A Case Study of the Ravensbourne River Ngozi Uzoamaka Mokwe Ozonzeadi
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WestminsterResearch http://www.westminster.ac.uk/research/westminsterresearch River Sediment Sampling and Environment Quality Standards: A Case Study of the Ravensbourne Ngozi Uzoamaka Mokwe Ozonzeadi School of Life Sciences This is an electronic version of a PhD thesis awarded by the University of Westminster. © The Author, 2014. This is an exact reproduction of the paper copy held by the University of Westminster library. The WestminsterResearch online digital archive at the University of Westminster aims to make the research output of the University available to a wider audience. Copyright and Moral Rights remain with the authors and/or copyright owners. Users are permitted to download and/or print one copy for non-commercial private study or research. Further distribution and any use of material from within this archive for profit-making enterprises or for commercial gain is strictly forbidden. Whilst further distribution of specific materials from within this archive is forbidden, you may freely distribute the URL of WestminsterResearch: (http://westminsterresearch.wmin.ac.uk/). In case of abuse or copyright appearing without permission e-mail [email protected] River Sediment Sampling and Environment Quality Standards: A Case Study of the Ravensbourne River Ngozi Uzoamaka Mokwe Ozonzeadi A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTMINSTER FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY University of Westminster, School of Life Sciences 115 New Cavendish Road, London W1W 6UW JULY 2013 Abstract Sediment is a major sink for heavy metals in river, and poses significant risks not only to river quality but also to aquatic and benthic organisms. At present in the UK, there are no mandatory sediment quality standards. This is partly due to insufficient toxicity data but also due to problems with identification of appropriate sediment monitoring and analytical techniques. The aim of this research was to examine the sampling different river sediment compartments in order to monitor compliance with any future UK sediment environmental quality standards (EQS). The significance of sediment physical and chemical characteristics on sampling and analysis was also determined. The Ravensbourne River, a tributary of the River Thames located in the highly urbanised South Eastern area of London was used for this study. Sediment was collected from the bed using the Van Veer grab, the bank using hand trowel, and from the water column (suspended sediment) using the time integrated suspended tube sampler between the period of July 2010 and December, 2011. The result for the total metal extraction carried out using aqua regia found that there were no significant differences in the metal FRQFHQWUDWLRQVUHWDLQHGLQWKHGLIIHUHQWFRPSDUWPHQWVE\WKHȝPVHGLPHQWIUDFWLRQ EXWWKHUHZHUHGLIIHUHQFHVEHWZHHQWKHȝP-2mm fractions of the bed and bank. The metal concentration in the bed, bank and suspended sediment exceeded the draft UK sediment quality guidelines. Sequential extraction was also carried out to determine metal speciation in each sediment compartment using the Maiz et al. (1997) and Tessier et al. (1979) methods. The Maiz et al. (1997) found over 80% of the metals in each sediment compartment were not bioavailable, while Tessier et al. (1979) method found most of the metals to be associated with the Fe/Mn and the residual phase. The bed sediment compartment and the <2mm (<63μm + 63μm-2mm) fraction appears to be the most suitable sediment sample for sediment monitoring from this study. ii Table of Contents Abstract.........................................................................................................................ii Table of Contents......................................................................................................... iii List of Figures ............................................................................................. viii List of Tables .............................................................................................. xii List of Acronyms......................................................................................................... xvi Acknowledgement...................................................................................................... xix Declaration ..................................................................................................................xx SECTION 1 ................................................................................................................ xxi Chapter 1..................................................................................................................... 1 1.0 Introduction .......................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Research aim...................................................................................................... 2 1.2 Objectives ........................................................................................................... 2 1.3 Scope.................................................................................................................. 2 Chapter 2..................................................................................................................... 4 Literature Review ....................................................................................................... 4 2.1 Sediment sources in the aquatic environment .................................................... 4 2.2 Sediment transport and deposition mechanisms in fluvial systems .................... 5 2.2.1 Suspended sediment transportation ............................................................. 7 2.2.2 Bed load sediment transportation ................................................................. 7 2.3 Sediment particle size......................................................................................... 8 2.4 Heavy metals and phosphorus in fluvial sediment .............................................. 8 2.4.1 Sources of heavy metals and phosphorus in the aquatic environment......... 9 2.4.2 Sediment/metal chemistry........................................................................... 12 2.4.3 Metal speciation and bioavailability in the aquatic environment.................. 12 2.4.4 Determination of heavy metal bioavailability by selective chemical extraction ............................................................................................................................. 15 2.5 The impact of analytical methods on metal concentration ................................ 16 2.6 Sediment sample preparation ........................................................................... 17 2.6.1 Sediment drying.......................................................................................... 17 2.6.2 Sediment sieving: ....................................................................................... 18 iii 2.7 Environmental quality standards (EQSs) .......................................................... 18 2.7.1 How EQS are derived in the UK ................................................................. 20 2.7.2 Sediment quality guidelines ........................................................................ 22 2.8 River sediment sampling................................................................................... 26 Chapter 3................................................................................................................... 29 Study Area and Sampling Location........................................................................ 29 3.0 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 29 3.1 History of the Ravensbourne River ................................................................... 29 3.2 Ravensbourne Catchments............................................................................... 30 3.3 Sampling Location ............................................................................................ 31 3.4 Industrial development and activities along the Ravensbourne River ............... 33 3.5 Geomorphology of the Ravensbourne River..................................................... 35 3.6 Geology of the Ravensbourne .......................................................................... 38 3.7 Hydrology of Ravensbourne River .................................................................... 38 3.8 Water Quality of the Ravensbourne River......................................................... 39 3.9 The background characteristics of soil and metal concentration in sediment around the sampling location .................................................................................. 43 3.10 Biological species commonly found in the Ravensbourne catchment............. 46 3.11 Sampling design and plan............................................................................... 46 3.12 Summary......................................................................................................... 46 Chapter 4................................................................................................................... 47 Materials and Methods............................................................................................. 47 4.0 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 47 4.1 Sample Collection ............................................................................................