Sediment And; Pollution Interchange
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7 Rapp. P.-v. Réun. Cons. int. Explor. Mer, 181: 7-14. 1981. THE MASS-BALANCE OF SUSPENDED MATTER AND ASSOCIATED POLLUTANTS IN THE NORTH SEA D. E ism a Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), P.O. Box 59, 1970 AB Den Burg, Texel, Netherlands INTRODUCTION Deposition is estimated from the distribution of fine The material in suspension in the North Sea comes grained deposits in the North Sea and from present from a variety of sources: rivers, coastal erosion, sea- knowledge of the rate of sedimentation in these areas. floor erosion, primary and secondary production, the A full discussion is given in Eisma (in press b). Ideally, atmosphere, the North Atlantic Ocean, the Channel, supply, expressed in million tonnes (dry weight) per and the Baltic. Pollutants enter the North Sea mostly year, should be equal to the sum of estimated depo from the same sources but chiefly from rivers and the sition and estimated outflow, expressed in the same atmosphere, as well as from direct discharges. They unit. interact or mix with the material in suspension and with bottom sediments. Complex processes are in volved, including adsorption, flocculation, precipita THE MASS-BALANCE OF SUSPENDED MATTER IN THE tion, and aggregation. This results in high concentra N ORTH SEA tions of trace metals and organic pollutants in parti The concentrations of suspended matter in the culate matter, the concentrations in suspended matter Atlantic flowing into the North Sea around Shetland and bottom deposits usually being several orders of are of the order of 0-1 to 0-2 mg -1-1 with an average magnitude higher than those of material in solution. near 0-2 m g-1-1 (Eisma and Kalf, 1978). This is Estuaries are important sites of conversion of trace slightly higher than the concentrations in the North metals in solution into a particulate form: this was Atlantic (Jacobs and Ewing, 1961), so probably some found in most of the estuaries that were studied particulate material has been taken up from the shelf. (summaries in Liss, 1976; Duinker, 1980; Eisma, The concentrations of suspended matter in the North in press a). Sea flowing into the Norwegian Sea along the Nor The dispersal of large concentrations of pollutants wegian coast are of the same order and between in particulate form makes it important to study the Shetland and Norway there were no significant dif flux of suspended matter through estuaries and the ferences between the inflow and outflow concentra nearshore seas towards the open ocean. Also it is tions in May 1977 (Eisma and Kalf, 1978) and January important to know the final destination of the suspen 1980 (unpublished data, NIOZ), although in both ded material, i.e. the areas where the suspended mat cases the outflow concentrations were slightly higher. ter, with associated pollutants, is deposited. In this On the basis of these data about 3xl06 tonnes-yr_1 paper the mass-balance of suspended matter in the at most may leave the North Sea in excess of what North Sea is discussed in relation to pollutant dis comes in from the Atlantic. Actually more material persal. The approach for calculating the mass-balance from other sources may leave the North Sea but this is relatively simple : the supply from the Atlantic, the is compensated for by material coming in from the Channel, and the Baltic as well as the outflow of Atlantic and remaining behind. suspended material into the Norwegian Sea are esti The concentrations of suspended matter in the mated by multiplying the average water flow with Atlantic flowing into the North Sea through the the average concentration of suspended matter, using Channel and the Strait of Dover-Calais increase in chiefly winter values because then there is no ad the Channel to 1-2-2-7 m g-1-1 (average 1-9 m g -I'1 mixture of living plankton. Supply from rivers and in the eastern Channel at salinities above 35 °/00, other sources has been estimated from published data. Eisma and Kalf, 1979). This suspended material is 8 D. Eisma probably picked up from the Channel coasts and the occur elsewhere in the North Sea but here deposition sea floor. Such uptake has been observed on the Varne largely stopped about 8400 ago (north of Dogger - Bank where comparatively large amounts of particles bank) or the deposits consist to a great extent of of 9 to 35 pm are brought into suspension and moved reworked tidal flat deposits (Oyster Grounds). In northward. The inflow from the Baltic has a content these areas there is only some small deposition of of suspended matter of about 1 mg • 1-1. Supply from carbonate material and organic carbon. Sedimenta rivers, coastal erosion, the atmosphere, and primary tion rates in the offshore areas of the North Sea have production is also relatively well known from the been based on pollen data (Outer Silver Pit, Skager available data but data on sea-floor erosion are in rak), 14C dating, 210Pb dating, trace metal content sufficient. Some quantitative estimates have been (German Bight, Elbe Rinne), and flux calculations made for the erosion on the Flemish Banks (Gossé, (Skagerrak, Kattegat), whereas sedimentation in the 1977) and the Varne Bank (Eisma and Kalf, 1979) estuaries, the Waddensea, and the Wash can be esti but for the other areas with indications of bottom mated from published data (Eisma, in press b). The erosion (off East Anglia and off northern Denmark) total amount deposited yearly in the North Sea is there are no estimates at all. The supply of suspended 21 to 31-5x 10® tonnes-yr-1, to which should be add matter to the North Sea from all sources together is ed an average amount of 2x10® tonnes-yr-1 that is of the order of 34x 10® tonnes *yr-1 (Table 1) plus an dredged and dumped on land (Table 2). About 7 x 10® unknown amount supplied from the sea floor. Also tonnes-yr-1, or 20 to 30%, are deposited nearshore an (unknown) amount should be added for the supply (estuaries, tidal flats, inland dumping), the remainder through the coastal waters of the Strait of Dover- being deposited further offshore, of which 50 to 70% Calais where suspended matter in concentrations up in the Skagerrak-Norwegian Channel and the Katte to more than 10 mg • 1-1 may have been supplied from gat. the Channel but also from the Southern Bight (by Comparing Tables 1 and 2 indicates that the total tidal dispersion or by inflow during northerly winds). estimated supply comes near the sum of the estimated Deposition of suspended matter in the North Sea outflow into the Atlantic and the estimated deposition. is restricted to a few areas : the Outer Silver Pit area, Adding some supply through the coastal waters of the German Bight, the Skagerrak-Kattegat and part the Strait of Dover-Calais and some additional supply of the Norwegian Channel, the Waddensea, the Wash, from the sea floor (indicated with question marks in the estuaries, and some very small areas in the South Table 1) brings the estimated supply well within the ern Bight (Fig. 1). Fine-grained bottom deposits also range of the estimated outflow plus deposition. Although this result looks rather good, the figures used should only be regarded as broad estimates. More Table 1. The supply of suspended matter to the precise data, however, cannot be obtained at present, North Sea chiefly because of uncertainties of the supply from tonnes • yr-1 (dry weight) seafloor erosion and of sedimentation rates. A third uncertainty involves the transport of fine-grained Atlantic Ocean 10 x 10« material near the bottom which was left out of the Channel 10 x 10« (+ ?) discussion. In the southern North Sea, at least in the Baltic 0-5x10« shallower parts, this is not important, but the data Rivers 4-5x10« from Rohde (1973) show that it may be of great Rhine 4- Meuse l-70x 10« Ems 0-07x10« importance in areas such as the Skagerrak. This Weser 0-95x10« implies that actually much more material may be Elbe 0-86x10« picked up from the sea floor and deposited in these Thames + areas than is known at present. Humber 1-47x10« 4-50x10« Atmosphere 1-6x10« THE MASS-BALANCE OF ASSOCIATED POLLUTANTS Coastal erosion 0-7x10« East Anglia + Holderness Mass-balance models describing the dispersal of Seafloor erosion =: 5 X 10« (+ ?) pollutants in the sea are much more complex than Flemish Banks: up to 2-4x 10« those for suspended matter and will often involve an Vam e Bank: cs 1-2x10« atmospheric phase, uptake by organisms, conversion Off East Anglia :; ? Skagerrak off Denmark : ? from solution into a particulate phase, remobilization, Primary production ^ 1 x 10« and reprecipitation. Restricting ourselves to suspen ded matter and bottom deposits, their mass-balance Total: = 34 x 10« (+ ?) can provide better insight into a) the pathways The mass-balance of suspended matter and associated pollutants in the North Sea 9 followed by the associated pollutants, b) their final destination, and c) a historical record. For the North Sea the budget of suspended matter as demonstrated here can provide a basis: the flux of associated pol lutants can be calculated for the offshore areas where suspended matter is deposited and an estimate can be made of the amounts that remain behind in the coastal areas (estuaries, tidal flats, inland dumping) and of the amounts that will eventually reach the open ocean. When dealing with pollutants, however, there are several complications that, when considering suspended matter alone, either are not present, or can be neglected.