Environmental contaminants: Sources and fate by innovative multi-proxy isotope approaches

污染物是当今大多数国家的一个重大社会问题，其存在往往超过国家和国际质量准则。因此，在过去几年中，对环境质量监测网络的兴趣大大增加。然而，对于这些污染物在环境中的最终转化仍存在知识差距，因此需要制定和实施创新方法，以更好地限制污染源和控制其预算的流程，最终目标是在必要时制定有具体针对性的管理计划。在这个发现补助金的研究计划，我建议通过创新的多代理多同位素方法的透镜调查空气/土壤/水连续体中的污染物的循环。我正在利用我的研究小组在过去几年中获得的独特分析能力，以及对UQAM的Geotop研究中心（一个旨在研究地球动力学的地球科学校际研究中心）设施的特权访问。我将在整个5年的研究计划中专注于探索污染物一旦释放到环境中的命运，重点关注与两种不同类型的碳污染物相关的2个短期目标：1）光氧化和臭氧化是否有助于环境中存在氨甲基膦酸（AMPA）？AMPA是一种农业和城市退化副产品，已被归类为土壤中的持久性物质，最近的研究表明其对环境和健康质量产生不利影响。我将特别侧重于AMPA的形成的机制，无论是草甘膦为基础的除草剂（GBH）或在我们的污水中存在的膦酸盐的转化。2)对大气中溶解黑碳（DBC）的贡献进行指纹识别，以寻找全球碳预算中潜在的“缺失环节”。虽然河流被认为是海洋中DBC的主要来源，但最近的一项研究反驳了这一结论。在这里，我将探讨大气沉积作为DBC缺失来源的重要性。这些发现将假定，通过这一途径直接沉积的DBC也是合理的冰冻圈地区，到目前为止，随着时间的推移，溶解的黑碳（BC）气溶胶被认为是该地区流行的DBC的唯一来源。 这项研究计划在当前全球环境污染物日益丰富的背景下具有高度相关性，并将促进我们对其来源和命运的了解。最后，它将为参与该计划的众多性别平衡的高素质人员（HQP）提供一个激励环境（4个理学士，3个硕士和2个博士），将最先进的分析仪器培训与对复杂和战略环境问题的广泛理解相结合。

Contaminants are today a major societal issue for most countries, their presence often exceeding national and international quality guidelines. As a result, interest in monitoring networks of environmental quality have grown substantially in the past several years. Still, there is a knowledge gap about the eventual transformation of these contaminants in the environment, arising the need to develop and implement innovative approaches to better constrain the sources and processes controlling their budgets, with the ultimate objective of designing specifically targeted management plans where needed. In this Discovery Grant research program, I am proposing to investigate the cycle of contaminants in the air/-soil/-water continuum through the lens of innovative multi-proxy multi-isotope approaches. I am capitalising on the unique analytical capacities acquired by my research group within the last few years as well as on a privileged access to the facilities of the Geotop research center (a geoscience interuniversity research center aiming at studying Earth dynamics) at UQAM. I will focus throughout the 5 years of this research program on exploring the fate of contaminants once released in the environment, focusing on 2 short-term objectives related to two distinct classes of carbon contaminants: 1) Are photooxidation and ozonation contributing to the presence of aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) in the environment? AMPA, an agricultural and urban degradation byproduct, has been classified as persistent in soils and recent studies have demonstrated its adverse impact on environmental and health qualities. I will particularly focus on the mechanisms responsible for the formation of AMPA by the transformation of either glyphosate-based herbicides (GBH) or of phosphonates present in our sewage effluents. 2) Fingerprinting the contribution of atmospheric Dissolved Black Carbon (DBC), in search of the potential "missing link" in the global carbon budget. Although rivers have been thought to be the main sources of DBC in the oceans, a recent study contradicted this conclusion. Here I will explore the significance of atmospheric deposition as the missing source of DBC. The findings would postulate that direct deposition of DBC through this pathway is also plausible for the cryospheric regions where, so far, black carbon (BC) aerosols solubilized over time are believed to be the only source of DBC prevalent in the region. This research program is highly relevant in the current context of an increasing abundance of environmental contaminants worldwide and will advance our understanding of their sources and fates. Finally, it will offer a stimulating environment for the numerous gender-balanced highly qualified personnel (HQP) who will be involved in the program (4 BSc, 3 MSc and 2 PhD), combining training on state-of-the-art analytical instrumentations with the broad understanding of complex and strategic environmental issues.