Dynamics of total suspended matter and phytoplankton loads in the river Elbe

Hillebrand, Gudrun; Hardenbicker, Paulin; Fischer, Helmut; Otto, Wilfried; Vollmer, Stefan

doi:10.1007/s11368-018-1943-1

Cited by 19 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Water samples were filtered using commercial coffee filters, which were weighed before and after filtering (un-der constant climatic conditions in the lab with 20 • C air temperature and 50% air moisture) to calculate the daily SSC (mg L −1 ) (Hillebrand et al, 2015(Hillebrand et al, , 2018. The use of coffee filters is cost-efficient and facilitates measuring SSC for a large number of samples (i.e., 70 samples per day at the national scale) with sufficient quality.…”

Section: Suspended Sediment Monitoring In German Waterwaysmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Chlorophyll concentrations were determined photometrically (DR 2800, Hach Lange, Germany). Chl a concentration (µg L −1 ) was transferred to living phytoplankton biomass using a C : Chl a ratio of 40 and a particulate organic matter (POM) to particulate organic carbon (POC) ratio of 0.42 (Geider, 1987;Hardenbicker et al, 2014;Hillebrand et al, 2018). The applied ratios represent global average conditions of C in Chl a and POC in POM and allow only a first-order estimate of living phytoplankton biomass.…”

Section: Suspended Sediment Monitoring In German Waterwaysmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition to allochthonous suspended matter, phytoplankton is an important source of organic suspended matter that is autochthonously produced within rivers. Especially during spring and summer months, when phytoplankton growth is supported by high water temperatures, sufficient light, and high nutrient levels, autochthonous organic matter may dominate the total suspended load in many large lowland rivers and those with intense agricultural land use within the river catchment (Cloern, 1999;Hillebrand et al, 2018;Thorp and Delong, 2002). Water flow velocities regulate the water residence times, which in turn affect the time available for phytoplankton growth in river systems.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Scale breaks of suspended sediment rating in large rivers in Germany induced by organic matter

et al. 2020

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Abstract. Understanding the transport of suspended sediment and associated nutrients is of major relevance for sustainable sediment management aiming to achieve healthy river systems. Sediment rating curves are frequently used to analyze the suspended sediments and their potential sources and sinks. Here we use more than 750 000 measurements of suspended sediment concentrations (SSCs) and discharge (Q) collected at 62 gauging stations along 19 waterways in Germany based on the suspended sediment monitoring network of the German water and shipping authority, which started in the 1960s. Furthermore, we analyze more than 2000 measurements of the loss on ignition (LOI) of suspended matter at two stations along the rivers Moselle and Rhine to provide a proxy for the relative contributions of mineral load and organic matter. SSC and LOI are analyzed in terms of the power-law rating curve to identify discharge-dependent controls of suspended matter. Our results indicate that for most studied gauging stations, rating coefficients are not constant over the full discharge range, but there is a distinct break in the sediment rating curve, with specific SSC–Q domains above and below this break. The transition of the rating exponent likely results from increased supply of mineral suspended sediments from hillslope erosion at high flow and a shift of the organic matter sources from aquatic biomass-derived organic matter (i.e., high % LOI) at low flow, to mineral-associated organic matter with low % LOI eroded from hillslopes at higher flow. Based on these findings we developed a conceptual rating model for large (>10 000 km2) and low-turbidity (SSC < 1000 mg L−1) rivers separating the mineral and organic fraction of the suspended matter in German waterways. This model allows evaluating the sources of the mineral and organic fraction of the suspended matter and facilitates new insights into the first-order control of discharge on the quality and quantity of suspended sediments.

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Section: Suspended Sediment Monitoring In German Waterwaysmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Suspended Sediment Monitoring In German Waterwaysmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Scale breaks of suspended sediment rating in large rivers in Germany induced by organic matter

et al. 2020

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“…Chlorophyll concentrations were determined photometrically (DR 2800, Hach Lange, Germany). Chla concentration (given in µg/l) was transferred to living phytoplankton biomass using a C:Chla-ratio of 40 and a particulate organic matter (POM) to particulate organic carbon (POC) ratio of 0.42 (Geider, 1987;Hardenbicker et al, 2014;Hillebrand et al, 2018).…”

Section: Suspended Sediment Monitoring In German Waterwaysmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition to the allochthones suspended matter, phytoplankton is an important source of organic suspended matter that is autochthonesly produced within rivers. Especially during summer months, when phytoplankton growth is supported by high water temperatures, the availability of light and high nutrient levels, autochthonous organic matter may dominate the suspended load in many large lowland rivers and those with intense agricultural land use within the river catchment (Cloern, 1999;Hillebrand et al, 2018;Thorp and Delong, 2002). Water flow velocities regulate the water residence times, which in turn affect the time for phytoplankton growth in river systems.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scale-breaks of suspended sediment rating in large rivers in Germany induced by organic matter

Hoffmann¹,

Baulig²,

Fischer³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Abstract. Understanding the dynamics of suspended sediment and associated nutrients is of major relevance for sustainable sediment management aiming to achieve healthy river systems. Sediment rating curves are frequently used to analyze the dynamics of suspended sediments and their potential sources and sinks. Here we are using more than 750 000 measurements of the suspended sediment concentrations (SSC) and discharge at 62 gauging stations along 19 waterways in Germany based on the suspended sediment monitoring network of the German water and shipping authority, which started in the 1960ties. Furthermore, we analyse more than 2000 measurements of the loss on ignition (LOI) of suspended matter at two stations along the rivers Moselle and Rhine to asses the mineral and organic fraction of the suspended matter. SSC and LOI are analysed in terms of the power law rating to identify discharge depended process regimes of suspended matter. Our results indicate that for most studied gauging stations, rating coefficients are not constant over the full discharge range, but there is a distinct break in the sediment rating curve, with specific SSC-Q domains above and below this break. The transition of the rating exponent is likely to be a result of a change of controlling factors of the suspended sediment from intrinsic organic matter formation at low flows to extrinsic sediment supply (including mineral and organic fractions) due to hillslope erosion at high flows. Based on these findings we developed a conceptual rating model separating the mineral and organic fraction of the suspended matter in the Germany waterways. This model allows evaluating the sources of the mineral and organic fraction of the suspended matter and gain new insights into the first order control of discharge dynamics of suspended sediments.

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Transverse distribution of cyanobacteria in a regulated urban river

Yan

Wang

et al. 2021

Ecohydrology

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River eutrophication and CyanoHABs are severe problems that are often ignored because of high current speed and strong self‐purification. In this paper, Liangxi River, Taihu Basin, was selected as the research area. Combined with field investigation, a 2D water environment mathematical model was developed to simulate the chl‐a distribution in Liangxi River. An indicator (Transverse Distribution Center, TDC) and its normalized form (NTDC) to quantitatively represent material transverse distribution in rivers is proposed and coupled in the model. The calculation showed that TDC and NTDC had the property of random fluctuation, seasonal consistency, and water transfer dependence. The multiple regression equation with normalized data indicated that the maximum offset, average variation rate, and average reverting rate of Liangxi River chl‐a NTDC were most affected by the chl‐a dry matter flux ratio between tributaries and the mainstream, followed by flow and chl‐a concentration ratio. From the perspective of river morphology, for different river width change modes and river bending directions, when water flows into and out of these river sections, the chl‐a transverse distribution is subject to different specific effects. In addition, the position of nutrients and dissolved oxygen significantly affected the position of chl‐a growth when the N/P ratio was not very high. Conversely, a high N/P ratio may contribute to decrease of the chl‐a concentration. Proliferation with abundant nutrients may cause the settlement of chl‐a resulting in a decrease of chl‐a in the water column.

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Dynamics of total suspended matter and phytoplankton loads in the river Elbe

Cited by 19 publications

References 37 publications

Scale breaks of suspended sediment rating in large rivers in Germany induced by organic matter

Scale breaks of suspended sediment rating in large rivers in Germany induced by organic matter

Scale-breaks of suspended sediment rating in large rivers in Germany induced by organic matter

Transverse distribution of cyanobacteria in a regulated urban river

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