Terrestrial-aquatic mobility of technology critical elements in a changing Canadian environment (TAMTeC)

在新产品、新技术和磷肥等普通产品中越来越多地使用稀土等关键技术元素，这引起了人们对其对生态系统的潜在影响的关注。天然有机质是影响这些元素生物地球化学的关键成分。在全球变化的背景下，加拿大东部的天然有机物浓度一直在显著增加，我们预计未来稀土元素的流动性和生物可利用性将做出重大修改。“不断变化的加拿大环境中关键技术元素的陆上-水上流动”项目将汇集一组在水和陆地环境中金属的地球化学和毒理学方面具有丰富经验和知识的研究人员。该团队将与行业和政府监管机构合作，就一些数据匮乏、技术关键的元素的生态风险提供新颖的、基于科学的理解。在这个项目中，我们将在圣劳伦斯和大河流域内进行实地调查，以确定城市和农业来源稀土元素的相对重要性，并量化天然有机物在调节这些元素的生物地球化学和生物有效性方面的作用。同时，将对重要的水生和陆地目标物种进行关键的实验室实验，以检查这些关键元素在代表加拿大环境的条件下可能产生的累积影响。这些实验将研究不同天然有机物之间的自然变异性及其固有的结合性质如何影响稀土元素的生物积累、毒性和移动性。我们将为我们的合作伙伴开发预测性吸收和毒性模型，以帮助他们改进对加拿大这些数据贫乏的关键技术元素的生态风险评估。

The growing use of critical technology elements such as the rare earth elements in new products, new technologies and common products such as phosphate fertilizers raises concerns about their potential impacts on ecosystems. Natural organic matter is a key component affecting the biogeochemistry of these elements. In the context of global changes where natural organic matter concentrations have been significantly increasing in Eastern Canada, we expect important modifications in the mobility and bioavailability of rare earth elements in the future. The "Terrestrial-Aquatic Mobility of Technology Critical Elements in a Changing Canadian Environment" project will bring together a team of researchers with extensive experience and knowledge on the geochemistry and toxicology of metals in aquatic and terrestrial environments. In partnership with industry and government regulators, the team will provide novel, science-based understandings on the ecological risk of some of the data-poor, technology critical elements. In this project, we will conduct field investigations within the St. Lawrence and Grand River watersheds to determine the relative importance of urban and agricultural sources of rare earth elements and quantify the role of natural organic matter in modulating the biogeochemistry and bioavailability of these elements. In parallel, key laboratory experiments will be performed on important aquatic and terrestrial target species to examine possible cumulative effects from these critical elements under conditions that are representative of Canadian environments. These experiments will examine how the natural variability among different natural organic matter and their inherent binding properties affects the bioaccumulation, toxicity and mobility of the rare earth elements. Predictive uptake and toxicity models will be developed for our partners in order to help them improve ecological risk assessments of these data poor, critical technology elements in Canada.