Land use and spatial contiguity are key driven factors of antibiotic multimedia patterns in the megacity river network

• Published in: The Science of the total environment 2024-10, Vol.947, p.174727, Article 174727
• Main Authors: Ding, Fangfang, Li, Ye, He, Tianhao, Wang, Yuyi, Li, Yushan, Huang, Ye, Yin, Guoyu, Yang, Jing, Wu, Shixue, Liu, Yuyan, Liu, Min
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anti-Bacterial Agents - analysis; Antibiotics; Cities; Environmental Monitoring; Geologic Sediments - chemistry; Land use; Local contribution; Rivers - chemistry; Source and sinks landscape; Spatial autocorrelation; Urban river network; Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis
• ISSN: 0048-9697; 1879-1026; 1879-1026
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.174727

The widespread spread of antibiotics in the environment poses a growing threat to human health. This study investigated the distribution and fate of antibiotics concerning land use characteristics, hydrological conditions, and spatial contiguity within a megacity river network. Temporally, the average concentrations of twenty antibiotics in water (354 ng/L), suspended particulate matter (SPM) (46 ng/L), and sediment (151 ng/g) during dry season were notably higher than that in the corresponding environment media (water: 127 ng/L, SPM: 2 ng/L, and sediment: 49 ng/g) during the wet season. Moreover, the inter-annual variation of antibiotics in water showed a decreasing trend. Spatially, substantial antibiotic contamination was observed in a human-intensive watershed, particularly in the upstream and central city sections. The macrolides in water were most affected by land use types and hydrological processes. Antibiotic contamination in water exhibited a stronger spatial autocorrelation compared to other media. Nevertheless, the interconnectedness of antibiotic contamination in sediments during the wet season warrants attention, and relevant authorities should enhance environmental monitoring in watersheds with pollution hotspots. Certain antibiotics, such as sulfamethoxazole, enrofloxacin, and florfenicol, were transported via urban rivers to the ocean, potentially posing environmental risks to coastal water quality. Local sources accounted for the predominant portion (>50 %) of most antibiotics in various media. The correlation distances of antibiotics in waters during the wet season could screen ecological risk prioritization in aquatic environments. [Display omitted] •Spatial autocorrelation was used to analyze the spatial correlation of antibiotics.•The macrolides in water were characterized by land use and hydrodynamic conditions.•The local contribution of most antibiotics played a key role in multimedia.•Spatial contiguity in waters could screen ecological risk prioritization.