Newsletter - December
2010
Website:
www.sednet.org
Compiled by: Marjan Euser (marjan.euser@deltares.nl)
Subscription Service: SedNet Secretariat (marjan.euser@deltares.nl)
Disclaimer: SedNet is not responsible for faults due to
incorrectness of info in this newsletter
Previous issues:
www.sednet.org
CONTENTS
7th SedNet conference 6-9
April 2011:
Sediments and Biodiversity: bridging the gap between
science and policy
The conference program is being processed
right now and will become available in January. Then
also the registration of participants will start.
We will keep you informed.
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New SedNet Steering Group members
Recently the following parties joined
as SedNet Steering Group member:
BRGM:
this French research institute will provide direct links
for SedNet to the French Ministry of Environment and key
problem owners in France (ports and waterways managers).
The strong involvement of BRGM in major national
research programs and scientific clusters dedicated to
sediments will also facilitate scientific exchanges
within SedNet.
Christophe Mouvet and Philippe Négrel will participate
in steering group meetings on behalf of BRGM.
Christophe Mouvet (PhD, hydrogeochemist) is
project leader on the topic of Contaminated soils, sites
and sediments within BRGM Research Directorate. He is
the stimulating person of the working group set up by
the French Ministry of Environment to assess how
criteria H14 and H15 of the EU Directive on wastes can
be applied to sediments disposed of on land.
Philippe Négrel, (PhD in Geochemistry and Ability
to supervise research work) is presently Deputy Head of
the Metrology Monitoring Analysis Department and
Research project leader for the Isotope thematic within
BRGM Research Directorate. He applied isotopes for
studying the transport and quantification of dissolved
and particulate element flux in rivers; the continental
erosion; the element flux in marine environments:
estuaries, coastal erosion, and transport of solid and
dissolved matter.
Ivana Teodorovic of the University
of Novi Sad, Serbia.
Dr. Teodorovic’s research interest covers ecotoxicology
- mainly aquatic toxicology, but other interests include
water management issues and environmental policy in
general. In 2006 she was the cofounder of LECOTOX,
Laboratory for Ecotoxicology at UNSFS (www.lecotox.net).
Since 2005 till the end of 2010 she was the president,
while since January 2011 will act as a vice-president of
IAD (International Association for Danube Research –
www.iad.gs), the oldest professional association (founded
in 1956) in the field of aquatic ecology and water
management in the Danube River Basin, with observer
status in ICPDR. Since May 2010 acts also as a
vice-president of SETAC CEE Branch.
Dr Teodorovic is/has been participating in many national
(Serbian) and several international/regional research
projects and coordinated a few so far. Publishes mainly
in the field of ecotoxicology and environmental policy.
She is/has been reviewer for several journals and serves
as a section editor of River Systems.
Damiá Barcelò of IDAEA-CSIC,
Barcelona, Spain, has been involved in SedNet from the
start.
Dr Barceló is a full-time Research Professor at the
Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Studies
IDAEA-CSIC and the Head of the Environmental Chemistry
Department (Barcelona, ES). Since May 2008, he has
served as the Director of the Catalan Institute of Water
Research (ICRA) (Girona, ES). He has published more than
512 scientific papers in scientific journals and has a
Hirsch Index of 60. He is the editor of 13 books on
environmental analysis and a co-author of a pesticide
book. Other relevant activities include the following:
networking experience at the EU (1997-2002); coordinator
of the Waste Water Cluster (2002-2004), EMCO (2004-2007)
and INNOVA MED (2007-2009) and partner of projects
related with water and soil quality at the European
Union Level. He has been supervising 24 Ph.D. theses on
environmental analysis (1992-2008). In November 2007, he
received the Spanish Prize King Jaime I on the
Protection of the Nature.
Dr. Barceló’s scientific focus is on method development
and monitoring of priority, new and emerging pollutants,
including endocrine disrupting compounds, using advanced
mass spectrometric analysis such as LC-MS/MS and hybrid
instruments like LC-Q-TOF-MS and LCMS-MS-LIT combined
with bioassays, biosensors and endocrine effect studies.
The Steering Group is very pleased with
these new members.
If you are interested in playing a strategic role in
SedNet and would like to consider a position in the
Steering Group, then please contact the
SedNet secretariat.
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Invitation to participate
to the public consultation on the continuation of LIFE+
A public consultation on the financial
instrument for the environment for the period 2014-2020
(continuation of LIFE+) has been
launched, and will be open until 15 February 2011.
You are warmly encouraged to participate to this
consultation. A high level of response is strongly
needed in order to ensure the best future EU funding for
the environment!
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Legal opinion on sediment
management
There are several EU directives with
relevance for sediment management, but only in some of
them the word sediment can be found. This leads to
discrepancies and uncertainties when dealing with
sediments. Another question can be how these directives
may be of use to solve sediment problems.
Due to a changing environment, increasing amounts of
dredged sediments, new requirements etc. the Hamburg
Port Authority together with the German Federal
Waterways Administration recently developed a River
Engineering and Sediment Management Concept for the
Tidal Elbe. The concept has to fulfill not only
engineering demands, but also supports ecological
requirements. Still ongoing contamination of Elbe
sediments from the entire catchment is a challenge not
only for the Port, but also the Elbe community.
On this background Prof. Rüdiger Breuer, Köln, undertook
a thorough examination of existing legislation. The
study clarifies whether the measures contained in the
concept are consistent with the requirements and
objectives of the European and German law.
This study is now being published under the title
“Sediment Management for the Elbe”.
Unfortunately the legal opinion as well as the Concept
are only available in German. The book can be bought at
Nomos-Verlag, a summary can be found
here.
The River Engineering and Sediment Management Concept
for the Tidal Elbe can be downloaded
here.
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German Working group on "Sediments
and Water Quality"
The Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker (GDCh)
is the largest chemical society in continental Europe
with members from academe, industry and other areas. The
society was founded in 1949 but builds on a long
tradition that began in 1867 when its first predecessor
organization, the Deutsche Chemische Gesellschaft was
founded in Berlin. The work of the society is structured
by divisions and working groups, among them the
Waterchemical Society. Under the umbrella of the
Waterchemical Society in 2002 a working group on "Sediments
and Water quality" was established. The recent meeting
of this group was held in May 2010 in Frankfurt/Main.
One of the topics dealt with the occurrence of bound
residues in sediments. Another one dealt with
chemometric aspects of sediment assessment.
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Non-extractable residues (NER)
in aquatic sediments
Non-extractable residues (NER), also
called bound residues, have been studied for a prolonged
period of time. Particularly, the incorporation and
fixation of pesticides in soil as non-extractable
residues has been investigated since the early 70'ies.
Although the aquatic particulate matter is also highly
affected by anthropogenic organic contaminants studies
on the formation of aquatic bound residues are rarely
reported and have focused mainly on the interaction of
xenobiotics with dissolved organic matter DOM but
ignored the sediments. Noteworthy, in a bound state
several environmentally relevant properties of
pollutants are alterated significantly including
bioavailability, toxicity, metabolisation and mobility.
Hence, for a comprehensive view on the contamination of
riverine systems the non-extractable fraction in
sediments has to be considered additionally.
In urban and industrialized regions the organic matter
in riverine sediments is highly controlled by the
anthropogenic input due to enhanced emissions of organic
pollutants. The importance of NER for the environmental
evaluation of man-made chemicals has been demonstrated
by investigations on DDT and its metabolites in
industrially higly affected sediments and adjanced
surface and ground water systems. Main focus has lain on
the influence of aquatic NER for its distribution and
long term behavior in both compartments, the water phase
and the particulate matter.
Generally, the distribution of the bound DDT-related
compounds (DDD, DDE, DDMS, DDM, DDCN, DDA etc.) was
found to differ distinctly from the substances
distribution within the extractable fraction. The main
metabolite of the anaerobic degradation pathway (DDD)
was most abundant in the sediment extracts, but occurred
only in insignificant concentrations in the bound
fraction. The most abundant DDT-metabolites released
from NER were DBP, DDA and DDM. The overall amount of
bound DDT-related compounds was in the same range as
compared to the extractable fraction.
Since most of the DDT metabolites are lipophilic, they
do not contribute significantly to the water
contamination. However, this is not valid for DDA, which
exhibits an acidic functional group leading to enhanced
water solubility. Therefore, DDA represented the most
important DDT related contaminant in ground as well as
surface water samples. Based on stable carbon isotope
analysis the origin of DDA in more remote ground water
shallows was attributed to the origin of DDA from
riverine sediments. In particular, the bound DDA
residues were pointed out to be the most important
sources for DDA water contamination. Hence, it was
evident, that metabolism in combination with the
formation of NER has a major influence on the
distribution and the impact of the DDT contamination on
the aquatic environment.
Contact
Professor Dr. Jan Schwarzbauer
Institute of Geology and Geochemistry of Petroleum and
Coal
RWTH Aachen University
Lochnerstrasse 4-20, 52056 Aachen, Germany
E-mail:
schwarzbauer@lek.rwth-aachen.de.
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Lower pollution in water and
sediment – New challenges for chemometrics
In the aquatic environment, there are
always different compartments to be taken into account
(sediment, suspended matter, filtrate). Next to a
tremendous number of possible parameters to be measured
this will unconditionally lead to a large amount of data
not easy to be surveyed. This can be dealt with
chemometrics, i.e. multivariate statistical methods of
data evaluation. Typical means are those of unsupervised
learning (without previous knowledge) like cluster
analysis and factor analysis and those of supervised
learning (with structures or groups within the data set
already known) like discriminant analysis.
These techniques have been used to interpret the results
of an investigation of the German river Saale during the
years 1993/94 [1]. Sediments had been taken at 29
sampling sites along the whole river. After drying and
sieving (< 20 µm), a microwave assisted digestion with
aqua regia had been performed to enable the
determination of 14 metals. A cluster analysis according
to Ward performed for this data set revealed three
distinct groups of sampling sites: upper course, middle
and lower course, and barrages in the upper course. This
can be interpreted in such way that sediments are
differently loaded with metals in these three sections.
The three groups could be affirmed by discriminant
analysis. In order to get a better knowledge of the
reasons of the grouping and of discharger and influents
along the Saale, factor analysis has been used. In the
upper course, leather industry (characterized by Cr) and
the Thuringian slate mountains (Co, Mn, Ni) form
important factors. In the middle and lower course, two
significant dischargers are identified: the chemical
works Schwarza (factor loaded with Pb and Zn) and Buna
(factor loaded with Cu and Hg), respectively.
As the investigation had taken place right after the
expiration of the German Democratic Republic with its
low environmental standards, impacts in sediments have
been high at that time. Applying chemometric means might
therefore be more difficult for data sets of more recent
investigations of sediments in the river Saale. In that
case, newer methods like cluster imaging or support
vector machines might be helpful.
However, another case study of waterbodies in the Polish
Tatra Mountains [2] shows that chemometric techniques
are also helpful for the interpretation of
investigations in low or unpolluted areas. Within this
study, in filtrate of 22 water samples 35 elements and
classical water parameters have been determined. A
cluster analysis according to Ward revealed the
principal separation of the sampling sites into those
from Western Tatras and those from High Tatras with the
exception of one sampling site from Western Tatras that
grouped with those of High Tatras. Hence, the
chemometric data evaluation gives a strong hint that
rechecking the border of the two mountain areas should
be done. Furthermore, a difference of samples taken in
different months could clearly be shown.
With this second case study in mind, there still seem to
be good possibilities also helping to interpret current
studies of sediments from the river Saale by
chemometrics, which is checked presently.
Contact
Dipl.-Chem. Simon Prikler, Prof. Dr. Jürgen W. Einax;
Friedrich Schiller University of Jena, Institute of
Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, Department of
Environmental Analysis; Jena – Germany. (juergen.einax@uni-jena.de;
simon.prikler@uni-jena.de)
References
[1] J. W. Einax, D. Truckenbrodt, O. Kampe, River
pollution data interpreted by means of chemometric
methods, Microchem. J., 1998, 58, 315-324
[2] S. Prikler, P. Chęsy, A. Parczewski, J. W. Einax,
Analytical and chemometric evaluation of the situation
of waterbodies in the Polish Tatra Mountains, Clean-Soil
Air Water, accepted manuscript, 28.10.2010
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The role of sediments for
microbial water quality under a changing climate
SComputer-based climate change
projections for Northern Europe involve changes in
surface water temperatures as well as in the patterns,
intensities and duration of precipitation and droughts.
Heavy rainfall and run-off may promote the entry of
faeces-derived microbial pathogens into surface waters
and alter their transport and dissemination within the
water bodies. Rising water temperatures may affect the
survival and growth of these faecal microbes, however
may also provide favourable growth conditions for
pathogenic micro-organisms that are naturally present in
these waters. Two projects within the German
departmental research programme KLIWAS (2009-2013;
www.kliwas.de/) by the German Federal Ministry of
Transport, Building and Urban Affairs, aim to
investigate the potential effects of climate change on
microbial water quality in coastal and inland waters.
The research area covers the German North Sea coast of
Lower Saxony, the Baltic Sea coast of
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania as well as the major
inland waterways.
The role of sediments and sediment re-suspension for
microbial water quality is one of the main focal points
of these two projects. Sediments are believed to be a
refuge for faecal and pathogenic bacteria that otherwise
would not withstand unfavourable conditions – e.g.
nutrient limitation or cold temperatures – in the water.
Within the research program, we thus enter the question
whether 1) re-suspension of sediments may influence
microbial water quality in the cause of minor or major
flood events and whether 2) contaminated sediments
themselves may pose a human health risk. While in inland
waterways (KLIWAS project 5.03), our main concern is
with the faecal contamination of sediments and the role
of flood events for microbial water quality, priority is
given to the role of rising water temperatures for the
propagation of naturally occurring pathogens along the
coastlines (KLIWAS project 3.04). The special focus of
the latter project lies on pathogenic Vibrio bacteria,
such as V. vulnificus, which have been constituting an
increasing problem during hot summer events at coastal
beaches, particularly in the Baltic Sea. The detection
of Vibrio spp. is not regulated by the European Bathing
Water directive and voluntary tests by the governmental
public health institutes in Lower Saxony and
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania were so far limited to
water samples. Preliminary results of our study suggest,
however, that these potential pathogens may occur in
significantly higher numbers in sediments than in water,
thus posing a potential human health risk that has so
far been neglected.
Both projects aim at contributing to a fundamental
understanding of the processes that drive microbial
contamination of sediments and surface waters.
Information is compiled for a future-oriented health
risk management that considers both public health and
safety provisions for workers handling sediments in
German waterways and accounts for climatic trends.
Contact
S. Böer, N. Brennholt, G. Reifferscheid
Federal Institute of Hydrology (BfG), PO Box 200253,
D-56002 Koblenz, Germany
Email: Boeer@bafg.de
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Sediment Quality
Guidelines (SQG) for freshwater in Flanders
Ward De Cooman, Martin Verdievel &
Rudy Cautaerts – Flemish Environment Agency (VMM) –
Division Reporting Water (ARW)
The sediment monitoring programme of the
Flemish Environment Agency (VMM) in Flanders (the
northern part of Belgium) is a monitoring programme in
which chemical, biological and ecotoxicological data are
generated from collected sediment. More than hundred
chemical parameters are analysed, the benthic community
is inventoried and both the pore water as well as the
sediment is tested in bioassays of samples from more
than 600 different locations. By monitoring these
locations in a cycle of 4 years the results of a
sediment quality assessment of more than 1500 samples
are gathered in a database.
These data of the routine monitoring programme have been
used to calculate different types of sediment effect
concentrations (SEC’s). Lowest Effect Level (LEL)
and Severe Effect Level (SEL) (Persaud et al. 1992)
values are calculated as ecological SEC’s. The Threshold
Effect Level (TEL) and Probable Effect Level (PEL)
values are calculated as ecotoxicological SEC’s (MacDonald
et al. 1992, MacDonald 2003, Smith et al. 1996).
These SEC’s were derived for single compounds, both for
individual heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons (PAH’s) as for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB’s)
and chlorinated pesticides (OCP). Consensus values were
calculated as the average of LEL and TEL (long term
objective or good ecological sediment status) and the
average of SEL and PEL (acute or short term objective).
Ideally, all sites should reach chemical concentrations
below the lowest consensus value or a good ecological
sediment status. If we use these values, only 4% of the
more than 1000 samples in Flanders seem to be
nonpolluted. If the first aim would be to obtain a good
ecological sediment status for all substances on all
sites, 96% of all sites in Flanders would have to be
remediated dramatically. In view of management this is
not feasible in short time. Therefore the first aim is
to have all concentrations below consensus value 2 (or
the average of SEL and PEL) as soon as possible. Over a
longer and more realistic period in time, it is proposed
that all sites should achieve consensus values 1 (the
average of LEL and TEL). This resulted in the
implementation of sediment quality guidelines based on
these consensus values 1 in the Flemish legislation on 9
July 2010.
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Decision support system (DSS)
for investigative monitoring of freshwater sediments in
Flanders
Ward De Cooman, Martin Verdievel &
Rudy Cautaerts – Flemish Environment Agency (VMM) –
Division Reporting Water (ARW)
TIn cooperation with other agencies and
under the care of the Coordination Committee Integrated
Water Policy, the Flemish Environment Agency (VMM) has
developed a methodology to obtain an efficient and cost
effective aproach to prioritise the investigation (and
remediation) of contaminated sediments in surface waters
of Flanders. In a first phase, the VMM created a
decision support system (DSS) based on a multicriteria
analysis (MCA). By analysing monitoring results of more
than 5000 samples gathered in a large database,
contaminated sediments are ranked to differences in
quality status. In a second phase, a final ranking of
contaminated sediments with an ecological potential for
remediation is made in cooperation with experts and
watercourse managers.
In the multicriteria analysis model
criteria are grouped in 3 levels. (1) Quality of
sediments, (2) quality of the aquatic ecosystem and (3)
criteria that enhance a successful ecological recovery
after remediation. By assigning weights to criteria and
using statistical techniques like standardization and
imputation, an ecological investigation priority (EIP)
is calculated. Ranking the samples is done by using the
EIP.
In an additional consultation round all
water course managers get the opportunity to make a
thorough evaluation of the set of theoretical priorities
and adjust this with the in situ situation by
(1) controlling the quality of input
data in the DSS model,
(2) discarding and adjusting data in the model taking
into account extra relevant information that can not be
fitted into the model,
(3) adding extra relevant known upstream discharges that,
after expert judgment, still can affect the sediment
quality,
(4) paying extra attention to water course imbedded in
an area sensitive to erosion and
(5) paying extra attention to contaminated banks where
no real chance of ecological recovery is expected.
By using a DSS-model to set priorities in
the investigation of contaminated sediments in surface
waters of Flanders, a more efficient and cost effective
remediation approach is obtained. Cooperating closely
and combining forces and knowledge of different
environment agencies leads to a broader level of
consensus and support. As a consequence this leads to
better sanitation strategy and solutions.
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Global Threats to Human
Water Security and River Biodiversity
Rivers maintain unique biotic resources
and provide critical water supplies to people. The
Earth's limited supplies of fresh water and
irreplaceable biodiversity are vulnerable to human
mismanagement of watersheds and waterways. Multiple
environmental stressors, such as agricultural runoff,
pollution and invasive species, threaten rivers that
serve 80 percent of the world’s population. These same
stressors endanger the biodiversity of 65 percent of the
world’s river habitats putting thousands of aquatic
wildlife species at risk. Efforts to abate fresh water
degradation through highly engineered solutions are
effective at reducing the impact of threats but at a
cost that can be an economic burden and often out of
reach for developing nations.
An analysis, reported in the September 30 issue of
“Nature” represents the first global-scale
initiative to quantify the impact of these human-induced
stressors on human water security and riverine
biodiversity. Map figures show global threats to River
Biodiversity (BD) and global threats to Human Water
Security (HWS) accounting for beneficial investments in
infrastructure. See for detailed info
www.riverthreat.net.
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Other networks
SedNet is interested in cooperation
with other networks. The SedNet steering group invites
regularly representatives of other networks, to discuss
whether and where we can strengthen each other.
Recently, representatives of the following networks
attended a SedNet steering group meeting.
The COMMON FORUM on Contaminated Land in the European
Union
COMMON FORUM, initiated in 1994, is a
network of contaminated land policy makers and advisors
from national ministries and Environment Agencies in
European Union Member States. The general objectives of
COMMON FORUM are to develop strategies for the
management and treatment of contaminated sites and for
land recycling with respect to “sustainable resource
protection” for contaminated land and groundwater.
COMMON FORUM intends to continue to
provide this “mutual professional support” by:
- being a platform for exchange of
knowledge and experiences, and for initiating and
following-up of international research or
demonstration projects,
- establishing a discussion
platform on policy, research, technical and
managerial concepts of contaminated land,
- offering an exchange of expertise
to the European Commission and to European networks
(such as NICOLE, EURODEMO+, etc.).
Within the network, the Risk Based Land
Management Concept, developed in 2000, could be one
option for solving the problem of the management and
reclamation of Contaminated Land in Europe. The proposed
solutions can be characterised by three elements:
1] Suitability for use: This is achieved
by reducing human health risks and ecological risks as
necessary to permit the safe (re)use of the land. It is
focussed on quality requirements of the land for uses
and functions.
2] Protection of the environment: For
example preventing further spreading of pollution by
surface water and groundwater. Environmental protection
of soils as a resource may also lead to policies
favouring redevelopment of brownfields over greenfields.
3] Long term care: Sustainable solutions
minimise the burden of aftercare. Endless pump and treat
solutions or containment walls that require control and
maintenance forever may be less desirable in view of the
amount of aftercare required.
Sediments being part of the overall
environment system (Soil–Sediment–Surface waters–
Groundwater), gives a need for a proper analysis of the
water–soil cycle functioning for any prevention and
remediation action programme.
Therefore CF and SEDNET discussed this
year the opportunity of better addressing sediments in
this policy concept (through common technical guidance
document, common tools for risk assessment and risk
management). This could lead to:
- a new concept, a “sustainable
risk based land management” to be implemented at the
river basin scale,
- the identification of RTD gaps
for better decision-making.
Contacts
Common Forum – D. Darmendrail (d.darmendrail@brgm.fr)
SedNet – J. Brils (Jos.Brils@deltares.nl)
www.commonforum.eu
Estuarine & Coastal Sciences Association, ECSA
Although ECSA is a charity registered in
the UK, it is an international organisation that is
dedicated to the study of all aspects of estuarine and
coastal marine science, as well as the application of
science to conservation and environmental management.
Whereas the traditional focus of ECSA lies within Europe,
its activities, interests and membership reach out to
many other global regions. To date, ECSA has been
involved in the organization of nearly 50 international
conferences throughout the world, averaging one or more
major international events each year. Future ECSA
conferences are currently being planned for South Africa,
China and various locations across Europe. In addition,
ECSA organizes and supports ‘local’ meetings that
provide a forum for the detailed discussion of
individual estuaries or coastal areas. ECSA occasionally
also arranges scientific workshops; for example, one on
macronutrients is planned to be held in Plymouth in
2011. It will focus on practical techniques for the
analysis of nitrogen and phosphorus (including the
organic fractions) and it will also involve contextual
presentations from internationally recognised
researchers. If you are interested in attending, please
contact Dr Mark Fitzsimons (m.fitzsimons@plymouth.ac.uk).
ECSA has an associated international
journal: Estuarine and Coastal Shelf Science; it also
supports the production of a variety of other scientific
publications, including a Bulletin for members with two
issues each year. It runs an email newsletter, produces
the occasional publication: Coastal Zone Topics, and has
published a number of handbooks that are in the process
of being updated.
Through its membership ECSA has strong
interests in sediments, including fine sediments and the
interactions between sediments, sediment chemistry and
biota and the ecology of estuaries and shallow coastal
waters. When infrastructure developments are being
considered in these environments, sediments are often
characterized in terms of a few basic physical variables
and parameters (e.g. location, size and sorting). This
is a start, of course, but it is certainly not
sufficient when the sediments are mud or muddy mixtures
of sand and mud, partly because of the cohesive nature
of fine-grained sediments, but also because an important
factor to consider is biology. It is well known that
biology can influence erosion thresholds and erosion
rates of fine sediment and can enhance aggregation of
fine-grained particles to form flocs, which have
completely different settling characteristics to the
original particles. An obvious example of where biology
dominates the local hydrodynamics and sediment transport
is within the saltmarsh environment. Perhaps less
obvious, but nevertheless of importance (certainly local
importance) are the effects that organisms such as e.g.
mysid shrimps, cockles, mussels, snails and microalgae
and bacteria have on sediment erosion, transport and
behaviour.
ECSA membership is strongly represented
by those concerned with environmental physical processes,
environmental chemistry and ecology like measurements of
the benthic nitrogen flux from suspended estuarine
particles, using mini-annular flumes, impacts of water
injection dredging on water quality and ecotoxicity,
physical behaviour and transport of fine sediment within
estuaries, benthic fauna, flora and ecology of muddy and
non muddy estuaries and coastal waters.
Contact
Dr. Reg Uncles (rju@pml.ac.uk)
ECSA President
Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Plymouth, UK
www.hull.ac.uk
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Upcoming events
2011:
6-9 April 2011: 7th International SedNet conference
“Sediments and Biodiversity: bridging the gap between
science and policy”, hosted by Thetis SpA, Venice, Italy.
www.sednet.org
26-28 April 2011: Symposium on
two-phase modelling for sediment dynamics in geophysical
flows. Paris, France.
www.shf.asso.fr
2-6 May 2011: Coastal Sediments ’11; 7th International
Symposium on Coastal Engineering and Science of Coastal
Sediment Processes. Miami, Florida, USA.
http://coastalsediments.cas.usf.edu/
19-23 June 2011: 12th International Symposium on the
Interactions between Sediments and Water, Dartington,
Devon, England. Organised by the International
Association for Sediment Water Science (IASWS)
www.IASWS.org and
www.geog.plymouth.ac.uk/IASWS2011
10-11 November 2011: CEDA Dredging Days ‘Dredging and
Beyond’, conference centre Ahoy, Rotterdam, the
Netherlands.
www.cedaconferences.org/dredgingdays2011
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SedNet secretariat:
Mrs. Marjan Euser
Deltares
P.O. Box 85467
NL-3508 AL Utrecht
The Netherlands
E-mail
marjan.euser@deltares.nl
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