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Updated: Oct 16, 2025

Transport of Surface-modified Carbon Nanotubes through a Soil Column
Published on: April 2, 2015
Fate and transport in environmental quality
Y Pachepsky1, R Anderson2, T Harter3
1USDA-ARS, Environmental Microbial and Food Safety Laboratory, 10300 Baltimore Ave., Bldg. 173, Beltsville, MD, 20705, USA.
This minireview examines 40 years of fate and transport research in the Journal of Environmental Quality. It highlights evolving pollutant focus, methods, and the critical role of these studies in environmental risk assessment.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Environmental Chemistry
- Ecotoxicology
Background:
- Pollutant concentrations change due to transport and local processes like adsorption and degradation.
- The Journal of Environmental Quality (JEQ) has a long history of publishing research on pollutant fate and transport (F&T).
- This paper commemorates JEQ's 50th anniversary by reviewing F&T research over the past 40 years.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze trends in F&T research published in JEQ over 40 years.
- To showcase the evolution of research interests, methodologies, and public attention in F&T.
- To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Journal of Environmental Quality.
Main Methods:
- Statistical analysis of F&T publications in JEQ over four decades.
- Identification of major focus areas, including solution composition, organic matter, and F&T pathways.
- Review of studies examining temporal and spatial heterogeneity at various scales.
Main Results:
- Changes in the representation of different pollutant groups over time were documented.
- Key research themes included the influence of solution composition, organic matter, and F&T pathways.
- The importance of long-term studies, modeling, and heterogeneity in F&T research was demonstrated.
Conclusions:
- JEQ has been a vital platform for F&T science, providing crucial insights, methods, and applications.
- F&T studies are essential for evaluating conservation measures and ecological risk assessment.
- The journal continues to be a significant venue for future F&T research contributions.
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