Frančišković-Bilinski, Stanislav; Sakan, Sanja
(2021)
Geochemistry of water and sediment.
Water, 13
(5).
ISSN 2073-4441
Abstract
Access to drinking water is one of the largest problems of modern times, and water pollution is a growing problem worldwide. Increased concentrations of different toxic substances, especially heavy metals, affect biodiversity and are hazardous for human health. Sediment may act as a sink for a huge number of toxic substances and should, therefore, be investigated in addition to water, as it contains a record of previous pollution. Geochemical investigations of aquatic sediments in freshwater and marine environments present excellent insights into the state of pollution of investigated water bodies and their ecosystems. The chemical composition of sediment is informative, both in investigations of mineral resources of a particular region for mining purposes and in tracing contamination from different sources. Pollution affects all sources of drinking water—ground, spring, river, and lake. The interaction of water and sediment is of special importance, as sediment can also release heavy metals and act as a source of pollution. Systematic geochemical investigations of river sediments and their quality in the broader region of SE Europe started in 1989 in Croatia [1], with pioneering study of heavy metals in sediments of the Krka River Estuary, Croatia. This study was the first attempt to determine anthropogenic influence in sediments. First systematic assessment of multi-elemental composition of stream sediments for evaluating sediment quality guidelines in a large drainage basin of this region was performed in 2005 and 2007 on example of Kupa River drainage basin (Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina) [2, 3]. During the following years, Croatian scientists expanded their research with introducing the new fast and efficient method of magnetic susceptibility applied on sediment con-tamination with heavy metals research in Croatia and nearby countries [4]. Their research and collaboration expanded through the region and among other we highlight the fruitful collaboration with team from Centre of Excellence of University of Belgrade, Serbia. Research expertise of Croatian and Serbian partners is complementary and currently joint research on example locations in Croatia (Kupa River) and Serbia (Vlasina River) are under way. Until now it resulted in published paper on thematic of geochemical fractionation and risk assessment of potentially toxic elements in sediments from Kupa River, Croatia [5]. Croatian partners are disseminating to Serbian partners their experience and knowledge about river sediment research and monitoring, as well as about introducing of magnetic methods, while Serbian partners are disseminating to Croatian partners their experience in geochemical fractionation and risk assessment of potentially toxic elements in sediments. Intensive collaboration between Croatian and Serbian scientists resulted in joint idea to launch a Special Issue of Water focusing on geochemistry of water and sediment. This idea was accepted from Editorial Board of Water and Dr. Stanislav Frančišković-Bilinski from Ruđer Bošković Institute, Zagreb, Croatia and Dr. Sanja Sakan from Centre of ex-cellence of the University of Belgrade, Serbia, have been confirmed as Editors of the Special Issue under the title “Geochemistry of Water and Sediment”, within the section “Aquatic Systems—Quality and Contamination”. The purpose of this Special Issue was to publish original, high-quality research papers, as well as review articles, addressing recent advances in water and aquatic sediment research, new methods and developments in monitoring, as well as legislative development. This Special Issue was announced in May 2019 and opened for submissions with a deadline of 30 December 2020. However, due to the pandemic and lockdown over most of the world in spring 2020, the deadline was extended until 30 November 2020, when submissions for this Special Issue were closed. A total of 12 papers were submitted for publication and they have undergone a scrutinized review process. Eventually, ten papers passed the rigorous review by at least two recognized international reviewers and extensive editorial checks. The papers compiled in this Special Issue show a wide variety of topics.
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