Antarctica's remote wilderness is increasingly impacted by human activities such as tourism, scientific research, and historical and contemporary exploitation of marine resources. Despite regulatory measures, these activities continue introducing pollutants, notably diesel hydrocarbons, heavy metals, and plastics, into the environment. Fuel leaks are key anthropogenic inputs of hydrocarbons into Antarctic waters, while heavy metal contamination, including elevated levels of lead, cadmium, and chromium, is found in diesel-exposed soils, often exceeding permissible limits. Co-contamination presents significant environmental challenges for bioremediation. Microbial bioremediation has shown promise for addressing hydrocarbon contamination, but the extreme Antarctic environmental conditions and the presence of co-occurring heavy metals can inhibit microbial survival and metabolic activity, limiting remediation efficiency. While bacteria are commonly studied for bioremediation, microalgae, known for their capacity to bind and remove heavy metals, represent an underexplored alternative. Further investigation is needed to understand how heavy metals influence the biodegradation of diesel hydrocarbons. This review documents the occurrence and persistence of hydrocarbon pollution in Antarctica, its ecological impacts, and current remediation techniques, including physical, chemical, and biological methods, as well as promising integrated physical-biological remediation systems specifically designed for implementation in Antarctica's environment. It also addresses heavy metal co-contamination, the dynamics of their spread and mobility, and the complex influence these metals exert on hydrocarbon bioremediation processes.
🌊
