock
• John A. Dearing

Over 90 endangered fish and invertebrates are caught in industrial fisheries

Due to legislative shortfalls, species of global conservation concern can still be captured in commercial fisheries. Here the authors show that 91 threatened species are reported in catch/landing databases, 13 of which are traded internationally despite their conservation concern.

• Leslie A. Roberson
• Reg A. Watson
• Carissa J. Klein

Cropland expansion in the United States produces marginal yields at high costs to wildlife

Conversion of natural ecosystems to cropland is a threat to most native wildlife. Here the authors quantify the impact of recent cropland expansion on the habitat of representative pollinator, bird, plant species across the conterminous United States, showing diminished crop yield returns at the cost of important habitat losses.

• Tyler J. Lark
• Seth A. Spawn
• Holly K. Gibbs

Using publicly available satellite imagery and deep learning to understand economic well-being in Africa

It is generally difficult to scale derived estimates and understand the accuracy across locations for passively-collected data sources, such as mobile phones and satellite imagery. Here the authors show that their trained deep learning models are able to explain 70% of the variation in ground-measured village wealth in held-out countries, outperforming previous benchmarks from high-resolution imagery with errors comparable to that of existing ground data.

• Christopher Yeh
• Anthony Perez
• Marshall Burke

Soil moisture dominates dryness stress on ecosystem production globally

Dryness stresses vegetation and can lead to declines in productivity, increased emission of carbon, and plant mortality, but the drivers of this stress remain unclear. Here the authors show that soil moisture plays a dominant role relative to atmospheric water demand over most global land vegetated areas.

• Lukas Gudmundsson
• Sonia I. Seneviratne

Climate change will affect global water availability through compounding changes in seasonal precipitation and evaporation

Adequate water availability is key to human and ecosystem sustainability. Here, the authors show that seasonally variable regimes become more variable, and the combined influence of seasonality and magnitude of climate variables will affect future water availability.

• Goutam Konapala
• Ashok K. Mishra
• Michael E. Mann

Pollution exacerbates China’s water scarcity and its regional inequality

The impact on inadequate water quality on water scarcity is unclear. Here the authors quantify China’s present-day water scarcity and show that inadequate water quality exacerbates China’s water scarcity, which is unevenly distributed across the country.

• Chenghu Zhou

Mapping global urban land for the 21st century with data-driven simulations and Shared Socioeconomic Pathways

Here the authors develop a set of global, long-term, spatial projections of urban land expansion for understanding the planet’s potential urban futures. The global total amount of urban land increases by a factor of 1.8-5.9 over the 21st century, and the developed world experiences as much new urban development as the developing world.

• Brian C. O’Neill

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Environmental science: advances, environmental science: atmospheres, environmental science: nano, environmental science: processes & impacts, environmental science: water research & technology, soil protection and regeneration, submissions open:.

Now open for submissions

29 November 2024

Guest Editor(s):

Kevin Jones (Lancaster University), Celia Manaia (Catholic University of Portugal)

This collection aims to update recent developments in soil science, soil-dependent ecosystem services, and the impacts and potential barriers of soil in the face of pollution and climate change. The collection seeks contributions from a variety of fields, including but not limited to agro-food/agro-forestry, botany, chemistry, geology, hydrology, and more.

Topics include, but are not limited to:

• Photocatalysis for pollutants treatment in water, air
• Photocatalysis for pollutants utilization
• Photocatalysis for CO 2 reduction
• Photocatalysis for energy conversion
• Solar water splitting, H 2 production
• Solar-driven seawater desalination
• Photocatalysis for H 2 O 2 production
• Photosynthesis
• Photoelectrocatalysis for environmental application
• Role of photocatalysis in the fate of pollutants

Article publication online and in issues will occur without delay to ensure the timely dissemination of the work. The articles will then be assembled on the RSC Publishing platform and promoted as a web-based thematic collection.

Environmental Science: Advances is a gold open access journal and covers advances in all areas related to environmental sustainability. Authors are welcome to submit original research as a Communication, Full Paper or Review article. Please  contact the editorial office to register your interest or for more information. Alternatively, you can submit a manuscript below.

Impact factor: 3.5

Time to first decision (all decisions): 21 days**

Time to first decision (peer reviewed only): 55.0 days***

Editors-in-Chief: Zongwei Cai, Kevin Jones, Célia Manaia

Indexed in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), ResearchGate, Scopus and Web of Science.

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Photocatalysis in the context of Carbon Neutralisation

1 November 2024

Liwu Zhang (Fudan University), Zhenfeng Bian (Shanghai Normal University), Hiromi Yamashita (Osaka University), and Jonathan Bloh (DECHEMA Forschungsinstitut)

Technologies development for realizing carbon neutrality are the key to build a sustainable society. Using renewable energy to carry out production activities and environmental pollution control is an important way to realize carbon neutralization. Among them, photocatalysis can use solar energy for photosynthesis, photolysis of water and degradation of environmental pollutants. It is regarded as an important technology to solve the energy and environmental crisis. Despite decades of development, photocatalytic technology still has many key scientific problems to be solved, including the bottleneck of large-scale application in environmental pollution control, the utilization efficiency of sunlight, the selectivity of products in photosynthesis and so on. The collection will publish research on environmental photocatalysis in the context of carbon neutralization.

Peroxy Radicals in the Atmosphere

Now open for submission

30 November 2024

Carl Percival (California Institute of Technology)

Barbara Nozière (KTH Royal Institute of Technology)

Lisa Whalley (University of Leeds)

This gold open-access themed collection will consider all aspects of atmospheric peroxy radical chemistry, including topics such as, but not limited to:

• Kinetics and pathways of peroxy radical reactions with atmospheric constituents (including theoretical kinetic studies, structural effects on kinetic pathways and effects of H2O clusterization on kinetics).
• Reactions between peroxy radicals (e.g. studies of RO2 + RO2, RO2 + HO2, RO2 + R’O2, etc.).
• The complex chemistry of peroxy radical oxidation reactions of tropospheric hydrocarbons and production of highly oxygenated organic molecules (HOM).
• The role of peroxy radical oxidation in ozone formation (including RO2 propagation under high and low NOx conditions).
• Methods for detection of atmospheric peroxy radicals (spectroscopic, analytical, field measurements).
• Regional concentration measurements.

Atmospheric peroxy radicals play a significant role in the formation and degradation of air pollutants. Understanding the chemistry and behaviour of peroxy radicals can help improve air quality models, leading to more accurate predictions of pollution levels and their impacts on human health and the environment. Additionally, peroxy radicals are key intermediates in atmospheric oxidation processes, influencing the atmospheric lifetime of greenhouse gases and contributing to climate change dynamics.

Environmental Science: Atmospheres publishes exciting research covering the full breadth of atmospheric science and links fundamental and applied research. Authors are welcome to submit original research as a Communication article or Full Paper or contribute a review article. Please contact the editorial office to register your interest or for more information. Alternatively, you can submit a manuscript below.

Manuscripts should be submitted via the Royal Society of Chemistry’s online submission service and the Editorial Office informed by email. Please state the code “EAPeroxy24” in the “Comments to the Editor” submission question when you submit your manuscript, to indicate that this is a submission for the themed collection. The Editorial Office reserves the right to check suitability of submissions in relation to the scope of the collection and inclusion of accepted articles in the collection is not guaranteed. All manuscripts will be subject to the journal's usual peer review process. Accepted manuscripts will be added to the online collection as soon as they are online and will be published in a regular issue of Environmental Science: Atmospheres .

Impact factor: 2.8*

Time to first decision (all decisions): 31.5 days**

Time to first decision (peer-reviewed only): 38.0 days***

Time for initial assessment: 3 days****

Indexed in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), Scopus and Web of Science: Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI)

Editor-in-chief: Neil Donahue

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Air Quality in Emerging Economic Regions

15 December 2024

Guest editor(s):

Francis Pope (The University of Birmingham)

Vinayak Sinha (Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Mohali)

Michael Gatari (University of Nairobi)

This gold open-access themed collection will be a home for studies improving our current understanding of emissions and air quality in emerging economic regions.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Historical analyses, current observations, and future projections of air quality trends. Can include air quality case studies such as post-recovery of the Covid-19 pandemic or responses to air pollution emergencies during exceedances of ambient air quality standards.
• Air quality monitoring and mapping approaches. Novel sensor implementation and monitoring methods, including algorithm development, are particularly encouraged. Providing evidence of the validation and successful application of novel approaches will be important.
• The role of tropospheric oxidant chemistry in impacting air quality.
• Regional source apportionment and characterisation studies. Including distinctions between urban and remote environments, and industries and activities associated with changes in air quality such as agriculture.

Acknowledging the policy implications and/or health-related impacts of regional air quality will be important for many studies, however providing insight into air quality should be the primary focus. Novel methods of data collection and synthesis are particularly encouraged. Routine air quality monitoring studies will be less applicable for the collection.

As a gold open access journal, Environmental Science: Atmospheres levies an article-processing charge (APC) upon acceptance. However, we do not want this to be a barrier to participation, and we would support waiver and discount applications from authors based in emerging economies.

Studying air quality in emerging economic regions is crucial for protecting public health as these areas often experience rapid industrialization and urbanization, leading to elevated pollution levels. Understanding the sources and composition of air pollutants in these regions is critical for implementing effective pollution control measures and mitigating the adverse impacts on human health and the environment. Addressing air quality issues in emerging economic regions is essential for sustainable development, as poor air quality can impede economic growth and hinder progress towards achieving global environmental goals.

Environmental Science: Atmospheres publishes exciting research covering the full breadth of atmospheric science and links fundamental and applied research. Authors are welcome to submit original research as a Communication article or Full Paper or contribute a review article. Please  contact the editorial office to register your interest or for more information. Alternatively, you can submit a manuscript below.

Manuscripts should be submitted via the Royal Society of Chemistry’s online submission service and the Editorial Office informed by email. Please state the code “ EAAQEmEc24 ” in the “Comments to the Editor” submission question when you submit your manuscript, to indicate that this is a submission for the themed collection. The Editorial Office reserves the right to check suitability of submissions in relation to the scope of the collection and inclusion of accepted articles in the collection is not guaranteed. All manuscripts will be subject to the journal's usual peer review process. Accepted manuscripts will be added to the online collection as soon as they are online and will be published in a regular issue of Environmental Science: Atmospheres .

Solar Radiation Management

31 January 2025

Anton Laakso (Finnish Meteorological Institute),  Vivian Faye McNeill (Columbia University),  Juan Moreno-Cruz (University of Waterloo),  Holly Buck (University at Buffalo)

This gold open-access themed collection will consider all aspects of solar radiation management, including topics such as, but not limited to:

• Solar Radiation Management Techniques – including research on stratospheric aerosol injection and marine cloud brightening.
• Alternative materials for aerosol injections - including investigations into how different materials affect solar radiation, stratospheric heating, and atmospheric dynamics as well as the effects of different aerosol species on environmental conditions and chemical processes, including potential impacts on the ozone layer.
• Environmental and Climate Effects – such as the impact on climate variability and consequences as well as potential health effects.
• The collection seeks to advance understanding, foster innovation, and stimulate dialogue on the scientific, technological, and ethical dimensions of solar radiation management. Therefore, we are also interested in the social, political, and ethical considerations of implementing solar radiation management techniques.

Solar Radiation Management (SRM), or solar geoengineering, refers to emerging climate techniques aimed at reflecting some of the sunlight back into space to reduce global temperatures. Understanding the mechanisms and potential impacts of SRM, as well as the broader field of solar geoengineering, can refine climate models, leading to more accurate projections of their efficacy and risks. SRM has the potential to reduce climate impacts globally, yet it also carries significant risks and uncertainties.

Environmental Science: Atmospheres publishes exciting research covering the full breadth of atmospheric science and links fundamental and applied research. Authors are welcome to submit original research as a Communication article or Full Paper or contribute a review or perspective article. Please  contact the editorial office to register your interest or for more information. Alternatively, you can submit a manuscript below.

Manuscripts should be submitted via the Royal Society of Chemistry’s online submission service and the Editorial Office informed by email. Please state the code “ EASRM24 ” in the “Comments to the Editor” submission question when you submit your manuscript, to indicate that this is a submission for the themed collection. The Editorial Office reserves the right to check suitability of submissions in relation to the scope of the collection and inclusion of accepted articles in the collection is not guaranteed. All manuscripts will be subject to the journal's usual peer review process. Accepted manuscripts will be added to the online collection as soon as they are online and will be published in a regular issue of Environmental Science: Atmospheres .

There are currently no open calls for this journal.

Indoor Chemistry

Rachel O’Brien (University of Michigan), Ellison Carter (Colorado State University)

The goal of this issue is to highlight research that centres around questions of the built environment, showcasing the impacts of interdisciplinary approaches.

We welcome contributors in diverse topics, included but not limited to indoor chemistry in the gas-phase, aerosol particles, and on surfaces; building materials and processes that impact indoor air quality; human behaviors, experiences, and impacts; outdoor indoor exchange of pollutants such as wildfire smoke; viruses and virus inactivation; and modeling across scales. This list is not exhaustive and other research areas that intersect with this theme are very welcome.

Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts is a transformative journal publishing high quality papers in all areas of the environmental chemical sciences, including chemistry of the air, water, soil and sediment. We welcome studies on the environmental fate and effects of anthropogenic and naturally occurring contaminants, both chemical and microbiological, as well as related natural element cycling processes.

Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts  strongly prefers significant contributions whose results can be generalised to other systems, especially studies that characterise chemical processes (e.g. chemical and (micro)biological transformations and transport) as well as those that address contaminant impacts on ecosystems and human health. We also welcome high impact field studies, particularly those that are broad enough to define occurrence baselines or long-term trends, identify new contaminants, or those that enrich our molecular-level understanding of environmental systems.

Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts  also invites papers that bridge between environmental chemistry and sustainability topics, such as life cycle assessment, materials flow analysis, and environmental decision making.

Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts  is a Transformative Journal and Plan S compliant

Impact factor: 4.3*

Time to first decision (all decisions): 15.0 days**

Time to first decision (peer reviewed only): 45.0 days***

Editor-in-Chief: Elsie Sunderland

Open access publishing options available

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Climate Change Impacts on the Urban Water Cycle

31 January 2024

1 July 2024

Christopher Gordon (University of Ghana), James Doss-Gollin (Rice University), and Lu Liu (Iowa State University)

Key topics within the scope of this themed collection include, but are not limited to:

• Methods for downscaling global and regional climate to decision-relevant scales, including validation and critique.
• Multiscale modeling approaches to characterize the effect of climate on urban water infrastructure systems.
• Impacts of climate change on source water quality through methods, indicators, and modeling approaches.
• Hydroclimate risk assessment and management in data-scarce regions.
• Adaptation strategies for urban water resources considering uncertainties in future climate, urbanization, technology, and other factors.

As climate change emerges as an existential issue, with amplified challenges facing urban water systems, understanding, appreciation, and interventions in this critical sector need to be improved. This themed collection aims to combine research from across a range of methodologies to better inform responses to climate change while unpacking the complexities of assessing the impacts of climate extremes, variability, and change on urban risk, city vulnerability, and adaptation strategies.

We welcome interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary articles that leverage knowledge from various fields to advance understanding in the nexus of climate change, water, and cities, and contribute to resilient urban water management.

We welcome original research papers, communications, and Review articles.

Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology  is a Transformative Journal, and Plan S compliant

Impact factor: 3.5*

Time to first decision (all decisions): 14.0 days**

Time to first decision (peer reviewed only): 52.0 days***

Editor-in-Chief: Graham Gagnon

Wastewater Surveillance of Disease: Beyond the Ordinary

1 August 2024

Aaron Bivins (Louisiana State University), Graham Gagnon (Dalhousie University), Lauren Stadler (Rice University), Laurent Moulin (Eau de Paris), and Masaaki Kitajima (The University of Tokyo)

Examples of topics of interest for this collection include:

• Wastewater surveillance for emerging and known disease targets
• Innovation in sample collection
• Advancement in wastewater detection methods
• Innovation in wastewater genomic analysis and genomic epidemiology
• Integration and analysis of wastewater data with other datasets
• Models to support the design, optimization, or analysis of wastewater surveillance systems and data
• Applications of wastewater surveillance for public health action/interventions
• Meta-analysis of publicly available data.
• Near-source (building-level) applications
• Wastewater surveillance of fungal pathogens, antibiotic resistance, sexually transmitted infections, or arboviruses

Wastewater surveillance for public health has been a key tool in tracking SARS-CoV-2 infection dynamics and COVID-19 prevalence in communities since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, with traditional diagnostic surveillance programs scaling down, insights from wastewater will be even more crucial for COVID-19. Simultaneously, the wastewater surveillance footprint is expanding to include other microorganisms and human pathogens.

The global interest and widespread application of wastewater surveillance throughout this period has resulted in unprecedented advances in the field. Accordingly, this special issue of ESWRT calls for papers that create new knowledge and/or reflections through case studies, laboratory investigations, data synthesis and analysis, and/or modeling. We seek original studies that advance the field of wastewater surveillance, critical reviews that identify forward looking research gaps and opportunities, and perspectives that establish new paradigms and thinking on the potential applications of wastewater surveillance for public health.

*2023 Journal Citation Reports (Clarivate Analytics, 2024)

**The median time from submission to first decision including manuscripts rejected without peer review from the previous calendar year

***The median time from submission to first decision for peer-reviewed manuscripts from the previous calendar year

****CiteScore™ 2023 available at   www.scopus.com/sources

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Journal of Environmental Exposure Assessment – Call for Papers

• August 22, 2024

Journal of Environmental Exposure Assessment (JEEA) has always been pursuing high quality publishing with scientific rigour in publication to make it an international high quality academic journal. Welcome to submit high-quality for publications, especially Research Articles and Review Articles. All manuscripts could be submitted online to the submission system at https://oaemesas.com/login?Journalid=jeaa . If you meet any problems, please email the editorial office at [email protected] .

Dr. Erin Haynes is the Kurt W. Deuschle Professor in Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health and Chair of the Departments of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health at the University of Kentucky, College of Public Health.  She is also deputy director of the UK Center for Appalachian Research in Environmental Sciences (CARES).  She has been working with communities to understand their environmental exposures through research and translation for nearly two decades. Her current research, funded by the National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences focuses on the impact of environmental neurotoxicant exposure in rural adolescents, and development and validation of a real-time lab-on-a-chip sensor for blood metals detection. Haynes is particularly interested in working with community members to address environmental health issues and developing citizen science tools to enable environmental health research. She currently serves on the NIH/NIEHS Environmental Health Sciences study section, and is the senior associate editor of the Journal of Appalachian Health.

Since Mr. O’Fallon joined the Division of Extramural Research and Training in 1999, he has been actively involved in research programs at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences that support community participation in research. O’Fallon leads the Partnerships for Environmental Public Health program at NIEHS, which fosters interactions among projects from different NIEHS-funded programs with a focus on community engagement and a commitment to public health action. He directs the Community Engagement Cores that are a part of the network of Environmental Health Science Core Centers across the country. Most recently, he has become the lead for the Research to Action program, which supports projects using community-engaged research methods to investigate the potential health risks of environmental exposures of concern to a community and to seamlessly translate research findings into public health action. O’Fallon is particularly interested in communication research in the context of environmental public health and health disparities. Before coming to NIEHS, Mr. O’Fallon worked at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in the Office of International and Refugee Health where he coordinated an interagency, binational working group addressing environmental health issues along the U.S.-Mexico Border. Mr. O’Fallon received his Master’s degree in Latin American Studies, specializing in medical anthropology and international health, from Tulane University in 1997.

Dr. Aubrey K. Miller, MD, MPH, retired Captain USPHS, is board certified in Occupational and Environmental Medicine.  He is currently the Senior Medical Advisor to the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), where he oversees legislative, policy, strategic planning, and coordination of environmental health issues and activities among U.S. federal agencies, congress, academia, and other stakeholders.

His experiences include numerous public health investigations and research studies involving a wide range of occupational and environmental health issues.  He has contributed to the leadership and management of numerous disaster responses including the Libby, Montana, Public Health Emergency involving widespread asbestos contamination, major hurricanes, the H1N1 influenza, Ebola, and Zika outbreaks, the World Trade Center and anthrax attacks, and the Gulf Oil Spill.  He currently leads the NIH Disaster Research Response (DR2) Program which focuses on improving national and international disaster research capabilities through enhancing policies, infrastructure, training, and integration of stakeholders, especially academia and impacted communities.  He received a BS in biology, BA in political science, and MPH in environmental and occupational health at the University of Illinois, and his MD at Rush Medical College.  His 28-year career includes service as a CDC Epidemiology Intelligence Service (EIS) officer and senior medical officer positions with CDC/NIOSH, the HHS Office of the Secretary, EPA, and FDA.

Professor and Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health (NIEH), Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC)

National institute of environmental health, china cdc.

Presentation: Clean air actions and health plans in China

Xiaoming Shi is an epidemiologist and public health expert in China. He obtained a PhD degree in epidemiology from Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC) in 2005. Currently, he is Professor and Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health (NIEH), China CDC that is responsible for investigating, monitoring and evaluating health effects of environmental exposures, conducting technical guidance of environmental health protection nationally. His major research interests include environmental hazards and health effects, healthy aging, and the control and prevention of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). He has received a number of grants from the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), and international agencies and organizations to conduct these researches. He has also contributed to establish the national human bio-monitoring program of China, and representatively assessed the internal exposure levels of environmental chemicals in Chinese population for the first time. Meanwhile, Prof. Shi is leading a large-scale project systematically assessing the acute health risks of air pollution in China. He and his research group established a cohort study on sub-clinical outcomes of polluted air in China (SCOPA-China Cohort) and a well-designed panel study on biomarkers of air pollutants exposure in the Chinese aged 60-69 (China BAPE). He has extensive experiences working with numerous NCDs and aging studies in Chinese populations. He has authored or co-authored over 230 peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters and books. Since the year of 2020, Prof. Shi has led Technical Workgroup on Health Protection for Key Places, Units and Populations, which is affiliated with the China CDC COVID-19 Emergency Response Mechanism.

Chief, Organic Analytical Toxicology Branch, Division of Laboratory Sciences, National Center for Environmental Health

Presentation: Chemical Exposures and What Biomonitoring Tells Us (and Doesn’t Tell Us)

Dr. Antonia Calafat is the Chief of the Organic Analytical Toxicology Branch, Division of Laboratory Sciences, National Center for Environmental Health, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia. She leads CDC’s biomonitoring programs for assessing human exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS); polybrominated diphenyl ethers; polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins, furans, and biphenyls; pesticides; flame retardants; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; and chemicals added to consumer and personal-care products such as phthalates and phenols. Dr. Calafat has developed and maintained extensive collaborative research with leading scientists in the fields of exposure science, epidemiology, toxicology and health assessment. Her research has made important contributions to biomonitoring science, including CDC’s National Reports on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals. She received the 2019 Excellence in Exposure Science Award granted by the International Society of Exposure Science in recognition of her scientific contributions, service and leadership to the field. Dr. Calafat earned her PhD in Chemistry in 1989 from the University of the Balearic Islands, Spain. She was a Fulbright Scholar at the Department of Chemistry of Emory University where she completed her postdoctoral training. She joined CDC in 1996.

Community Organizer & Special Projects Coordinator

East yard communities for environmental justice.

mark! Lopez (He/Him/His) comes from a family with a long history of activism. He was raised in the Madres del Este de Los Angeles Santa Isabel (Mothers of East LA Santa Isabel – MELASI), an organization co-founded by his grandparents, Juana Beatriz Gutierrez and Ricardo Gutierrez. This set his trajectory as a community activist. He engaged in a wide array of student activism at UC Santa Cruz where he earned his B.A. in Environmental Studies, and taught university courses at UC Santa Cruz, Cal State Northridge, and UCLA Extension. mark! earned his M.A. from the Chicanx Studies Department at Cal State Northridge, where he completed his Masters thesis titled “The Fire: Decolonizing ‘Environmental Justice’.” mark! joined East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice as a member three years before joining the staff. After serving as Lead Organizer for East Yard Communities and Co-Director with EYCEJ Co-Founder Angelo Logan, mark! served as the Executive Director for over 6 years. He served briefly as a Co-Director along with Laura Cortez and Taylor Thomas, the current Co-Executive Directors, and then transitioned into the Eastside Community Organizer & Special Projects Coordinator roles. He organizes in the area where he was born, raised and continues to live. mark! is the 2017 North American Recipient of the Goldman Environmental Prize.

Deputy Head of the Disaster Risk Management Unit at the European Commission Joint Research Centre

European commission joint research centre.

Presentation: Exposure to disaster risk: advances in global mapping of hazard, people and built-up.

Tom De Groeve, Ph. D., is Deputy Head of the Disaster Risk Management Unit at the European Commission Joint Research Centre. He does research in risk management, disaster monitoring and emergency management systems in support of EU and global policy related to disaster risk management and climate change adaptation. Tom’s research in remote sensing, geomatics led to various early warning and disaster management systems at UN level, such as the Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System (GDACS), the INFORM Global Risk for humanitarian crises and disasters, and the Global Conflict Risk Index. In the context of the EU’s Civil Protection Mechanism, his work in crisis technology contributed to the design of the European Emergency Response Coordination Centre. Tom was at the origin of the Disaster Risk Management Knowledge Centre, recently adopted as the science pillar in the Union Civil Protection Mechanism. Since 2017, Tom is Deputy Head of the Disaster Risk Management Unit. In 2019, Tom lead JRC’s transversal initiative on climate change adaptation and in 2020, Tom co-chaired the COVID-19 Task Force of the JRC. Tom received his Ph.D. in Geomatics from Laval University in Quebec City, Canada, in 1999 on the topic of spatial uncertainty in map making.

Executive Director

We act for environmental justice.

Presentation: Collaboration to Advance Health Equity.

Peggy Shepard is co-founder and executive director of WE ACT for Environmental Justice which has a base building office in Northern Manhattan neighborhoods and a federal policy office in Washington DC. In 1988, she began a long history of movement building. — organizing and engaging Northern Manhattan residents and environmental justice groups across the country in community-based planning and campaigns to address environmental protection and environmental health policy locally and nationally. A graduate of Howard University, her work has received broad recognition: the Jane Jacobs Medal from the Rockefeller Foundation for Lifetime Achievement, the 10th Annual Heinz Award For the Environment, the Rachel Carson Award from Audubon, the Dean’s Distinguished Service Award from the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health, the Carver Award from American Public Health Association, and Honorary Doctorates from Smith College and Lawrence University.

• Develop a mission for his/her presidency that describes a vision for the Society for the term in which he/she will serve as president.
• Preside at Board and Executive Committee meetings when the president is unavailable.
• Work with the councilors and committee chairs as needed.
• Work with Secretariat to maintain information flow for the website and with members.
• Work with the president and other executive committee members to develop an understanding of the Society bylaws and financials.
• Communicate with committee chairs and annual meeting chairs and attend meetings of committees as needed.
• Work with the president to review contracts as needed.
• Total length of service is 1 year, followed by 2 years as President and 1 year as past-President.

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• Responsible for general management of the affairs of the Society.
• Participate in committees or the technical organizing committees for the annual meeting to ensure these entities are carrying out the Society’s vision.
• Participate in all meetings of the Board.
• Total length of service is 3 years and they may serve up to 2 terms.

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• Total length of service is 2 years.

Instructors: Vasu Kilaru, Elena Austin, Edmund Seto, Darby Jack, Steven Chillrud, Dan Westervelt, Vikram Rao

Saturday, August 14th, 2021   |   10:00 AM – 4:00 PM EST 

Description: Given the cost and popularity along with the uncertainty/variability in data quality, the use of air sensors for a given application requires an understanding of the data quality of these devices. This can be done either in the laboratory or in-situ in the field, both of which have their advantages and disadvantages. The advantage of a field study is that it portrays real world conditions along with interferences from a complex mixture of pollutants. Field deployment of sensors along with a co-located reference monitor allows for direct assessment of the data quality performance of the sensor devices. Learning Objectives: This course will demonstrate the basic steps of a co-location analysis from data already collected. Such an analysis not only illuminates the performance of the given sensors, but could be used to re-calibrate the instruments to provide improved performance. The analysis will consider various performance parameters such as precision, accuracy, error and discuss effects of temperature and relative humidity. Attendees of this course will utilize collocated reference and sensor data and evaluate performance based on several metrics. Data will already be uploaded online and an R Shiny package will be used for analysis. Data from several sites are likely to be used to illustrate issues. The instructors will also discuss other issues such as: 1. Logistics: Permissions, space concerns and distance from other instruments’ sample inlets, insurance, safety, power, networking, access, etc. 2. Choice of colocation site: how representative is the colocation site’s environment with the environment that the monitor will eventually be located? Discussion of the different types of sites (regional, near-roadway, etc.) that are operated by gov’t, as this often conditions the instruments and pollutant species that are collected there. 3. How long should the colocation be? Re-colocation/re-calibration? 4. Do all monitors need to be collocated/calibrated within a study/region? 5. Measuring other covariates to understand sensor performance/calibration? E.g., temperature, humidity 6. Identifying sensor limits of detection (high or low) and/or non-linear sensor response from colocation data. 7. Identifying sensor drift or failure from colocation data.

Instructors : Courtney Carignan, Alison Connolly

Friday, July 30th, 2021   |   12:00 PM  – 2:00 PM EST 

Description: Get support preparing for your platform presentation from the ISES Mentorship committee. Our panelists will share their top tips and participants will be invited to practice their presentation in a small breakout group to get positive and constructive feedback from one of our panelists.

Instructors: Kyle Messier

Friday, August 13th, 2021   |   9:00 AM – 11:00 AM EST 

Description:  Land-use regression, Kriging, and similar geospatial methods are popular approaches for predicting external exposure. This workshop will introduce recent developments in land-use regression and Kriging methods that allow for simultaneous selection of geographic covariates while accounting for spatial or spatiotemporally correlated errors while being scalable for large geospatial datasets. Additionally, methods to account for non-detect or left-censored data in land-use regression will be discussed. Participants in this workshop will learn the theory and the R-language implementation with real-world data.

Instructors : Tai Lung

Friday, July 30th, 2021   |   9:30 AM – 11:30 AM EST

Description : The public looks to health care providers for expertise in environmental health. Unfortunately, physicians receive very little formal training regarding environmental exposures and even less on the relationship to health outcomes. Medical school curricula are increasingly including instruction on social determinants of health as these factors are accepted influences for poor health outcomes. Building from this, attendees of this 2-hour workshop will learn how to use the US EPA’s EJSCREEN Environmental Justice Screening and Mapping Tool, in conjunction with publicly available health outcome data to teach medical professionals the relationship between environmental exposures (lead-based paint and air pollution), social factors (race, economic status) and poor health outcomes, such as lead poisoning, asthma, and shortened life expectancy. As health educators and students may not have access to GIS applications or methods, the tools needed for this activity are an internet browser and a spreadsheet application with mapping capabilities such as Microsoft Excel.

Instructors : Chisato Calvert, Jeremy Taub

Monday, August 30th, 2021   |   9:00 AM – 11:00 AM EST 

Description :  This workshop will introduce the OpenAQ Platform, Tools, and Community to participants in order to inspire and empower them to apply – and contribute – open air quality data in new ways to their research. By participating in this workshop, participants will be able to: • Access more than half a billion near real-time air quality (PM2.5, PM10, O3, NO2, CO, SO2, and BC) data points from 11000+ stations in 93 countries via an online user interface, API and other methods • Create user-customized datasets for download • Analyze large batches of data quickly using AWS’ Athena and other open-source tools from the OpenAQ Community • Learn how open air quality data has been applied to various fields including research, journalism, policy, and education • Learn how to share air quality data obtained for research purposes on the OpenAQ Platform • Learn how to connect with the OpenAQ Community to gain new colleagues working on air quality issues from a variety of fields across the world.

Instructors : Lindsey Martin

Description :  Implementation science is the study of methods to promote the adoption and integration of evidence-based interventions (e.g., programs, practices, and policies) into routine health care, community, and public health settings. This objective of this two-hour interactive workshop is to provide participants with a high-level overview of implementation science and its application to the field of environmental health. Topics that will be discussed include distinguishing effectiveness (e.g., intervention) studies from implementation studies, differentiating implementation outcomes from effectiveness outcomes, common implementation strategies, hybrid effectiveness-implementation designs, an overview of theories, models, and frameworks in implementation science, and the importance of community engagement in the implementation process. Participants will come away from the workshop with an introductory understanding of how to apply implementation science to their work in environmental health, and a list of resources to promote further study.

Link to: 10 Key Ingredients Exercise

Link to: ISES ImpSci EHS Workshop Annotated

Instructors : Bryan Duncan, Pawan Gupta

Description :  The combination of air quality (AQ) data from satellites and low-cost sensor systems, along with output from AQ models, have the potential to augment high-quality, regulatory-grade data in countries with in situ monitoring networks and provide much needed AQ information for health professional in countries without them. We demonstrate the potential of free and publicly-available NASA resources, which include capacity building activities, satellite data, and global AQ forecasts, to provide cost-effective, and reliable AQ information to health professionals around the world. We will also have a hands-on training to show participants how to access NASA resources.

Instructors : Esther Erdei, Kathleen Vandiver, Amanda Mayer, Judith Zelikoff

Friday, July 30th, 2021   |   9:30 AM – 11:00 AM EST 

Description :  The workshop will introduce a novel learning system considering environmental health, genetics and emerging chemicals from a health equity perspective. Our approach combines hands-on interactive models with case-based lessons, and targeted online toxicology lectures that highlights environmental health issues in impacted communities. The hands-on approach employs DNA and protein molecular models designed to demonstrate differences in susceptibilities to environmental chemicals. The models provide learners with visuals and an experience of “learning by doing.” Increased knowledge of the effects of environmental toxicants is the first step toward improving health care for exposed communities. The workshop designed to provide a fundamental basis of environmental health education for students (undergraduate, graduate level) and health care professionals new to environmental health and environmental justice issues. The workshop team will deliver interactive, hands-on learning opportunities to the audience that strengthens toxicological concepts and linking those to population susceptibilities and potential emerging disease pathways.

Link to: ISES CYP Activities

Instructors : Jianguo Xia

Friday, August 13th, 2021   |   12:00 PM – 4:00 PM EST 

Description :  The growing applications of high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) have set the stage for a new paradigm for exposure assessment. However, data analysis and interpretation remain challenging. User-friendly, high-performance tools are urgently needed. This workshop will introduce the latest version (5.0) of MetaboAnalyst (www.metaboanalyst.ca) for comprehensive LC-HRMS spectral processing and analysis. In particular, participants will be able to • Devise proper bioinformatics workflows for processing and analyzing metabolomic data • Understand parameter optimization and conduct LC-MS data processing; • Apply appropriate statistics to undertake rigorous data analysis; • Visualize datasets to gain intuitive insights into the composition and functional insights

Instructors : John Wambaugh, Barbara Wetmore, Caroline Ring

Description : Toxicokinetics (TK) provides key information for relating inherent chemical hazard to the exposures that occur in order to understand potential risk posed to public health. High throughput toxicokinetics (HTTK) is the combination of in vitro data and generic TK modeling. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s R package “httk” provides open source data and models for HTTK for more than a thousand chemicals. This course will introduce “httk” by covering the generation of chemical-specific in vitro data for HTTK, generic TK models for key exposure scenarios that may be parameterized with those data, uncertainty and variability analysis, and applications to in vitro-in vivo extrapolation (IVIVE) for risk assessment.

Instructors : Peter Fantke, Olivier Jolliet, Lei Huang

Description : There is an increasing need for methods to assess exposure and related impacts of toxic chemical emissions on human health and ecosystems including consumer exposure. This course provides a practical overview of multimedia chemical fate modelling, near-field and far-field multi-pathway human exposure modelling, ecosystem and human health effects dose-response modelling, and comparative indicators for human-toxicological and ecotoxicological impacts. We explain basic concepts of environmental mass balance modelling including partitioning, first order cross-media transport, and persistence. We further introduce the concept of assessing multiple transfers between near-field and far-field environments and resulting exposures for consumers and the general population, discussing data and models available for detergents, building materials, food contact materials and personal care products. Along a series of practical examples, we will illustrate how fate, exposure, effect and damage factors can be combined to construct factors to characterize chemical emissions and chemicals in consumer products, building on the USEtox scientific consensus model and USEtox-compatible near-field models. We will conclude with a demonstration of how the models can be used in various applications, including the prioritization and ranking of chemicals for institutions like the European Commission or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Course Objectives The aim of this course is to introduce participants to the exposure science methods used in life-cycle and comparative risk assessments. Participants will learn to use and evaluate basic tools for mass-balance, fate modelling, near-field and far-field exposure and intake fraction, and effect factor estimation. Participants will review underlying model assumptions and evaluate data needs along with data and knowledge gaps in these assessments. The course is intended for environmental science practitioners interested in the scientific fundamentals of chemical impact assessment for a broad range of environmental emissions. Only basic background knowledge of environmental modelling, risk assessment or life cycle assessment is considered necessary. Participants will come away with knowledge of basic concepts of consumer and population exposure science for chemical impact assessment and be able to perform their own assessment using the latest release version of the scientific consensus model USEtox and related near-field models, and interpret results for their own application context.

Target Audience The course is for PhD students, professionals and practitioners interested in state-of-the-art mass balance-based tools for use in life cycle impact assessment, human and ecological toxicity assessment, consumer exposure assessment, risk screening, chemical substitution and prioritization. No specific previous knowledge is required.

Products/Course materials Short course copies of all lecture presentation slides as well as working materials for the exercises will be distributed electronically. A copy of all presented modelling tools will be distributed. Course participants will be provided copies of all main scientific articles in electronic form.

Instructors : Bryan Duncan , Pawan Gupta

Instructors : Alison Krajewski, Lauren Wyatt, Alexandra Larsen

Friday, August 6th, 2021   |   9:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST 

Description : Data visualization is critical to conveying new findings in environmental health and is a vital part of advancing the field of environmental epidemiology around the globe. There are a variety of options for creating figures with licensed software, but data visualization packages like ggplot2/R are easily accessible and economical alternatives that can produce high quality and journal-ready figures. The syntax of ggplot2 is challenging to learn, so this workshop aims to allow participants to become comfortable with the syntax of ggplot2, create elegant, complex figures, and be comfortable applying the skills learned to their own research projects. This workshop, led by a diverse, all-female panel of new researchers, will offer live-coding and interactive examples using R statistical software. This session will begin with a brief introduction to the ggplot2 package and supporting packages. Next, we will cover general practices for manipulating data structures and data formatting for creating ggplots. We will spend the majority of the workshop introducing examples of various plots that are frequently used in environmental epidemiology, focusing on the following aspects: • Adding confidence intervals to point estimates; • Manipulating background, axis, titles, legends, colors, themes; • Creating maps; • Saving and exporting high quality figures for presentations and publications. We assume that participants will have some experience in statistical programming. No prior experience with ggplot is necessary, but this workshop is not meant to be an introduction to R.

Instructors : Dinsheng Li, Allison Patton, Marissa Kosnik, Tom Bruton, Susan Csiszar, Kristin Isaacs, Brittany Baisch

Saturday, July 31st, 2021   |   11:00 AM – 1:00 PM EST 

Description : Being an exposure scientist can open many different doors in terms of career paths. In this workshop, graduate students, postdocs, and junior faculties who are wondering about their future can interact with six panelists from four sectors (academia, industry, government, and non-profit) at different career stages. The panelists will first introduce themselves and share their experience in their respective sectors as exposure scientists. Then the floor will open for Q&A with the audience. This workshop is organized by the ISES Mentorship Committee and sponsored by the Health Effects Institute.

Instructors : Jessica Daniel, Anne Neale, Jose Zambrana

Saturday, July 31st, 2021   |   1:30 PM – 4:00 PM EST 

Description : EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas) is a data-rich, web-based decision support tool that combines maps, analysis tools, downloadable data, and informational resources. It is used by states, tribes, communities, and individuals to help inform policy and planning decisions that impact the places where we live, learn, work and play. EnviroAtlas contains two primary tools: An Interactive Map, which provides access to 550+ environment-related and demographic maps and the Eco-Health Relationship Browser, which displays evidence from hundreds of scientific publications on the linkages between ecosystems, the services they provide, and human health. EnviroAtlas data are available for multiple extents for the U.S., from fine-scale data for individual municipalities to national datasets. This workshop will demonstrate how to use the two main interactive tools, including analysis tools built in to the Interactive Map. We will also do a deep dive into available EnviroAtlas data, focusing on topics of import to the ISES community, including: Impacts of public health policy, Climate change, Sustainability, Multiple stressor interactions, Use of “big data” in exposure science. Attendees will be trained on how to access the data online and download for use. The workshop will also cover resources available for specific user groups, including Downloadable Geospatial Toolboxes, Educational modules for classroom use, a guide for using EnviroAtlas in Health Impact Assessment, and more. Attendees will also get a sneak peek at upcoming EnviroAtlas features and data. The virtual workshop will invite interaction and engagement from attendees to explore their topics of interest.

Link to: Webquest Conference

Link to: EnviroAtlas Handout

Link to: EnviroAtlasWorkshop ISES Attendee Agenda

Instructors: Melissa Smarr, Lauren Aleksunes, Andres Cardenas,  Zelieann R Craig, Michael (Mike) Humble, Ericka L. Reid, Tiffany Sanchez, Kassim Traore, Marie O’Neill Link to: Speakers Biographies

Friday, July 30th, 2021   |   12:00 PM – 4:00 PM EST  

Description : The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences provides a great opportunity for researchers to advance exposure science and environmental epidemiology, but the NIH grant process can be challenging, particularly for first time applicants. This workshop will demystify the grant application process, provide tips for applicants, and highlight funding programs relevant to the ISES/ISEE communities.  W orkshop participants  will also discuss  strategies to increas e  the recruitment and retention of PIs and students from groups  who  have been historically underrepresented in biomedical research and underfunded by NIH.   

Instructors : Andrew Slocombe, Kelsey Ranjbar

Friday, August 6th, 2021   |   1:00 PM – 3:00 PM EST 

Description : Many California communities, including low-income and minority communities, face disproportionate and cumulative impacts from pollution. To better understand and identify these communities, CalEPA’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) developed CalEnviroScreen, a science-based mapping tool that identifies vulnerable California communities by census tract that are disproportionately burdened by multiple sources of pollution. This workshop will provide an overview and brief background of CalEnviroScreen, focusing on the scoring of pollution indicators and the concept of cumulative exposure and how that differs from traditional exposure assessment. There will then be an interactive portion to explore different areas of the state using CalEnviroScreen’s online mapping applications. The workshop will finish with opportunity for discussion on the benefits and limitations of the tool, it’s future potential, and methods to incorporate and/or improve additional exposure information into CalEnviroScreen.

Instructors : Ana Rule, Juan Pablo Ramos Bonilla

Friday, August 6th, 2021   |   10:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST 

Description : Este taller está diseñado para proporcionar el conocimiento básico y la habilidad para realizar muestreos de aire para aerosoles biológicos y cómo analizar y presentar resultados. Los temas incluyen la justificación y los métodos para realizar un muestreo selectivo por tamaño, la viabilidad del organismo, la eficiencia del mustreo, las fuentes comunes emision, las concentraciones relativas y enfoques para realizar “one health”. Repasaremos el principio de funcionamiento y pros / contras de los muestreadores más habituales. Otros temas que se discutirán incluyen desafíos para definir estándares de exposición. Incluye tiempo para la discusión de estudios de casos.

This workshop is designed to provide the basic knowledge and skill to perform air sampling for biological aerosols, and how to analyze and present results. Topics include rationale and methods for conducting size-selective sampling, organism viability, collection efficiency, common sources of concern, relative concentrations, and one health approaches. We will review the principle of operation and pros/cons of the most common samplers. Other topics to be discusses include challenges for defining exposure standards and guidelines. Includes time for discussion of case studies.

Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA)

Dr. Urs Schlüter is head of the unit Exposure Scenarios at the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA) which is the German Competent Authority for the REACH and Biocides regulations. He leads a unit of 20 scientists and engineers who perform the regulatory exposure assessments for workplaces in the framework of the European REACH and the Biocides regulation. Urs Schlüter is a chemist by training who studied at the universities of Dortmund, Münster and Raleigh (NC).  During his work for BAuA he participated in a number of international and European working committees. Since 2011, he has been a member of the ECHA’s Committee for Rish Assessment (RAC).  He has managed research studies aiming  the evaluation of work-place situations (exposure assessment, risk management measures) for different chemicals.  Since 2017 he serves also as Councilor ‘Communication & Capacity Building’ in the board of ISES Europe (Europe Regional Chapter of the international Society of Exposure Science).

National School of Public Health, Public Health Research Centre from NOVA University of Lisbon

Susana Viegas is professor and researcher in National School of Public Health, Public Health Research Centre from NOVA University of Lisbon. Susana Viegas has a PhD in Public Health (National School of Public Health) and also an academic background in Toxicology (Surrey University), Occupational Health (Lisbon University) and Environmental Health (Lisbon School of Health Technology). Prof. Viegas lectures on Environmental and Occupational Health and coordinates several research projects on occupational toxicology, exposure assessment and risk assessment. She has authored and co-authored more than 120 scientific publications, including original articles in peer-reviewed journals, books and book chapters, special articles and full proceeding papers, as well as 200+ conference abstracts. She is member of the ECHA’s Committee for Risk Assessment and of the Scientific Committee of the European Environment Agency in the area of Environment & health-chemicals. She is also a visiting scientist at Monographs Programme of the International Agency for Research on Cancer, World Health Organization.

Lisbon School of Health Technology (ESTeSL), Coordinator Commission from Health and Technology Research Center (H&TRC)

Marina received the Environmental Health degree from Lisbon School of Health Technology (ESTeSL) in 2010. In 2016, Marina received the Ph.D. degree in Environmental Sciences by TUDelft. She is currently Assistant Professor in Lisbon School of Health Technology (ESTeSL), Lisbon, Portugal and Member of Coordinator Commission from Health and Technology Research Center (H&TRC).  From 2010 until now, her main concern has been the mitigation of elderly exposure to air pollutants and the potentiation of their quality of life. She has developed consistent R&D activities on the topics of susceptible population exposure to air pollutants, human health impacts to air pollutants, indoor and atmospheric air quality assessment. More recently, the researcher has focused her attention on sustainable mobility issues and eco-tourism. She has authored or co-authored more than 30 scientific publications, including original articles in peer-reviewed journals, books and book chapters, special articles and full proceeding papers, as well as +100 conference abstracts.  Additionally, Marina had participated in 10 R&D national and international projects in diverse topics, such as neutron activation analysis, nuclear techniques, aerosol characterization, air quality assessment, human exposure to air pollutants, low carbon economy and sustainable mobility. Moreover, all of these collaborations potentiated the possibility to participate in European networks and platforms, such as FAIRMODE, Cost Actions SHELD-ON and COLOSSAL. All these activities and collaborations have enabled the improvement of the relations between a wide range of disciplines and stakeholders, from researchers to business stakeholders and between teachers and society actors. This reinforces the importance of performing cutting-edge R&D activities with relevance and application in real world. This link with the society has been intensified since Marina was the Communication Manager of two European projects: REMEDIO and ClimACT.

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Life cycle analysis and environmental cost-benefit assessment of utilizing hospital medical waste into heavy metal safe paving blocks

• Siti Rachmawati 1,2 ,  ,  , 
• Syafrudin 1,3 , 
• Budiyono 1,4 , 
• Ellyna Chairani 5 , 
• Iwan Suryadi 6
• 1. Department of Doctoral Environmental Science, Faculty of Postgraduate, Universitas Diponegoro, Semarang 50275, Indonesia
• 2. Department of Environmental Science, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Science, Universitas Sebelas Maret, Surakarta 57126, Indonesia
• 3. Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Diponegoro, Semarang 50275, Indonesia
• 4. Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Diponegoro, Semarang 50275, Indonesia
• 5. Department of Environmental Science, Environmental Science School, Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia
• 6. Department of Environmental Health, Poltekkes Kemenkes Makassar, Makassar, 90222, Indonesia
• Received: 17 March 2024 Revised: 27 July 2024 Accepted: 13 August 2024 Published: 22 August 2024
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This research explored the life cycle analysis and environmental cost-benefit assessment of converting ash waste from hospital medical waste incineration into environmentally safe paving block raw materials. The growing concerns about medical waste disposal and its environmental impact necessitate innovative solutions for sustainable waste management. This research aimed to evaluate the feasibility and environmental implications of reusing hospital waste into raw materials for paving block mixtures. This research, a comprehensive life cycle analysis, examined the environmental impacts of medical waste collection for the production and use of paving blocks. Additionally, we conducted an environmental cost-benefit assessment to ascertain the economic feasibility and potential environmental impact forecasts of this recycling approach. The research results show that converting hospital medical waste ash into mixed raw materials for paving blocks not only immobilizes heavy metals but also provides a sustainable alternative for non-building materials. These findings highlight the potential for significant environmental and economic benefits, making this approach a promising strategy for waste management and sustainable construction practices. The cost of preventing environmental damage (eco-cost) in the process of converting ash from the incineration of medical waste into a mixture of raw materials for paving blocks is IDR 600,180.9 per cycle.

• ash medical waste ,
• life cycle assessment ,
• paving blocks

Citation: Siti Rachmawati, Syafrudin, Budiyono, Ellyna Chairani, Iwan Suryadi. Life cycle analysis and environmental cost-benefit assessment of utilizing hospital medical waste into heavy metal safe paving blocks[J]. AIMS Environmental Science, 2024, 11(5): 665-681. doi: 10.3934/environsci.2024033

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• Figure 1. Research flow diagram
• Figure 2. Flowchart on the use of medical waste for paving blocks
• Figure 3. The system boundaries
• Figure 4. Medical waste incineration ash
• Figure 5. Medical waste incineration ash after screening
• Figure 6. Paving blocks from incinerator medical waste
• Figure 7. Reduction of heavy metal compounds in paving blocks

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Jacques Rinchard ( [email protected] )

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Environmental Science & Ecology Alum & Faculty Publish Peer-Reviewed Paper

Jarrod Ludwig (BS/MS’24) and Dr. Jacques Rinchard published a paper in Journal of Great Lakes Research.

This paper, based on Jarrod’s SURP project from his undergraduate studies in 2022, provides insights into the reproductive spawning strategy of the deepwater sculpin through histological analysis.

Ludwig, J., Weidel, B., O’Malley, B., Connerton, M., and Rinchard, J., 2024. Histological analysis of deepwater sculpin ovaries supports single spawning reproductive strategy. Journal of Great Lakes Research , 50, 102375.

Jarrod is currently working as an Aquatic Biologist at the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation in Dunkirk, NY.

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