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The continuous advances in mass spectrometry techniques have pushed forward the frontiers of all branches of the isotope biogeochemistry field. In environmental studies, different isotope ratios as determined in different reservoirs offer the opportunity, for example, to identify pollution sources and to trace metal fluxes within the trophic web and in dietary studies. Despite its relevance, trace metal isotope biogeochemistry is infrequently taught in undergraduate courses because it demands a rather high level of complexity of teaching strategies and abstraction capacity from students. Additionally, available didactic material for introducing mixing source modeling with stable isotopes relevant to biogeochemistry is scarce. In this context, the present study applies a visually appealing didactic strategy based on the analogy between colors (analog domain) and isotopic compositions (target domain), in order to encourage and assist the teaching–learning processes of this new subject in environmental science and chemistry classes. We demonstrate how familiar and simple concepts can be applied for introducing challenging subjects. In a setting that restricts in-person academic activities such as during a pandemic, the development of appealing visual approaches is imperative to engage students during online classes. The didactic strategy proposed herein was put to the test during remotely taught classes on the topic of “Environmental Impact Assessment Methodology” (winter 2021, 18 students) and “Environmental Contamination” (summer 2020, 18 students, and winter 2021, 20 students) of the Postgraduate Program in Geochemistry at the Fluminense Federal University (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). Students’ feedback was very positive; they found our approach stimulating, and it helped them to better visualize, understand, and interpret the targeted learning outcomes.

The intensive use of copper (Cu) compounds as an alternative biocide in antifouling paints (APs) has resulted in wide Cu contamination into the marine environment, especially near marina harbor activities. In this work, the applicability of Cu isotopes to discriminate Cu origins related to the use of Cu-based APs in marine environments was tested. To this, Cu isotopes in APs, shipyard sludges, and sediment cores sampled in the Cu-contaminated Mediterranean marina of Port Camargue were determined. APs represent an important dominant anthropogenic source for metals in this site, making it ideal to test Cu isotopes as tracers. The overall isotope composition of four sediment cores and a surface sample varied between -0.13 and 0.44 ‰ (δ

The advent of Multicollector ICP-MS advent inaugurated the analysis of new metal isotope systems, the so-called “non-traditional” isotopes. They are now available tools to study geochemical and ecotoxicological aspects of marine metal contamination and hence, to push the frontiers of our knowledge. However, such applications are still in their infancy, and an accessible state-of-the-art describing main applications, obstacles, gaps, and directions for further development was missing from the literature. This paper fills this gap and aims to encourage the marine scientific community to explore the contributions of this newly available information for the fields of chemical risk assessment, biomonitoring, and trophic transfer of metal contaminants. In the current “Anthropocene” epoch, metal contamination will continue to threaten marine aquatic ecosystems, and “non-traditional” isotopes can be a valuable tool to detect human-induced changes across time-space involving metal contaminants, and their interaction with marine biota.