The challenges and opportunities of addressing particle size effects in sediment source fingerprinting: A review

Laceby, J. Patrick; Evrard, Olivier; Smith, Hugh G.; Blake, William H.; Olley, Jon; Minella, Jean; Owens, Philip N.

doi:10.1016/j.earscirev.2017.04.009

Cited by 203 publications

(133 citation statements)

References 167 publications

(244 reference statements)

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“…Any sediment source tracing study needs to make careful decisions about the particle size fraction used, because this decision can impact heavily on the comparability of source and sediment samples and the reliability of the apportionment results generated (Collins et al, ; Laceby et al, ). Dry sieving (using sieve apertures of 500, 300, 250, 212, 125, 75, and 63 μm) revealed that the <63‐μm fraction was the dominant fraction of the “drape” sediment samples.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fingerprinting the contribution of quarrying to fine‐grained bed sediment in a mountainous catchment, Iran

Nosrati

Collins

2019

River Research & Apps

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The contribution of quarrying in the context of multiple catchment sources of fine‐grained sediment has rarely been investigated. This study assessed the relative importance of quarrying as a sediment source alongside rangeland surface soils and channel banks in a mountainous catchment in northern Tehran, Iran, using fingerprinting. Eight geochemical tracers were measured on 24 potential sediment source samples and four fine‐grained sediment samples. Statistical analysis to select three different composite fingerprints for discriminating the potential sediment sources comprised: (a) the Kruskal–Wallis H test (KW‐H), (b) a combination of KW‐H and discriminant function analysis (DFA), and (c) a combination of KW‐H and principal components and classification analysis (PCCA). A Bayesian unmixing model was used to apportion sediment source contributions using the three composite fingerprints. Using the KW‐H composite signature, the respective relative contributions (with uncertainty ranges) from channel banks, rangeland surface soils, and quarrying were estimated as 28.4% (10.9–46.8), 15.1% (6.6–22.7), and 56.6% (38.3–74.2), compared with 35.4% (11.9–60.1), 13.4% (4.1–22.2), and 51.3% (26.5–74.3) using a composite signature selected using a combination of KW‐H and DFA, or 20.7% (3.9–41.7), 17.2% (4.4–29.9), and 61.4% (44–78.8) using a fingerprint selected using KW‐H and PCCA. The different composite signatures therefore all consistently suggested that quarrying is the dominant source of the fine‐grained sediment samples. Potential mitigation measures targeting this land use include closure to permit revegetation to reduce exposure of bare surfaces to sediment mobilization. Limitations and uncertainties associated with this preliminary investigation are briefly discussed.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fingerprinting the contribution of quarrying to fine‐grained bed sediment in a mountainous catchment, Iran

Nosrati

Collins

2019

River Research & Apps

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“…Rittner et al () argued that the Kunlun Mountains (Figure ) are the main source of the desert sediments, based mainly on detrital zircon U‐Pb ages and mineralogy. These contrasting interpretations can be attributed to specific grain size fractions having different source rocks (Laceby et al, ). Yang et al () demonstrated the homogeneity of the fine fraction (<53 μm) and the significant differentiation of the coarse fractions (>250 μm) for the entire desert.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sedimentological and Geochemical Composition of Aeolian Sediments in the Taklamakan Desert: Implications for Provenance and Sediment Supply Mechanisms

Jiang

Yang

2019

JGR Earth Surface

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Sediment provenance is a key issue in understanding the aeolian system of the Taklamakan Desert, an important source of global dust and the largest sand sea in the midlatitudes worldwide. In provenance research, it may be a mistake to assume that the sand and dust fractions of desert sediments have the same source, which has been the case in previous studies of the Taklamakan Desert. The aims of the present study were to identify the provenance of the sand and dust fractions of the sediments of the Taklamakan Desert, to determine the contemporary sediment supply mechanisms of the desert, and to assess the relative importance of silt‐producing mechanisms for the desert dust. We analyzed the grain size of desert sediment samples and measured the content of major, trace, and rare earth elements within the bulk samples, sand fractions (>63 μm), and dust fractions (<63 μm). Our grain size and geochemical data sets suggest that the Kunlun Mountains are the main source of the sand fraction, whereas both the Kunlun and Tian Shan Mountains are the main sources of the dust fraction. Our interpretation is supported by the elevation gradient within the Taklamakan Desert and by wind data.

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“…For a comprehensive review of the current state of knowledge of the frequentist approach to tracer selection, readers are directed to the reviews by Collins et al (), Davis and Fox (), Haddadchi, Ryder, Evrard, and Olley (), Laceby et al (), Owens et al (), Smith, Karam, and Lennard (), and Walling ().…”

Section: Frequentist Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Application of the Bayesian approach to sediment fingerprinting and source attribution

Davies

Olley

Hawker

et al. 2018

Hydrological Processes

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The identification of the sources of sediment is a key part of the management of waterways. This is typically achieved through the well‐established technique known as sediment source fingerprinting that uses tracers and statistical mixing models. Until recently, the approach for solving these mixing models has been dominated by frequentist methods. This review focuses on the growing interest in Bayesian methods for sediment fingerprinting and presents them as an alternative or complementary addition to the frequentist methods. Bayesian methods emphasize flexibility, for example, in the choice of probability distributions for tracers, inclusion of parameter probability terms, the choice of how to characterize tracer proportion, and the choice of fully or empirical Bayesian techniques. The Bayesian approach flexibly combines previous known and current information, to produce results that aim to accurately reflect the real‐world environment. Under the Bayesian paradigm, all model parameters are treated as random variables, and this allows all sources of variation to be explicitly communicated and modelled. Although there are considerable advantages to using a Bayesian approach for sediment tracing, there are some possible problems the practitioner should be aware of. These include computational issues and potential difficulties in choosing probability distributions to realistically represent model parameters. Though there are choices as to what Bayesian approach to implement (i.e., fully or empirical Bayesian), a fully Bayesian approach has been found to best retain fidelity to the Bayesian paradigm of treating all parameters as random variables. It has been recognized that the field of sediment source fingerprinting would greatly benefit from the development of a model that incorporates the tracer selection process into the modelling framework allowing for an all‐in‐one approach, and the flexibility of a Bayesian approach makes this development possible.

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The challenges and opportunities of addressing particle size effects in sediment source fingerprinting: A review

Abstract: International audienc

Cited by 203 publications

References 167 publications

Fingerprinting the contribution of quarrying to fine‐grained bed sediment in a mountainous catchment, Iran

Fingerprinting the contribution of quarrying to fine‐grained bed sediment in a mountainous catchment, Iran

Sedimentological and Geochemical Composition of Aeolian Sediments in the Taklamakan Desert: Implications for Provenance and Sediment Supply Mechanisms

Application of the Bayesian approach to sediment fingerprinting and source attribution

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