Continent derived metal pollution through time: challenges of the global ocean.

Abstract

The global demand for materials and energy grows apace since the middleof last century and no stopping seems feasible in the next decades. Despiteincreasingly strict controls of emissions from anthropogenic sources, thedemand growth results in an increment of the release into the environment ofby-products able to contaminate natural ecosystems. On the other hand, theincreasing social and economic pressures towards sustainable developmentwill require the recovery of degraded areas, the more efficient use of naturalresources and effective monitoring of environmental conditions.