ABSTRACT
The global demand for materials and energy grows apace since the middle of last century and no stopping seems feasible in the next decades. Erosion of mangrove substrate results in mobilization of sediments enriched in metals and their release and availability to the biota. Changes in agricultural practices and the introduction of new practices can also result in increased flows of metals to the environment. The impacts of climate change on trace metal contamination have been fully discussed for marine ecosystems. Trace metal contamination often accumulates in the topsoil and the contaminant leaching is therefore controlled by the location of the water table. Total concentrations of heavy metals with high adsorption capacities to suspended solids also increase, due to increased resuspension of contaminated suspended sediment under high river discharge rates. The imbalance of heavy metals dynamics and circulation within marine environments has been fully modified during the last centuries, after the Industrial Revolution, but particularly in the last decade.
