Abstract

Contamination in desert coastal areas, such as Atacama (northern Chile), is in continuous dynamism: human activities supplies (mining, tourism, agriculture, etc.), occasional natural events (tsunamis, coastal edges erosion, Humboldt Current, etc.) and other extreme meteorological episodes (alluvia, floods, droughts, etc.), are the main characters in this interactive border. Chile holds one of the longest coastal lines worldwide, where the confluence of different activities with an important polluting component is not restricted due to a lack of national regulatory. This work analyses the current scientific reports in an area where the word “contamination” is continuously mentioned, and where there has been an ineffective divulgation of the international projection studies on one of the most contaminated bays: Chañaral Bay. Chañaral Bay, located in northern Chile, in the surroundings of Chañaral city, with 12000 inhabitants, is the scenario of historical mining discharges through the Salado River, and recently whipped by two severe hydrometeorological events in 2015 and 2017.