Combining flux monitoring and data reconstruction to establish annual budgets of suspended particulate matter, mercury and PCB in the Rhône River from Lake Geneva to the Mediterranean Sea

2019 ◽  
Vol 658 ◽  
pp. 457-473 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gaëlle Poulier ◽  
Marina Launay ◽  
Chloé Le Bescond ◽  
Fabien Thollet ◽  
Marina Coquery ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Particulate Matter ◽  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Suspended Particulate Matter ◽  
Data Reconstruction ◽  
Lake Geneva ◽  
Rhône River ◽  
Suspended Particulate ◽  
Rhone River ◽  
Flux Monitoring ◽  
The Mediterranean

scholarly journals Concentrations and fluxes of suspended particulate matters and associated contaminants in the Rhône River from Lake Geneva to the Mediterranean Sea

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hugo Lepage ◽  
Alexandra Gruat ◽  
Fabien Thollet ◽  
Jérôme Le Coz ◽  
Marina Coquery ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Particulate Matters ◽  
Lake Geneva ◽  
Rhône River ◽  
Suspended Particulate ◽  
Trace Metal Elements ◽  
Rhone River ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Suspended Particulate Matters

Abstract. The Rhône River is amongst the main rivers of Western Europe and the biggest by freshwater discharge and sediment delivery to the Mediterranean Sea. Its catchment is characterized by distinct hydrological regimes that may produce annual sediment deliveries ranging from 1.4 to 18.0 Mt y−1. Furthermore, the course of the Rhône River meets numerous dams, hydro- and nuclear power plants, and agricultural, urban or industrial areas. Thus, suspended particulate matters (SPM) have been involved in the fate of hydrophobic contaminants such as polychlorobiphenyls (PCB), mercury (Hg) and other trace metal elements (TME), and radionuclides for decades. To investigate the concentrations and the fluxes of SPM and associated contaminants, as well as their sources, a monitoring network of 15 stations (three on the Rhône River and 12 on tributaries, from Lake Geneva to the Mediterranean Sea) has been set up in the past decade within the Rhône Sediment Observatory (OSR). A main purpose of this observatory is to assess the long term trend of the main contaminant concentrations and fluxes, and to understand their behavior during extreme events such as floods or dam flushing operations. The dataset presented in this paper contains the concentrations and fluxes of SPM as well as the concentrations and fluxes of several particle bound contaminants of concern (PCB, TME, radionuclides), the particle size distribution and the particulate organic carbon of SPM. Sediment traps or continuous flow centrifuges were used to collect sufficient amount of SPM in order to conduct the measurements. This observatory is on-going since 2011 and the database is regularly updated. All the data are made publicly available in French and English through the BDOH/OSR database at https://doi.org/10.15454/RJCQZ7 (Lepage et al., 2021).

Characterisation of suspended particulate matter in the Rhone River: insights into analogue selection

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 804 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danielle L. Slomberg ◽  
Patrick Ollivier ◽  
Olivier Radakovitch ◽  
Nicole Baran ◽  
Nicole Sani-Kast ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Particulate Matter ◽  
Suspended Particulate Matter ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Natural Waters ◽  
Environmental Fate ◽  
Rhône River ◽  
Suspended Particulate ◽  
Rhone River ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Modelling Approaches

Environmental contextThe fate and behaviour of pollutants such as pesticides, metals and nanoparticles in natural waters will influence their effects on the environment and human health. Owing to the complexity of natural waters and suspended particulate matter (SPM) that can interact with pollutants, as well as low pollutant concentrations, determination of pollutant fate and transport is non-trivial. Herein, we report a characterisation of the Rhone River chemistry to provide insight into selecting SPM analogues for experimental and modelling approaches. AbstractSelection of realistic suspended particulate matter (SPM) analogues remains vital for realising representative experimental and modelling approaches in predicting the environmental fate of pollutants. Here, we present the characterisation of dissolved-ion and SPM compositions for nine sampling sites over the length of the Rhone River. Dissolved-ion concentrations remained stable, but SPM concentrations varied among sampling sites. Size fractionation and mineralogical characterisation of the SPM revealed that the same minerals (e.g. quartz, calcite, muscovite) constituted every size class from 0.5 to >50µm, as is usually found with allochthonous and large-scale systems. To gain insight into SPM analogue selection, aggregation kinetics of silica, calcite, muscovite, feldspars and clays were monitored in the native filtrate and related to the respective zeta potentials (ζ). An SPM mixture of calcite (49%), muscovite (14%), feldspar (23%) and chlorite (14%) proved the best match for the Rhone SPM, demonstrating that mineral surface chemistry, structure and size are all important in selecting a realistic SPM analogue for a riverine system.

scholarly journals Annual cycles of chlorophyll-<i>a</i>, non-algal suspended particulate matter, and turbidity observed from space and in-situ in coastal waters

Ocean Science ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 705-732 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Gohin
Keyword(s):  
Particulate Matter ◽  
Continental Shelf ◽  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
North Sea ◽  
Suspended Particulate Matter ◽  
Chlorophyll Concentration ◽  
Statistical Characteristics ◽  
Monitoring Networks ◽  
Suspended Particulate

Abstract. Sea surface temperature, chlorophyll, and turbidity are three variables of the coastal environment commonly measured by monitoring networks. The observation networks are often based on coastal stations, which do not provide a sufficient coverage to validate the model outputs or to be used in assimilation over the continental shelf. Conversely, the products derived from satellite reflectance generally show a decreasing quality shoreward, and an assessment of the limitation of these data is required. The annual cycle, mean, and percentile 90 of the chlorophyll concentration derived from MERIS/ESA and MODIS/NASA data processed with a dedicated algorithm have been compared to in-situ observations at twenty-six selected stations from the Mediterranean Sea to the North Sea. Keeping in mind the validation, the forcing, or the assimilation in hydrological, sediment-transport, or ecological models, the non-algal Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) is also a parameter which is expected from the satellite imagery. However, the monitoring networks measure essentially the turbidity and a consistency between chlorophyll, representative of the phytoplankton biomass, non-algal SPM, and turbidity is required. In this study, we derive the satellite turbidity from chlorophyll and non-algal SPM with a common formula applied to in-situ or satellite observations. The distribution of the satellite-derived turbidity exhibits the same main statistical characteristics as those measured in-situ, which satisfies the first condition to monitor the long-term changes or the large-scale spatial variation over the continental shelf and along the shore. For the first time, climatologies of turbidity, so useful for mapping the environment of the benthic habitats, are proposed from space on areas as different as the southern North Sea or the western Mediterranean Sea, with validation at coastal stations.

scholarly journals Plutonium fluxes from the Rhône River to the Mediterranean Sea

2002 ◽  
Vol 37 (C1) ◽  
pp. C1-87-C1-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Eyrolle ◽  
M. Arnaud ◽  
C. Duffa ◽  
P. Renaud
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Rhône River ◽  
Rhone River ◽  
The Mediterranean

Nearfield development of the negatively buoyant Rhône River inflow into Lake Geneva as an interflow: suspended particulate matter and associated fluxes.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Violaine Piton ◽  
Frédéric Soulignac ◽  
Ulrich Lemmin ◽  
Graf Benjamin ◽  
Htet Kyi Wynn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Particle Size ◽  
Particulate Matter ◽  
Particle Size Distribution ◽  
Size Distribution ◽  
Suspended Particulate Matter ◽  
Fine Particles ◽  
River Plume ◽  
Lake Geneva ◽  
Suspended Particulate ◽  
Negatively Buoyant

&lt;p&gt;River inflows have a major influence on lake water quality through their input of sediments, nutrients and contaminants. It is therefore essential to determine their pathways, their mixing with ambient waters and the amount and type of Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) they carry. Two field campaigns during the stratified period took place in Lake Geneva, Switzerland, in the vicinity of the Rh&amp;#244;ne River plume, at high and intermediate river discharge. Currents, water and sediment fluxes, temperature, turbidity and particle size distribution were measured along three circular transects located at 400, 800 and 1500 m in front of the river mouth. During the surveys, the lake was thermally stratified, the negatively buoyant Rh&amp;#244;ne River plume plunged and intruded into the metalimnion as an interflow and flowed out in the streamwise direction. Along the pathway, interflow core velocities, SPM concentrations and volumes of particles progressively decreased with the distance from the mouth (by 2-3 times), while interflow cross sections and plume volume increased by 2-3 times due to entrainment of ambient water. The characteristics of the river outflow determined the characteristics of the interflows: i.e. interflow fluxes and concentrations were the highest at high discharge. Both sediment settling and interflow dilution contributed to the observed decrease of sediment discharge with distance from the mouth. The particle size distribution of the interflow was dominated by fine particles (&lt;32 &amp;#956;m), which were transported up to 1500 m away from the mouth and most likely beyond, while large particles (&gt;62 &amp;#956;m) have almost completely settled out before reaching 1500 m.&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;

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