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Tracing suspended sediment sources in catchments and river systems
1Department of Geography, University of Exeter, Amory Building, Rennes Drive, EXETER, EX4 4RJ, UK. d.e.walling@exeter.ac.uk
The Science of the Total Environment
|May 24, 2005
Summary
Understanding river sediment sources is crucial for managing nutrient and contaminant transport, like phosphorus. Sediment fingerprinting techniques effectively identify these sources, aiding pollution control strategies.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Hydrology
- Geochemistry
Background:
- Growing awareness of suspended sediment's environmental impact, particularly fine sediment's role in nutrient and contaminant transport (e.g., phosphorus).
- Sediment source significantly influences physical and geochemical properties, impacting pollution control strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the development of sediment source fingerprinting techniques.
- To present applications of these techniques in UK catchments.
- To discuss future development and broader application potential.
Main Methods:
- Review of sediment source fingerprinting technique development.
- Case study analysis of applications in UK river catchments.
Main Results:
- Sediment fingerprinting is a valuable alternative to traditional monitoring for identifying sediment sources.
- Demonstrated effectiveness of fingerprinting in UK catchment studies.
Conclusions:
- Source fingerprinting is an effective method for determining the relative importance of potential sediment sources.
- Further development is needed to enhance the approach and expand its application scope.