Fluvial Geochemistry through a Short-Duration, Tropical-Cyclone Induced Discharge event in the Burdekin River and Hann Creek, North Queensland, Australia |
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Authors: | Jan Alexander Chris R Fielding Simon J Wakefield Mark T George Clare F Cottnam |
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Institution: | (1) School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK;(2) Department of Earth Sciences, University of Queensland, Qld 4072, Australia;(3) Department of Earth Sciences, Cardiff University, PO Box 914, Cardiff, CF10 3YE, UK;(4) Department of Earth Sciences, Cardiff University, PO Box 914, Cardiff, CF10 3YE, UK;(5) Present address: Micromass UK Ltd, Atlas Park, Simonsway, Manchester, M22 5PP, UK |
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Abstract: | The chemical composition of river water integrates a number of factors such as weathering, land use, climate, vegetation cover and human activity that individually affect its chemistry. Short term variations may also be significant. The Burdekin River, NE Australia, is an example of a class of tropical streams which experiences two to four orders of magnitude variation in discharge in response to seasonal but erratic monsoonal and cyclonic rainfall. In these systems individual discharge events last for days to weeks. Given the inherent difficulty sampling these events published data on water chemistry (and thus calculated fluxes and global budgets) may tend to be biased to low flow conditions. One such discharge event in February 1996 has been investigated for its impact on the chemistry of the water. Major cations (Na, Mg, K, Ca) all decreased in concentration as the water level rose, as did the minor elements Sr, Ba and U. Some other trace elements, notably Rb, Cr, Pb and REE were enriched in the peak flow waters. The flux of all measured elements increased substantially during the seven days of the discharge event. Such short term but significant events will have a major impact on the annual fluxes of elements delivered to the oceans from the land and global discharge budgets may need to take them into account when refining databases in the future. |
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Keywords: | river chemistry Queensland rivers tropical-cyclone induced runoff discharge variation |
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