| EPSRC Reference: |
EP/C512324/1 |
| Title: |
Selective Transport and Reactivity Of Sediment Contaminants: A Test Bed For Coupling Hydrodynamics and Geochemistry |
| Principal Investigator: |
Millward, Professor GE |
| Other Investigators: |
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| Project Partners: |
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| Department: |
Sch of Earth Ocean and Environment |
| Organisation: |
University of Plymouth |
| Scheme: |
Standard Research (Pre-FEC) |
| Starts: |
01 September 2005 |
Ends: |
30 September 2007 |
Value (£): |
145,043
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| EPSRC Research Topic Classifications: |
| Coastal & Waterway Engineering |
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
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Many estuaries in Europe and elsewhere in the world have suffered environmental damage due to the discharge of effluents from manufacturing processes and wastewater from centres of population over several decades. Although estuarine water quality is generally improving as a result of the remedial actions implemented in the past 20 years, many potentially harmful chemicals are still remnant in erodable sediments, which may be transported into fertile coastal waters.The overall aim of the proposal is to improve our understanding of the mobilisation and transport of contaminated sediments by conducting novel experiments in a flume involving natural metal-contaminated sediments from an industrialised estuary. Our intention is to improve the mathematical description of the sediment movement by linking it with hydrodynamic parameters, which we will measure during the flume experiments. Additionally,we intend to determine the extent to which the metals are released from the sediments during transport. This will enable us to quantify the partitioning of the metals between the water and the sediment and to use the partitioning algorithms in the refinement of a geochemical hydro-informatics tool to predict the transport and fate of contaminated sediments in estuarine waters.The project will contribute to improvements in (1) the recovery of estuaries with a historical legacy of metal contamination in the sediments, (2) the setting of waste standards, consent levels and arbitration over discharge impact disputes, (3) compliance with the European Water Framework Directive and IPPC regulations and the planning of new facilities and plant modifications, (4) monitoring and management of existing discharges and of coastal regions impacted by multiple discharges and (5) contributing to the prevention and elimination of pollution in the Greater North Sea, as required in the OSPAR Convention 1992.
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Key Findings |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Impacts |
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| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
| Summary |
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| Date Materialised |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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| Project URL: |
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| Further Information: |
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| Organisation Website: |
http://www.plym.ac.uk |