Contribution of In‐Channel Processes to Sediment Yield of an Urbanizing Watershed1

Abstract: A study was conducted between September 2003 and September 2006 to obtain baseline sediment inventories and monitor sediment transport and storage along a 3.7 km length of the channel of Valley Creek within Valley Forge National Historical Park, Pennsylvania. Valley Creek is a tributary of the Schuylkill River and drains an urbanizing 60.6 km² watershed that currently has 18% impervious land cover. Numerous field methods were employed to measure the suspended sediment yield, longitudinal profile, cross‐sections, banklines, and particle size distribution of the streambed. Suspended sediment yield for the watershed was measured at a USGS gage located just upstream of the park boundary between July 2004 and July 2005, the period corresponding to field surveys of bank erosion and channel change. The estimated suspended sediment yield of 95.7 t/km²/year is representative of a year with unusually high discharge, including a storm event that produced a peak of 78 m³/s, the second highest discharge on record for the USGS gage. Based on the median annual streamflow for the 24 years of record at the USGS gage from 1983 to 2006, the median annual sediment yield is estimated to be closer to 34 t/km²/year, considerably lower than median and mean values for other sites within the region. The mass of silt, clay, and fine sand derived from bank erosion along the 3.7 km study reach during the field survey period accounts for an estimated 2,340 t, equivalent to about 43% of the suspended sediment load. The mass of fine sediment stored in the bed along the study reach was estimated at 1,500 t, with about 330 t of net erosion during the study period. Although bank erosion appears to be a potentially dominant source of sediment by comparison with annual suspended sediment load, bed sediment storage and potential for remobilization is of the same order of magnitude as the mass of sediment derived from bank erosion.     

High Sediment Oxygen Demand Within an Instream Swamp in Southern Georgia: Implications for Low Dissolved Oxygen Levels in Coastal Blackwater Streams1

Todd, M. Jason, George Vellidis, R. Richard Lowrance, and Catherine M. Pringle, 2009. High Sediment Oxygen Demand Within an Instream Swamp in Southern Georgia: Implications for Low Dissolved Oxygen Levels in Coastal Blackwater Streams. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 45(6):1493‐1507. Abstract: Sediment oxygen demand (SOD) is considered a critical and dominant sink for dissolved oxygen (DO) in many river systems including blackwater streams and is often poorly investigated or roughly estimated in oxygen budgets. The purposes of this study are to (1) characterize and document the magnitude and variability of SOD in representative instream swamps found on the Georgia Coastal Plain; (2) predict SOD from more readily measured parameters such as soil, sediment, and litter organic carbon; and (3) obtain an accurate representation of SOD values within this understudied habitat to help improve water quality models and the continued development of DO as an appropriate water quality standard. Results show SOD rates ranging from 0.491 to 14.189 g O₂/m²/day, up to 18 times higher than values reported for southeastern sandy‐bottomed streams and suggest that instream swamps are repositories of large amounts of organic matter and are thus areas of intense oxygen demand and a major factor in determining the oxygen balance of the watershed as a whole. These areas of intense oxygen demand in relatively unimpacted areas indicate that low DO concentrations may be a natural phenomenon. SOD rates were significantly correlated (alpha = 0.05) with a number of sediment parameters, with organic carbon and total organic carbon being the best predictors of SOD rate. When developing water quality models, managers should pay closer attention to the influence of SOD as it plays a critical role in determining DO levels within instream swamps and the river system.     

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) contamination of surface sediments and oysters from the inter-tidal areas of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Surface sediment and oyster samples from the inter-tidal areas of Dar es Salaam were analyzed for 23 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) including the 16 compounds prioritized by US-EPA using GC/MS. The total concentration of PAHs in the sediment ranged from 78 to 25,000 ng/g dry weight, while oyster concentrations ranged from 170 to 650 ng/g dry weight. Hazards due to sediment contamination were assessed using Equilibrium Partitioning Sediment Benchmarks and Threshold Effect Levels. Diagnostic indices and principle component analysis were used to identify possible sources. Interestingly, no correlation between sediment and oyster concentrations at the same sites was found. This is supported by completely different contamination patterns, suggesting different sources for both matrices. Hazard assessment revealed possible effects at six out of eight sites on the benthic communities and oyster populations. The contribution of PAH intake via oyster consumption to carcinogenic risks in humans seems to be low.     

Source term characterisation using concentration trends and geochemical associations of Pb and Zn in river sediments in the vicinity of a disused mine site: Implications for contaminant metal dispersion processes

River sediment at a disused lead-zinc mine was analysed to provide an understanding of the chemical nature of the source term for contaminated sediment exported from the site. Changes in concentration and geochemical associations of Pb and Zn were measured using aqua regia digestion and the BCR sequential extraction procedure. Sediment in the immediate vicinity of the mine was highly contaminated with Pb (max. c. 11,000 mg kg⁻¹) and Zn (max. c. 30,000 mg kg⁻¹), but these values declined rapidly within 1 km of the mine due to dilution and hydraulic sorting. Lead fractionation changed from being predominantly in the reducible fraction to being in the acetic acid-extractable fraction, whereas Zn was predominantly in the residual fraction. This material is transported as fine sediment in the river system.     

Climate and land-use changes affecting river sediment and brown trout in alpine countries—a review

Background, aim, and scope

Catch decline of freshwater fish has been recorded in several countries. Among the possible causes, habitat change is discussed. This article focuses on potentially increased levels of fine sediments going to rivers and their effects on gravel-spawning brown trout. Indications of increased erosion rates are evident from land-use change in agriculture, changes in forest management practices, and from climate change. The latter induces an increase in air and river water temperatures, reduction in permafrost, changes in snow dynamics and an increase in heavy rain events. As a result, an increase in river sediment is likely. Suspended sediment may affect fish health and behaviour directly. Furthermore, sediment loads may clog gravel beds impeding fish such as brown trout from spawning and reducing recruitment rates. To assess the potential impact on fine sediments, knowledge of brown trout reproductive needs and the effects of sediment on brown trout health were evaluated.

Approach

We critically reviewed the literature and included results from ongoing studies to answer the following questions, focusing on recent decades and rivers in alpine countries.

Have climate change and land-use change increased erosion and sediment loads in rivers?

Do we have indications of an increase in riverbed clogging?

Are there indications of direct or indirect effects on brown trout from increased suspended sediment concentrations in rivers or from an increase in riverbed clogging?

Results

Rising air temperatures have led to more intensive precipitation in winter months, earlier snow melt in spring, and rising snow lines and hence to increased erosion. Intensification of land use has supported erosion in lowland and pre-alpine areas in the second half of the twentieth century. In the Alps, however, reforestation of abandoned land at high altitudes might reduce the erosion risk while intensification on the lower, more easily accessible slopes increases erosion risk. Data from laboratory experiments show that suspended sediments affect the health and behaviour of fish when available in high amounts. Point measurements in large rivers indicate no common lethal threat and suspended sediment is rarely measured continuously in small rivers. However, effects on fish can be expected under environmentally relevant conditions. River bed clogging impairs the reproductive performance of gravel-spawning fish.

Discussion

Overall, higher erosion and increased levels of fine sediment going into rivers are expected in future. Additionally, sediment loads in rivers are suspected to have considerably impaired gravel bed structure and brown trout spawning is impeded. Timing of discharge is put forward and is now more likely to affect brown trout spawning than in previous decades.

Conclusions

Reports on riverbed clogging from changes in erosion and fine sediment deposition patterns, caused by climate change and land-use change are rare. This review identifies both a risk of increases in climate erosive forces and fine sediment loads in rivers of alpine countries. Increased river discharge and sediment loads in winter and early spring could be especially harmful for brown trout reproduction and development of young life stages. Recently published studies indicate a decline in trout reproduction from riverbed clogging in many rivers in lowlands and alpine regions. However, the multitude of factors in natural complex ecosystems makes it difficult to address a single causative factor.

Recommendations and perspectives

Further investigations into the consequences of climate change and land-use change on river systems are needed. Small rivers, of high importance for the recruitment of gravel-spawning fish, are often neglected. Studies on river bed clogging are rare and the few existing studies are not comparable. Thus, there is a strong need for the development of methods to assess sediment input and river bed clogging. As well, studies on the effects to fish from suspended sediments and consequences of gravel beds clogging under natural conditions are urgently needed.     

底质营养盐对菹草生长及养分分配的影响

在野外池塘中,利用3种不同营养状况的底质研究底质营养盐对菹草生长及养分分配的影响,结果表明：沉水植物菹草面对底质营养盐的胁迫出现了急性的生理生化反应,在生长初期叶片总的可溶性糖含量在肥沃的底质上高于贫营养底质上;根、茎、叶和石芽各构件都具有异速生长现象,并且表现规律不一样;菹草的根冠比随底质营养盐的不同而变化;随着营养条件对菹草生长胁迫加重,根、冠的异速生长愈明显,同时石芽的N∶P和C∶N比率显著受底质营养盐的影响,而菹草叶片和茎N∶P和C∶N比率不受底质肥力的影响,这些响应将改变石芽第2年的命运和影响种群的维持;在胁迫生境下,菹草首先分配资源到无性繁殖体--石芽上以便维持种群的延续,以回避策略应对底质营养盐胁迫。     

长江上游河流输沙量时间序列跃变现象研究

长江上游来水来沙条件是三峡工程泥沙问题研究的重要基础。长江上游流域面积约100万km2,产输沙条件复杂。根据有序聚类分析法、里和海哈林法和费希尔最优分割法,对长江上游干流和主要支流控制站输沙量时间序列的跃变现象进行了研究。在显著水平005下,长江上游在径流量变化不大的情况下,河流输沙量在1991年后出现了明显减小的质变过程,干流寸滩站 1991～2005年年均输沙量为313亿t,较 1953～1990年均值减小了32%,特别是2001年后输沙量减小更为显著,2002～2005年仅为211亿t。水库拦沙、水土保持工程减沙等人类活动是导致长江上游输沙量时间序列出现跃变现象的主要原因,1991～2005年与1990年前相比,人类活动新增减沙量为1187亿t/a,占三峡入库总减沙量的75%,且随着三峡上游一系列大型水利枢纽的建成和生态环境的持续改善,三峡水库在相当长时间内会保持较少的来沙量。研究成果可为三峡工程入库泥沙代表系列的选取提供依据。     

不同水温时底泥扰动对不同形态磷分布的影响

研究了江南地区典型水温条件下,底泥扰动对上覆水中不同形态磷迁移的影响.结果表明,不同水温条件下,底泥扰动均有利于上覆水中溶解态磷(即溶解性总磷酸盐(DTP),包括溶解性正磷酸盐(DIP)和溶解性有机磷(DOP))向底泥迁移.与对照试验相比,不同水温时的扰动均导致DIP/TP和DTP/TP明显降低.与初始状态(第0天时)相比,扰动导致DIP/TP分别降低了39.61百分点(冬季水温)和17.38百分点(夏季水温),而DTP/TP则分别降低了39.16百分点(冬季水温)和19.06百分点(夏季水温).相反,对照试验中,DTP/TP分别上升了24.90百分点(冬季水温)和23.37百分点(夏季水温).这说明底泥扰动促进了溶解态磷向颗粒态磷(PP)的转化.     

Potential utilization of riverbed sediments by hydrothermal solidification and its hardening mechanism

Hydrothermal solidification of riverbed sediments (silt) has been carried out in a Teflon (PTFE) lined stainless steel hydrothermal apparatus, under saturated steam pressure at 343–473 K for 2–24 h by calcium hydrate introduction. Tobermorite was shown to be the most important strength-producing constituent of the solidified silt. A longer curing time or a higher curing temperature was shown to be favorable to the tobermorite formation, thus promoting strength development; however, overlong curing time (24 h) seemed to affect the strength development negatively. The hardening mechanism consisted of the crystal growth/morphology evolution during the hydrothermal process. The species dissolved from the silt were precipitated first as fine particles, and then some of the particles seemed to build up the rudimental morphology of calcium silicate hydrate (CSH) gel. The CSH gel, with precipitated particles, appeared to cause some reorganization within the matrix, which made the matrix denser and thus gave an initial strength development. Tobermorite, transformed inevitably from the CSH gel, reinforced the matrix with its interlocked structure, and thus further promoted the strength development.     

Spatial Extent of Sediment Toxicity in U.S. Estuaries and Marine Bays

Acute, laboratory toxicity tests were performed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on 1543 surficial sediment samples collected during 1991 through 1997 throughout 25 estuaries and marine bays. Selected areas were sampled along the Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and Pacific coasts. The toxicity of each sample was determined with 10-day amphipod survival tests performed with solid-phase (bulk) sediments. Collectively, the 1543 samples tested through 1997 represented a total area of approximately 7300 km². Toxicity was observed with the amphipod survival tests in samples that represented approximately 6% of the combined area. Using similar tests conducted on samples collected in different, but overlapping, study areas, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimated that approximately 7% of the combined estuarine area sampled was toxic. Generally, toxicity was most severe in northeastern and southwestern estuaries and least prevalent in southeastern and northwestern areas. However, considerable portions of the Pacific coast have not been tested with the same methods. In tests of CYP1A enzyme induction (n=464), samples were toxic that represented about 5% of the combined study areas. Toxicity was much more widespread, however, when the results of two sub-lethal tests were analyzed. Significant results occurred in samples that represented approximately 25% and 39% of the study areas in tests of sea urchin fertilization (n=1309) and microbial bioluminescence (n=1215), respectively.