Sediments riverine

Global uranium flux calculations have typically been based on the following two assumptions (a) riverine-end member concentrations of dissolved uranium are relatively constant, and (b) no significant input or removal of uranium occurs in coastal environments. Other sources of uranium to the ocean may include mantle emanations, diffusion through pore waters of deep-sea sediments, leaching of river-borne sediments by seawater," and remobilization through reduction of a Fe-Mn carrier phase. However, there is still considerable debate... 

The material transported by rivers consists of dissolved ions (dissolved load), sediment suspended in the flow (suspended load), and sediment transported along the bed of the river (bedload). The total load and the proportion of the load represented by these phases varies widely among rivers in different environments. In particular, climate, topography, and erosion influence the amount and composition of riverine sediment loads. 

Marches JR, SA Owen, GF White, WA House, NJ Russell (1994) SDS-degrading bacteria attach to riverine sediment in response to the surfactant or its primary degradation product dodecan-l-ol. Microbiology (UK) 140 2999-3006. 

Since 1916 the sedimentation rate, Region III of Figure 3, has averaged 644 g m-2 yr-1 or 0.3 cm yr 1 or about 5 times the pre-cultural rate. The diversion of the Cedar River (average flow of 20 m3 s 1 into the lake in 1916 provided the water necessary to operate the ship and canal locks and contributes an estimated 4-5 x 107 kg-yr-1 of allochthonous material, Crecelius [7]. This riverine sediment input would contribute to the greater... 

Martin, D.B. and W.A. Hartman. 1984. Arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, and selenium in sediments of riverine and pothole wetlands of the north central United States. Jour. Assoc. Off. Anal. Chem. 67 1141-1146. 

In general, silver concentrations in surface waters of the United States decreased between 1970-74 and 1975-79, although concentrations increased in the north Atlantic, Southeast, and lower Mississippi basins (USPHS 1990). About 30 to 70% of the silver in surface waters may be ascribed to suspended particles (Smith and Carson 1977), depending on water hardness or salinity. For example, sediments added to solutions containing 2 pg Ag/L had 74.9 mg Ag/kg DW sediment after 24 h in freshwater, 14.2 mg/kg DW at 1.5% salinity and 6.9 mg/kg DW at 2.3% salinity (Sanders and Abbe 1987). Riverine transport of silver to the ocean is considerable suspended materials in the Susquehanna River, Pennsylvania — that contained as much as 25 mg silver/kg — resulted in an estimated transport of 4.5 metric tons of silver to the ocean each year (USEPA 1980). The most recent measurements of silver in rivers, lakes, and estuaries using clean techniques show levels of about 0.01 pg/L for pristine, nonpolluted areas and 0.01 to 0.1 pg/L in urban and industrialized areas (Ratte 1999). 

Relatively little contamination from PCBs was found in sediments from riverine and pothole wetlands at national wildlife refuges and waterfowl production areas (WPA) in the north central United States in 1980 to 1982. PCBs were above detection levels (20 pg/kg) in less than 4% of the sediments a similar case was recorded in fish from WPAs (Martin and Hartman 1985). Maximum total PCB concentrations in field collections of nonbiological materials were 0.000028 pg/kg in ice, 0.000125 pg/kg in snow, 12.3 pg/m3 in air, 233 pg/L in seawater, 3860 pg/L in sediment interstitial waters, and 1800 mg/kg in sediments. Concentrations were comparatively elevated in urban areas, near anthropogenic activities, and at known sites of PCB contamination (Table 24.8). 

Prahl, F.G., E. Crecelius, and R. Carpenter. 1984. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in Washington coastal sediments an evaluation of atmospheric and riverine routes of introduction. Environ. Sci. Technol. 18 687-693. 

If 0.24 Pg C/a represents riverine DIC delivered to oceans (Meybeck 1993) and if the flux of carbon from rivers/lakes to the atmosphere is 20% (Kling et al. 1991) of the total (i.e., 0.12 Pg C/a), then 0.23 Pg C/a remains in inland lakes and rivers, and in slowly cycled groundwater. Cole et al. (2007) estimated that about 0.2 Pg C/a is buried in inland water sediments. Groundwater may have a greater carbon storage capacity due to its large volume and greater load of carbon than rivers (Kempe 1984). 

POCs proportions and content of POCs in river waters compared with maximum permissible concentration (MPC, for DDT, HCH and PCB, are equal to 100,20 and 1 ppb correspondingly for water and 100,100 and 100 for bottom sediments) behavior of toxic compounds in the water body factors promoting an increase of the ecological risk of polluted riverine input into the Caspian Sea (Figure 4). 

After release into natural waters, NP and its precursors might be fixed in riverine sediments or exert adverse effects on aquatic organisms. Apart from the fact that these derivatives are more toxic than the initial NPEO, it is also claimed that some cause estrogenic effects (see Chapter 7.3) [89] and demonstrate a considerable potential for bioaccumulation [90],... 

Reference materials that represent the primary deep-sea and coastal depositional environments and biological materials would solve many of the problems that radiochemists face in analysis of sediments from these settings. Radiochemists require reference materials comprising the primary end member sediment and biological types (calcium carbonate, opal, and red clay from the deep-sea and carbonate-rich, silicate-rich, and clay mineral-rich sediments from coastal environments and representative biological materials). Additional sediment reference material from a river delta would be valuable to test the release of radionuclides that occurs as riverine particles contact seawater. 

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