Although great efforts have been made over the last years, climate change continues to impact our planet.
According to IPCC predictions, atmospheric CO2 levels and mean temperature are expected to continue rising jointly with the frequency/intensity/duration of extreme weather events (e.g., droughts and floods). The impact of climate change may be exacerbated in metal(loid)-contaminated areas, such as the Estarreja municipality, where ecosystems have been under stress for decades. TERRA aims to understand the effects of climate change alterations on the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, using contaminated soils from Estarreja. For that, extreme climate events/predicted climate change scenarios (including changes in combined climate factors according to IPCC) will be simulated to evaluate their effects on the ecotoxicity in terrestrial and aquatic inhabitants. Moreover, soil/water properties, e.g. pH, metal(loid) content, soil organic carbon, will be evaluated to establish the link between soil/water properties and effects under changing climate factors.
Considering that extreme climate events have been reported in the last years in Portugal, the project intends to understand the dynamics behind contamination in this region after these events, by evaluating contamination level in Estarreja region five years later (by comparing with previous works). TERRA will provide crucial data for Portugal and worldwide regarding the consequences of climate changes in contaminated areas. The present project will also promote an easy and active communication with the society, with the final aim of increasing awareness about climate change and its environmental impacts.
