Use of mining-contaminated sediment tracers to investigate the timing and rates of historical flood plain sedimentation

Lecce, Scott A.; Pavlowsky, Robert T.

doi:10.1016/s0169-555x(00)00071-4

Cited by 61 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…This trend was also noted by for example and Lecce & Pavlowsky (2001) for smaller streams. The only exception is the relation between sedimentation amount and elevation for the W-RWw floodplain, having an increasing amount of sedimentation with increasing floodplain elevation (Fig.…”

Section: Variation Within Floodplain Sectionssupporting

confidence: 74%

“…Despite considerable short-range variation in sediment deposition, she found a significant (r 2 = 0.44, p < 0.01) decrease of sedimentation over a 4 m increase in elevation for the terraced floodplains of the Dragonja River (southwest Slovenia). Lecce & Pavlowsky (2001) confirm this using evidence from an opposite situation: smaller elevation ranges lead to less variation in sediment deposition. They found that the differences in sedimentation rates in lower areas (1.1 -1.5 cm·y -1 ) of the Blue River floodplain (Wisconsin, USA) and its higher elevated terraces (0.7 -0.85 cm·y -1 ) had drastically decreased after the creation of one nearly continuous floodplain area.…”

Section: Relation Between Sedimentation and Floodplain Elevationmentioning

confidence: 58%

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The influence of floodplain morphology and river works on spatial patterns of overbank deposition

Thonon

Middelkoop

Perk

2007

Netherlands Journal of Geosciences

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Floodplain topography and related hydraulic patterns of overbank flow constitute a major control on the amounts and patterns of sediment deposition on floodplains. We studied the differences in sediment deposition at two scales along two river branches of the lower River Rhine in the Netherlands: the Waal and IJssel River. Human alterations like levelling and embankment construction have severely impacted the floodplains along the Waal River branch (average discharge: 1500 m 3 ·s -1 ), whereas the relatively wide floodplains along the IJssel River (average discharge: 250 m 3 ·s -1 ) still exhibit their characteristic ridge-and-swale topography and natural levees. We found that, in general, the amounts of sediment deposited sediment decreases with increasing distance to the sediment source. Clay and organic matter content generally increase with decreasing floodplain elevation. These trends are, however, far less pronounced in the Waal River floodplains than in the IJssel River floodplains.Sediment deposited on the IJssel River floodplains also contains significantly more sand than the sediment deposited on the Waal River floodplains, probably because of the absence of minor embankments along the IJssel River and its higher sinuosity. Furthermore, during inundation the individual Waal River floodplains receive more sediment per unit area than the IJssel River floodplains. At the scale of the river branch, however, the conveyance losses in the Waal River are less than in the IJssel River, because of the larger surface area of the floodplains along the IJssel River relative to its water and sediment discharge during flood events. This discrepancy stresses that both the individual floodplain sections and the total river branch should be taken into account when studying the role of overbank deposition as part of a river's sediment budget.

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Section: Variation Within Floodplain Sectionssupporting

confidence: 74%

Section: Relation Between Sedimentation and Floodplain Elevationmentioning

confidence: 58%

The influence of floodplain morphology and river works on spatial patterns of overbank deposition

Thonon

Middelkoop

Perk

2007

Netherlands Journal of Geosciences

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“…Furthermore, the downstream impact of these upstream changes, as indexed by changes in overbank sedimentation rates and sediment sources, must again be seen as strictly limited when compared with those described in the literature for catchments subject to more extreme land-use change, such as forest clearance and mining activity (e.g. Meade, 1982;Phillips, 1993;Lecce and Pavlowsky, 2001). This limited downstream impact undoubtedly reflects, at least in part, spatial heterogeneity in the nature and timing of land-use change within the study basins, such that the downstream impact is attenuated.…”

Section: Perspectivementioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in the fine sediment dynamics of the Ouse and Tweed basins in the UK over the last 100–150 years

Walling

Owens

Foster

et al. 2003

Hydrological Processes

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Abstract:Sediment cores (collected from nine headwater lakes and reservoirs in their catchments and adjacent areas and from ten floodplain sites in the middle and lower reaches of the two river systems) have been used to reconstruct changes in suspended sediment yields, rates of sedimentation and suspended sediment sources for the Ouse and Tweed catchments in the UK over the last ca 100-150 years in response to recent environmental change. For the small lake/reservoir catchments in or adjacent to the Ouse basin, average sediment yields for the recent period were generally found to exceed those for the period prior to 1963, by up to 94%, suggesting that sediment yields have increased over time. For the equivalent lake/reservoir catchments in and adjacent to the Tweed basin, sediment yields were generally lower in the period since 1963. In both basins, sediment yields over the past 100-150 years were characterized by considerable temporal variability, which was seen to reflect, at least in part, the significant changes in land use and land management that occurred within their catchments. No clear links between the variability of sediment yields and changes in climate were apparent. Changes in sediment source reconstructed for one of the lakes appeared primarily to reflect catchment disturbance during afforestation in the 1940s. Average rates of overbank sedimentation for the ten floodplain sites varied considerably between sites. For those cores collected from the Ouse basin there was no consistent temporal trend, and average sedimentation rates for the period extending from ca 1895 to 1963 were broadly similar to those for the period since 1963. For the Tweed basin, sedimentation rates for all three cores were higher prior to 1963, reflecting the increased soil erosion and sediment yields associated with the conversion of pasture to arable land in the immediate post-World War II period and the ditching and planting operations associated with afforestation in the 1940s. Substantial downcore variability in the source of the overbank sediment, considered in terms of both source type and spatial location, was found in both river basins. This was seen to reflect land-use change, including land drainage, the conversion of pasture to arable land, afforestation, and increased cereal production. The evidence provided by the floodplain cores again showed little indication of any influence linked to climate change.Although the detailed patterns of temporal variation of sediment yield, overbank sedimentation rate and sediment source reconstructed from the sediment cores collected from the lake/reservoirs and floodplain locations are site specific, there is a general consistency between the changes in sediment dynamics reconstructed for the headwater catchments (based on the cores collected from the lakes and reservoirs) and the equivalent evidence for the middle and lowland reaches of the catchments (provided by overbank floodplain deposits). Despite significant changes in climate, and, more particularly, land use over this...

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“…Lecce & Pavlowsky 2001;Knox 2006;Mihaljevič et al 2006;Bing et al 2011;Xia et al 2011). Thorndycraft et al (2004) was probably the closest to correlating medieval records concerning the intensity of mining activities with concentrations of trace elements in sediments.…”

mentioning

confidence: 96%

Use of trace elements from historical mining for alluvial sediment dating

Horák

Hejcman

2013

Soil & Water Res.

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We examined whether it is possible to relate concentrations of trace elements in alluvial sediments with records concerning the intensity of mining, and use them as a means of dating. We conducted our research in the medieval mining district of the town of Kutná Hora in the Czech Republic. Samples were collected under the pond dam and analysed for clay, silt and sand content and for As, Be, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mo, Ni, Pb, V and Zn concentrations. We observed two main peaks of element concentrations (Be, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Pb, V and Zn), independent of grain fractions. The peaks were interpreted as a result of human activity. The concentration curves, stratigraphy and location of the dam/alluvium boundary were compared with historical records of mining production. This means of dam dating into the 16 th century agreed with historical dating from written sources. Trace elements were also successfully used as stratigraphic markers. The comparison between concentration patterns of V and other well interpreted elements (Be, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Pb and Zn) enabled to recognize a material directly originating from the mines. The elements thus helped to interpret local sedimentation history.

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Use of mining-contaminated sediment tracers to investigate the timing and rates of historical flood plain sedimentation

Cited by 61 publications

References 33 publications

The influence of floodplain morphology and river works on spatial patterns of overbank deposition

The influence of floodplain morphology and river works on spatial patterns of overbank deposition

Changes in the fine sediment dynamics of the Ouse and Tweed basins in the UK over the last 100–150 years

Use of trace elements from historical mining for alluvial sediment dating

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