Sedimentation in Lake Biel,an eutrophic,hard-water lake in northwestern Switzerland

A 2-year study of sedimentation in Lake Biel reveals that three major factors can account for the spatial and temporal patterns of tripton sedimentation. Allochthonous inputs of particulate matter mostly derived from the Aare river during spring snowmelt and other high-water periods, provide about 50% of the carbonate and 50% of the siliceous matter collected in sediment traps. Phytoplankton activity in this eutrophic, hard-water lake accounts for the rest of the carbonate and siliceous matter, the latter being mostly diatom frustules. Sedimentation rates are thus highest during periods of maximum river flooding, maximum phytoplankton activity and following the breakdown of the thermocline, at which time trapped particles settle out. Resuspension of sediment is important in at least one basin. Resolution of carbonate appears to be minor.     

长江中下游不同湖泊沉积物中重金属污染物的累积及其潜在生态风险评价

利用富集因子和Hakanson潜在生态风险指数法,结合年代学结果,对长江中下游湖泊太白湖、龙感湖、巢湖和西氿沉积物中重金属元素Co、Cr、Cu、Ni、Pb、Zn的富集程度进行了评价,并比较分析了上述重金属的潜在生态风险.结果表明,太白湖和龙感湖沉积物中各重金属富集程度均较低;巢湖沉积物中Co、Cr、Ni的富集程度接近中等水平,而Cu、Pb、Zn的富集已经达到中等水平;西氿沉积物中Co的富集非常低,Cr、Ni富集水平较低,Pb达到中等富集,Cu、Zn达到较高的富集水平.对4个湖泊沉积物中重金属的综合污染程度进行比较:巢湖西氿龙感湖太白湖.各湖泊沉积物中单一元素的潜在生态风险都较低,但是,根据多元素潜在生态评价指数,各湖泊沉积物中重金属存在明显不同的潜在生态风险:巢湖西氿龙感湖太白湖.总体上看,太白湖和巢湖沉积物重金属污染以及潜在生态风险自1965年以来一直在加重,而龙感湖和西氿沉积物在表层有下降的趋势.这种差异与各个湖泊流域内人类活动的方式和强度密切相关.巢湖和西氿流域内城市化、工业化发展迅速,人类活动导致大量重金属元素进入湖泊,给湖泊带来明显的污染;而龙感湖和太白湖流域人类活动主要以农业活动为主,人类活动对重金属的贡献相对较小.     

Using ANNs to analyse effects of the Three Gorges Dam on sedimentation in Dongting Lake,China

Since a river system is a unidirectional network, the upstream influencing factors often interfere with those downstream. We quantify the effects of the TGD on the sediment exchange processes between the Yangtze River and Dongting Lake. Based on yearly sediment load data from 1981 to 2008, two multi-layer perceptron (MLP) models were constructed to predict the potential sedimentation in Dongting Lake without implementation of the TGD. The sediment discharge at Yichang station decreased from 622.5 to 61.1 Mt/year between 1981–1985 and 2003–2008, while the sedimentation in Dongting Lake reduced from 127.3 to 6.6 Mt/year. The MLP models indicate that only 27.9% of the decreased sediment load at Yichang station and 16.9% of that in Dongting Lake is caused by the TGD, while the rest is caused mostly by other upstream climate variations and anthropogenic impacts.

EDITOR A. Castellarin; ASSOCIATE EDITORN. Ilich     

Origin and distribution of surface sediments and human impacts on recent sedimentary processes. The case of the Amvrakikos Gulf (NE Ionian Sea)

The sedimentology of the floor of the Amvrakikos Gulf, a river influenced, semi-enclosed relatively shallow-silled embayment, lying along the northeastern Hellenic coast of the Ionian Sea (eastern Mediterranean Sea), is investigated with respect to its origin (terrigenous and/or biogenic), the prevailing oceanographic conditions and human interference. Nearshore (water depths approximately <10 m) sediments, especially along the northern margin of the Gulf, consist mostly of biogenic sands, as the result of water exchange between the freshwater lagoonal waters and the surface waters of the Gulf. An exception to this is the mouth area of the Arachthos River, which is dominated by the terrigenous riverine sediment influx. The offshore (water depths >10 m) bottom surficial sediments are fine-grained (silty and clayey) of terrigenous origin (>70%); this is attributed to the inter-seasonal, strong two-layer stratification of the water column in the Gulf which restricts benthic productivity by inhibiting the downward flux of surface eutrophic waters and the development of nearbed disoxic conditions in water depths >40 m. River damming has reduced also the riverine terrigenous sediment supply; this is more profound in the case of the Arachthos River where not only the deltaic evolution has been affected, but also the textural character of the seabed sediments of the mouth area has been altered; this is expected to influence the benthic communities of prodeltaic surficial sediment.     

The limnogeology-ETH coring system

Various methods are available for coring in lakes. We have developed an integrated coring system based on a modified Kullenberg poston-corer principle which is particularly useful for multiple coring in deep lakes. The selection of sites is guided by concurrent high-resolution (3.5 kHz) continuous seismic profiling. The system is modular for simple transport, and includes a very reliable tripweight gravity corer which uses the same plastic liners as the piston corer. Piston-core lengths are variable in 2, 4, or 5 m sections up to 16 m. This system has been successfully deployed in glacially deepened perialpine lakes (Lakes Zürich, Zug, Greifensee, Lucerne, Walensee, Constance, Murten, Neuchâtel, Geneva, Thun, Brienz, Maggiore, Lugano, Iseo, Garda, d'Annecy, Bourget and Ammersee), deep rift lakes of Africa (Turkana, Albert, Edward, Kiwu), Lake Ohrid (Jugoslavia), Lake Van (Turkey), Qinghai Lake (China), and in very shallow hypersaline lakes Urmia (Iran) and Great Salt Lake (USA). Following numerous requests, this paper describes the system concept and constructional features that have been refined over the last 12 years. Development has stressed increasing simplification and increased reliability.     

Interpretation of metal profiles in a sediment core from lake geneva: metal mobility or pollution

The transition elements Mn, Fe, Co, Zn, Cu and Cr together with Pb and P were determined in three sequential extractions of sediment and in the pore water of a 35-cm sediment core from Lake Geneva. A high percentage of the mobile Mn, Fe, P, Co, Pb and Zn was extracted in the first (inorganic) fraction, whereas the mobile Cu and Cr were mostly found in the second (organic and sulfide) fraction. Mn was subject to recycling with solubilization from the surface sediment to the oxic bottom water where it was precipitated. Highly enriched Co and P values were observed in the top few mm of the sediment resulting from post depositional solubilization with upward migration and precipitation with oxi-hydroxides at the sediment surface. The slower increase of Cu, Zn and Pb concentrations towards the sediment/water interface are the result of an increase of anthropogenic sources over the past decades. A further increase in Pb in the first cm of the core is believed to be related to the freshly precipitated Mn oxi-hydroxides.     

Mineralogical signatures and sources of recent sediment in a large tropical lake

Two lead-210 (²¹⁰Pb) dated sediment cores from Chapala Lake were studied to identify the mineral composition of the sediments and to discuss its relation with trace metals. Minerals and trace metals reflected the domain of volcanic rocks (i.e. basalts, rhyolite and andesite) that characterize Chapala Lake and the Lerma River watershed. Redundancy analyses (RDA) were used to identify the sedimentary variables (magnetic susceptibility, organic matter, sand content, and mineral composition) that could be related to elemental composition. Despite the distance between the two cores (7.3 km) and hydrodynamic circulation the RDA showed that the main mechanism that controls the input of mineral species, and, therefore, element distributions in the lacustrine sediment of Chapala Lake, is related to the weathering of volcanic rocks in the Lerma-Chapala watershed, the consequent runoff and transport of fine grained catchment materials, and later in-lake processes. These findings highlight the importance of controlling watershed erosion to contribute to the improvement of the environmental quality of the lake.     

湖北梁子湖近百年来环境演变历史及驱动因素分析

湖泊生态系统的修复必须建立在历史生态环境演化过程与驱动机制认识的基础之上.针对草型湖泊演化历史研究相对不足的现状,以长江中游典型草型湖泊梁子湖为研究对象,结合210Pb和137Cs年代测试,通过对沉积柱高分辨率的多指标分析(硅藻、元素地球化学和粒度)以及流域历史资料重建近百年来梁子湖生态环境的演化过程,并在此基础上利用冗余分析定量区分影响该湖泊生态环境演化的关键驱动因子.结果显示,沉积物总磷和重金属元素Cu是影响该湖泊生态环境演化的2个显著变量,它们分别单独解释硅藻组合的12.7%和8.5%变率.这表明近百年来人类活动引起的营养输入对梁子湖生态环境演化起关键性作用,而重金属污染也是影响梁子湖环境演变的重要因子.本研究结果可以为梁子湖及长江中下游其他类似湖泊的环境治理提供科学依据.     

Phosphorus in sediments of high-elevation lakes in the Sierra Nevada (California): implications for internal phosphorus loading

In high-elevation lakes of the Sierra Nevada (California), increases in phosphorus (P) supply have been inferred from changes in phytoplankton growth during summer. To quantify rates of sediment P release to high-elevation Sierran lakes, we performed incubations of sediment cores under ambient and reducing conditions at Emerald Lake and analyzed long-term records of lake chemistry for Emerald and Pear lakes. We also measured concentrations of individual P forms in sediments from 50 Sierra Nevada lakes using a sequential fractionation procedure to examine landscape controls on P forms in sediments. On average, the sediments contained 1,445 µg P g^?1, of which 5 % was freely exchangeable, 13 % associated with reducible metal hydroxides, 68 % associated with Al hydroxides, and the remaining 14 % stabilized in recalcitrant pools. Multiple linear regression analysis indicated that sediment P fractions were not well correlated with soluble P concentrations. In general, sediments behaved as net sinks for P even under reducing conditions. Our findings suggest that internal P loading does not explain the increase in P availability observed in high-elevation Sierran lakes. Rather, increased atmospheric P inputs and increased P supply via dissolved organic C leaching from soils may be driving the observed changes in P biogeochemistry.     

Recent aquatic ecosystem response to environmental events revealed from Pb sediment profiles

The ²¹⁰Pb dating method was first introduced by Goldberg (1963), and since then has been applied to study sediment from lakes, estuaries and coastal marine environments. Hundreds of studies around the world have used ²¹⁰Pb as a geochronological tool in aquatic ecosystems. However little attention has been paid to the potential of this naturally occurring isotope as an environmental tracer of ecological events. Here we report three instances in which ²¹⁰Pb profiles measured on undisturbed sediment cores from lakes, rivers and fjords show us the potential of ²¹⁰Pb profile as a tracer of natural and anthropogenic processes. The methodology used here is a suite of techniques combining biogeochemistry (micro-electrodes), paleomagnetism (susceptibility), sediment characteristics (LOI) and visualization (SPI and X-ray) applied to the interpretation of ²¹⁰Pb profiles. We measured ²¹⁰Pb profiles on sediments from a river, Cruces River (Chile), which recorded a clear shift in the water chemistry caused by a pulp mill effluent to the river. Here metal mobilization and remobilization of the tracer may be the cause of the observed profile. We also measured ²¹⁰Pb profiles in sediment from two fjords of Southern Chile (Pillan and Reñihue), the sudden deposition change of fresh ²¹⁰Pb with depth observed could very well be the result of bioturbation but it occurred in a seafloor area deprived of bioturbators. In this case, ²¹⁰Pb recorded the onset of aquaculture activities (fish farming) that took place two decades ago. Finally, ²¹⁰Pb profiles measured in two lakes in the “pampa Argentina”: Epecuen and Venado showed a particular shape with depth. These profiles apparently registered a sudden depositional event with recent ²¹⁰Pb material, probably related to strong shifts in precipitation and drought cycles in that part of the world. These three examples show that ²¹⁰Pb profiles provide valuable information not only on geochronology, but also related to natural and anthropogenic short term processes, as shown here, but these are not always reported and well understood.     

Reappraisal of sediment dynamics in the Lower Mekong River,Cambodia

The Mekong Basin in southeast Asia is facing rapid development, impacting its hydrology and sediment dynamics. Although the understanding of the sediment transport rates in the Mekong is gradually growing, the sediment dynamics in the lower Mekong floodplains (downstream from Kratie) are poorly understood. The aim of this study is to conduct an analysis to increase the understanding of the sediment dynamics at the Chaktomuk confluence of the Mekong River, and the Tonle Sap River in the Lower Mekong River in Cambodia. This study is based on the data from a detailed field survey over the three hydrological years (May 2008–April 2011) at the two sites (the Mekong mainstream and the Tonle Sap River) at the Chaktomuk confluence. We further compared the sediment fluxes at Chaktomuk to an upstream station (i.e. Mukdahan) with longer time series. Inflow sediment load towards the lake was lower than that of the outflow, with a ratio on average of 84%. Although annually only a small amount of sediment load from the Tonle Sap contributes to the delta (less than 15%), its share is substantial during the February–April period. The annual sediment load transport from the confluence to the delta in 2009 and 2010 accounted for 54 and 50 Mt, respectively. This was on average only 55% of the sediment fluxes measured at Mukdahan, a more upstream station. Furthermore when compared to sediment loads further downstream at the Cambodia–Vietnam border, we found that the suspended sediment flux continued to decline towards the South China Sea. Our findings thus indicate that the sediment load to the South China Sea is much lower than the previous estimate 150–160 Mt/yr. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

古生态记录揭示的长江中下游太白湖生态系统稳态转换过程

长江中下游浅水湖泊在过去百年内受到强烈的人类活动影响,生态系统状态发生显著的变化,服务功能逐渐丧失.为了更科学有效地管理浅水湖泊,当前迫切需要了解湖泊的生态系统转变过程.以长江中下游典型富营养化浅水湖泊太白湖为例,结合历史资料和监测数据,基于铅铯同位素重建年代序列,利用粒度、地化指标和沉积物中硅藻群落的时间序列数据,对太白湖过去百年间生态系统转变进行分析.基于T检验的STARS法检测硅藻群落的结果显示,有2个稳态转换分别发生在1950s末和1990s末.1950s末太白湖硅藻群落代表的生态系统状态发生了显著突变,这主要归因于由于建闸筑坝造成的水文条件和营养条件的改变;1990s期间的湖泊生态系统整体转变则是由长期营养输入和渔业活动加强导致的生态系统弹性损失引起的.讨论了不同阶段太白湖生态系统主要要素间反馈机制在水文条件改变和营养富集影响下的变化,加深了对人类活动干扰下太白湖生态系统结构变化过程的理解,为建立浅水湖泊系统动力学模型提供基础.     

Effects of hydrological processes on the chemical composition of riverine suspended sediment in the Zhujiang River,China

The chemical composition of riverine suspended sediment is the integration of the weathering crust minerals, soil organic matter and erosion agency within a specific drainage basin, which has been largely disturbed by the human activities. Selected metal elements of the riverine suspended sediment in the Zhujiang River were analysed using inductively coupled plasma–atomic emission spectrometry (ICP–AES) in three different hydrological phases from 1997 to 1998 at Makou and Sanshui hydrographic gauge stations, located at the lower reaches of the two main tributaries of the Zhujiang River, i.e. the Xijiang and the Beijing Rivers respectively. Organic carbon and nitrogen were also analysed using a conventional element analyser. The results demonstrate that the chemical composition of the riverine suspended sediment show obvious variability in different hydrological phases, which closely correlate to the organic matter content in suspended sediment. Intensified erosion in the flood phase results in lower concentration of the organic matter than that in the lower water level phase. The riverine suspended sediment with rich organic matter in the lower water level phase adsorbs some metal elements from the river water. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Chemical composition of short sediment cores from Thermaikos Gulf (Eastern Mediterranean): Sediment accumulation rates, trawling and winnowing effects

Four cores recovered within the framework of the INTERPOL Project have been analysed for their grain size and geochemistry; sediment accumulation rates (SARs) were also determined from ²¹⁰Pb and ¹³⁷Cs profiles. Two cores are representative of the Axios and Aliakmon Rivers depositional environment, whilst the third core represents the Pinios River province; the fourth core represents an environment of outer shelf relict sands. Apparent SARs ranged between 0.667 g cm⁻² yr⁻¹ (Axios and Aliakmon Rivers) and 0.414 g cm⁻² yr⁻¹ (Pinios River). Trawling activities and biomixing are critical processes that may be responsible for the mixing of the surface sediments, as observed from the excess ²¹⁰Pb profiles. The thickness of the surface mixed layer was 4.5 cm in the vicinity of Axios and Aliakmon Rivers and in the area of Pinios River, 3.75 cm on the outer shelf and 1 cm in the area where no trawling was observed. Sediment accumulation appeared to be regulated by variations in the riverine discharge, shelf transport pathways and winnowing processes. Major element variations, such as Si, Al, Ti, V and Ni, were dominated by terrigenous supply as aluminosilicate minerals and quartz, whereas most Ca and Sr were biogenic. Si/Al and Ca/Al ratios have been used to express changes in sediment accumulation and winnowing. Redox processes were depicted by Mn, which showed an increase in the depth of its redoxcline, from 1 cm in inshore stations to 2 cm on the outer shelf. Si/Al ratios follow the Ca/Al ratios and can be used to assess percentage winnowing in the sediment. Increases in these ratios indicate a decrease in sediment input rates and are seen in the upper parts of most of the cores. Anthropogenic or ‘excess’ metal contents have been calculated from Zn/V and Pb/V ratios. Their distributions in the cores showed that by far the highest contamination is associated with the Axios River output, whilst sediments influenced by the Pinios River were relatively uncontaminated.     

Quantifying anthropogenic and climatic impacts on sediment load in the sediment-rich region of the Chinese Loess Plateau by coupling a hydrological model and ANN

The sediment load on the Chinese Loess Plateau has decreased sharply in recent years. Therefore, it is critical to determine the effects of anthropogenic and climatic factors on the reduction in sediment load. The Huangfuchuan River is the primary tributary in the sediment-rich region of the Loess Plateau in China. This study identified a significant reduction in the sediment load in the Huangfuchuan River basin. The accumulative anomaly method was used to determine the change in annual sediment load from 1960 to 2010. The mean annual sediment load in the Huangfuchuan River was 0.564 × 10⁸ t from 1960 to 1979 (Period I), and it decreased to 0.379 × 10⁸ t between 1980 and 1996 (Period II) and to 0.100 × 10⁸ t between 1997 and 2010 (Period III). Instead of conventional ways, a method that coupled a dynamic water balance model and a back-propagation artificial neural network was employed to separate the contributions of climate variability and human activities on the reduction in sediment load. The results showed that compared to the sediment load in Period I, human activities were responsible for 64.32 and 71.55% of the reductions in sediment load in Periods II and III, respectively, while climatic effects accounted for 35.68 and 28.45% of the reductions in Periods II and III, respectively. The construction of check dams was the main human activity that resulted in the sediment reduction between Periods I and II and accounted for 35.51% of the decrease. Vegetation restoration due to the implementation of the “Grain-to-Green” program was the dominant cause of the reduction in sediment between Periods II and III and caused more than 40.00% of the decrease. The increase of water consumption by humans also contributed the reduction in sediment between Periods II and III in the Huangfuchuan River basin.     

Sediment mobility and bed armoring in the St Clair River: insights from hydrodynamic modeling

The lake levels in Lake Michigan‐Huron have recently fallen to near historical lows, as has the elevation difference between Lake Michigan‐Huron compared to Lake Erie. This decline in lake levels has the potential to cause detrimental impacts on the lake ecosystems, together with social and economic impacts on communities in the entire Great Lakes region. Results from past work suggest that morphological changes in the St Clair River, which is the only natural outlet for Lake Michigan‐Huron, could be an appreciable factor in the recent trends of lake level decline. A key research question is whether bed erosion within the river has caused an increase in water conveyance, therefore, contributed to the falling lake level. In this paper, a numerical modeling approach with field data is used to investigate the possibility of sediment movement in the St Clair River and assess the likelihood of morphological change under the current flow regime. A two‐dimensional numerical model was used to study flow structure, bed shear stress, and sediment mobility/armoring over a range of flow discharges. Boundary conditions for the numerical model were provided by detailed field measurements that included high‐resolution bathymetry and three‐dimensional flow velocities. The results indicate that, without considering other effects, under the current range of flow conditions, the shear stresses produced by the river flow are too low to transport most of the coarse bed sediment within the reach and are too low to cause substantial bed erosion or bed scour. However, the detailed maps of the bed show mobile bedforms in the upper St Clair River that are indicative of sediment transport. Relatively high shear stresses near a constriction at the upstream end of the river and at channel bends could cause local scour and deposition. Ship‐induced propeller wake erosion also is a likely cause of sediment movement in the entire reach. Other factors that may promote sediment movement, such as ice cover and dredging in the lower river, require further investigation. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

End member inversion of surface sediment grain size in the South Yellow Sea and its implications for dynamic sedimentary environments

Four end members were inverted from surface sediment grain size data from the South Yellow Sea by using the end member (EM) model. The sediment provenance and hydrodynamic meanings of each EM were discussed based on the frequency and spatial distributions of the EMs. EM1 and EM2 reflect the dynamic transport and sorting processes of the terrigenous sediment, and EM3 and EM4 reflect the modification of relic sand. The ocean front mainly affected transport of relatively coarse terrigenous sediment in the South Yellow Sea, and the fine terrigenous sediments were generally unaffected by the ocean front. Fine sediment could pass through the ocean front and deposit in the central South Yellow Sea under weak tidal condition to form most part of the Central Yellow Sea Mud (CYSM). The CYSM extended toward northwest and southwest. The sediment in the north part of the CYSM mainly consisted of sediment from the Yellow River (Huanghe) in the northwest, and the sediment in the southwest part of CYSM mainly consisted of Subei coastal sediments from both the Yangtze River (Changjiang) and the Yellow River. Compared to the traditional method of sediment grain size analysis, the EM model can determine the EMs and provide better explanations of the sediment provenance and dynamic regional sedimentary environment in the study area.