The Rhine River Basin

Uehlinger, Urs; Wantzen, Karl M.; Leuven, R.S.E.W.; Arndt, Hartmut

doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-369449-2.00006-0

Cited by 78 publications

(76 citation statements)

References 83 publications

(91 reference statements)

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“…(7) and (8) used for the computation of the fluxes request the concentrations of Ca, Mg, Na, and K, the concentrations of major cations analysed in this study have been compared to the mean values and standard deviations, σ, of literature data for the following rivers: Adige, Rhone, Rhine, Tagliamento, Livenza, Po, Isonzo and Ticino ( Fig. 8 - Stefanini, 1976;Mosello et al, 2001; Verbania, 2007;Peripoli, 2008;Olivier et al, 2009;Uehlinger et al, 2009;C.N.R.-I.S.E. Sede di Verbania, 2013;Marchina et al, 2014;unpub-lished data from Università degli Studi di Perugia, Dipartimento di Fisica e Geologia, Perugia, Italy).…”

Section: Representativity Of the Geochemical Datasetmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chemical weathering and consumption of atmospheric carbon dioxide in the Alpine region

Donnini

Frondini

Probst

et al. 2016

Global and Planetary Change

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To determine the CO 2 consumption due to chemical weathering in the Alps, water samples from the 32 main Alpine rivers were collected and analysed in two periods, spring 2011 and winter 2011/2012. Most of the river waters are characterized by a bicarbonate earth-alkaline composition with some samples showing a clear enrichment in sulphates and other samples showing a slight enrichment in alkaline metals. The amount of total dissolved solids (TDS) ranges between 96 and 551 mg/L. Considering the major ion composition and the Sr isotopic composition of water samples, coherently with the geological setting of the study area, three major reservoirs of dissolved load have been recognized: carbonates, evaporites and silicates. Based on a chemical mass balance, the flux of dissolved solids, and the flux of carbon dioxide consumed by chemical weathering have been computed for each basin and for the entire study area. Results show that the flux of dissolved solids, ranges from 8 × 10 3 to 411 × 10 3 kg km −2 y −1 , with an average value of 127 × 10 3 kg km −2 y −1 , while the flux of carbon dioxide consumed by chemical weathering in the short-term (b 1 Ma) is 5.03 × 10 5 mol km −2 y −1 1 on average. Since part of the CO 2 is returned to the atmosphere through carbonate precipitation and reverse weathering once river water reaches the ocean, the CO 2 removed from the atmosphere/soil system in the long-term (N 1 Ma) is much smaller than the CO 2 consumed in the short-term and according to our calculations amounts to 2.01 × 10 4 mol km −2 y −1 on average. This value is almost certainly a minimum estimate of the total amount of CO 2 fixed by weathering on the long-term because in our calculations we assumed that all the alkaline metals deriving from rock weathering in the continents are rapidly involved in the process of reverse weathering in the oceans, while there are still large uncertainties on the magnitude and significance of this process. The values of CO 2 flux consumed by weathering are strongly correlated with runoff while other potential controlling factors show only weak correlations or no correlation. Our estimation of the CO 2 consumed by weathering in the Alpine basins is in the same order of magnitude, but higher than the world average and is consistent with previous estimations made in river basins with similar climatic conditions and similar latitudes.

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Section: Representativity Of the Geochemical Datasetmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chemical weathering and consumption of atmospheric carbon dioxide in the Alpine region

Donnini

Frondini

Probst

et al. 2016

Global and Planetary Change

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“…These data were obtained from the International Commission for the Protection of the Rhine (IKSR), the DirectorateGeneral for Public Works and Water Management (2009) and Uehlinger et al (2009) (IKSR 2011). The salt content of the river Rhine was expressed as conductivity (in mS/m or lS/cm) which was typically measured twice a month.…”

Section: Species Sensitivity Distributionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Increasing PNOFs were found in relation to temperature changes from 1960 through 2009, reflecting rising river water temperatures due to thermal pollution and, in particular, global warming (Uehlinger et al 2009). PNOFs were higher in river sections with higher water temperatures due to large cooling water discharges of power plants and effluents of industrial and communal water treatment facilities, i.e., in the Lower and Middle Rhine (Table 2).…”

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confidence: 99%

Sensitivity of native and non-native mollusc species to changing river water temperature and salinity

et al. 2011

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Climate change may strongly affect the abiotic conditions in riverine ecosystems, for example by changing water temperature regimes and salinisation due to sea water intrusion and evaporation. We analysed the effects of changes in water temperature and salinity on the species pool of freshwater molluscs in the river Rhine. Species sensitivity distributions (SSDs) for maximum temperature and salinity tolerance were constructed for native and non-native species that are currently present in the river Rhine. The maximum temperature tolerance was significantly higher for nonnative mollusc species than native ones. For salinity tolerance, no significant difference was found between the two groups. The SSDs were used to determine the potentially not occurring fractions (PNOFs) of each species group corresponding with the yearly maximum water temperature and salinity levels recorded in (1) different river sections for the extreme warm and dry year 2003, and (2) the river Rhine at Lobith (The Netherlands) over the period . Changing temperature and salinity conditions in the river Rhine over the past 50 years corresponded with a net increase in PNOF for native species. This was mainly due to rising river water temperatures, which had a larger influence than decreasing salinity levels. For non-native species no change in PNOF was found, indicating that future temperature rise will disproportionally affect native mollusc species. Validation of the PNOF estimated for Lobith with the not occurring fraction (NOF) of mollusc species derived from monitoring data revealed similar trends for native as well as non-native mollusc species richness. The increase in the PNOF accounted for 14% of the increase in the NOF. The construction and application of SSDs appeared a promising approach to address the separate and combined effects of changing abiotic conditions on native and non-native species pools.

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“…1-a), the Upper Rhine Graben is 35-50 km wide and 310 km long. Hydrology in the southern part of this sector is characterized by a nivo-glacial regime and a mean discharge of 1,059 m 3 .s -1 (1891-2011; Basel gauging station; Uehlinger et al, 2009). Slope decrease and inherited geomorphological factors explain the longitudinal evolution of the channel pattern (Carbiener R., 1983;Schmitt et al, 2016;Fig.…”

Section: Study Area 15mentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-term river trajectories to enhance restoration efficiency and sustainability on the Upper Rhine: an interdisciplinary study (Rohrschollen Island, France)

Eschbach

Schmitt

Imfeld

et al. 2017

Preprint

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Abstract. While the history of a fluvial hydrosystem can provide essential knowledge on present functioning, historical context remains rarely considered in river restoration. Here we show the relevance of an interdisciplinary study for improving 15 restoration within the framework of a European LIFE+ project on the French side of the Upper-Rhine (Rohrschollen Island).Planimetric evolution combined with historical high flow data enabled to reconstruct pre-disturbance hydromorphological functioning and major changes that occurred on the reach. A deposition frequency assessment combining vertical evolution of the Rhine thalweg, chronology of deposits in the floodplain and a hydrological model revealed that the period of vertical incision in the main channel corresponded to high rates of narrowing and lateral channel filling. The analysis of filling 20 processes by Passega diagram and IRLS dating highlight that periods of engineering works were closely related to fine sediment deposition, which present also concomitant heavy metal accumulation. In fact, current fluvial forms, processes and sediment chemistry around the Rohrschollen Island directly reflect the disturbances that occurred during past correction works, and up to today. Our results underscore the advantage of combining functional restoration with detailed knowledge of pasttrajectory to: (i) understand the functioning of the hydrosystem prior anthropogenic disturbances, (ii) characterize the human-25 driven morphodynamic adjustments during the two last centuries, (iii) characterize physio-chemical sediment properties to trace anthropogenic activities and evaluate the potential impact of the restoration on pollutant remobilization, (iv) deduce postrestoration evolution and (v) evaluate efficiency and sustainability of the restoration effects. We anticipate our approach to expand the toolbox of decision-makers and help orientating functional restoration actions in the future.

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The Rhine River Basin

Cited by 78 publications

References 83 publications

Chemical weathering and consumption of atmospheric carbon dioxide in the Alpine region

Chemical weathering and consumption of atmospheric carbon dioxide in the Alpine region

Sensitivity of native and non-native mollusc species to changing river water temperature and salinity

Long-term river trajectories to enhance restoration efficiency and sustainability on the Upper Rhine: an interdisciplinary study (Rohrschollen Island, France)

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