Seasonal and inter-annual variability of water quality in the Uruguay River,Argentina |
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Authors: | Juan C Colombo Carlos N Skorupka Claudio Bilos Leandro Tatone Natalia Cappelletti M Carolina Migoya |
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Institution: | 1. Laboratorio de Química Ambiental y Biogeoquímica (LAQAB), Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Florencio Varela, Buenos Aires, Argentina;2. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas, Provincia de Buenos Aires (CIC), La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentinalaqab@fcnym.unlp.edu.ar;4. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina |
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Abstract: | AbstractWater quality of the Uruguay River was evaluated with multi-parametric (temperature, turbidity, conductivity, pH, dissolved oxygen) and sediment trap data (particle flux, total organic carbon and nitrogen contents) and correlated to precipitation, river discharge and El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) indices for the period 2006–2011. Hydro-meteorological parameters averaged 24–85% variability with coincident precipitation (200–400 mm month-1), discharge (7000–28 000 m3 s-1) and turbidity peaks (50–80 NTU) in the austral spring, and absolute maxima during the El Niño 2009 episode. Spectral analysis of discharge and sea-surface temperature anomaly (SSTA) showed consistent variance maxima at approx. 3 and 1.5 years. Deseasonalized discharge was significantly correlated to SSTA. During river floods, pH decreased (from 7.5 to 6.6) and particle dynamics peaked (turbidity: 15–80 NTU; vertical fluxes: 20–200 g m-2 d-1; total solid load: <1000 to 100 000 t d-1),whereas TOC remained stable (3.2 ± 0.8%) and C/N ratios increased (10–12) due to the higher contribution of terrestrial detritus. |
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Keywords: | ENSO water quality Uruguay River |
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