University of Oulu

Eva Skarbøvik, Sofie Gyritia Madsen van't Veen, Emma E. Lannergård, Hannah Wenng, Marc Stutter, Magdalena Bieroza, Kevin Atcheson, Philip Jordan, Jens Fölster, Per-Erik Mellander, Brian Kronvang, Hannu Marttila, Øyvind Kaste, Ahti Lepistö, Maria Kämäri, Comparing in situ turbidity sensor measurements as a proxy for suspended sediments in North-Western European streams, CATENA, Volume 225, 2023, 107006, ISSN 0341-8162, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2023.107006

Comparing in situ turbidity sensor measurements as a proxy for suspended sediments in North-Western European streams

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Author: Skarbøvik, Eva1; van't Veen, Sofie Gyritia Madsen2; Lannergård, Emma E.3;
Organizations: 1Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO), Division of Environment and Natural Resources, P.O. Box 115, 1431 As, Norway
2Aarhus University, Department of Ecoscience, C.F. Møllers Allé, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark and Envidan A/S, Vejlsøvej, 23, DK-8600 Silkeborg, Denmark
3Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, PO Box 7050, 750 07 Uppsala, Sweden
4Technische Universität München, TUM School of Social Science and Technology, Arcisstraße 21, 80333 München, and Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO), Division of Environment and Natural Resources, P.O. Box 115, 1431 Ås, Norway
5Environmental and Biochemical Sciences Dept., James Hutton Institute, Aberdeen, UK
6Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Soil and Environment, Box 7014, 750 07 Uppsala, Sweden
7School of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Ulster University, Coleraine, UK
8Teagasc, Agricultural Catchments Programme, Department of Environment, Soils and Landuse, Johnstown Castle, Wexford, Ireland
9Aarhus University, Department of Ecoscience, C.F. Møllers Allé, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
10University of Oulu, Water, Energy and Environmental Engineering Research Unit, FI-90014 Oulu, Finland
11Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA), Økernveien 94, 0579 Oslo, Norway
12Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE), Freshwater Centre, Latokartanonkaari, 11, FI-00790 Helsinki, Finland
Format: article
Version: published version
Access: open
Online Access: PDF Full Text (PDF, 2.6 MB)
Persistent link: http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi-fe2023031431501
Language: English
Published: Elsevier, 2023
Publish Date: 2023-03-14
Description:

Abstract

Climate change in combination with land use alterations may lead to significant changes in soil erosion and sediment fluxes in streams. Optical turbidity sensors can monitor with high frequency and can be used as a proxy for suspended sediment concentration (SSC) provided there is an acceptable calibration curve for turbidity measured by sensors and SSC from water samples. This study used such calibration data from 31 streams in 11 different research projects or monitoring programmes in six Northern European countries. The aim was to find patterns in the turbidity-SSC correlations based on stream characteristics such as mean and maximum turbidity and SSC, catchment area, land use, hydrology, soil type, topography, and the number and representativeness of the data that are used for the calibration. There were large variations, but the best correlations between turbidity and SSC were found in streams with a mean and maximum SSC of >30–200 mg/l, and a mean and maximum turbidity above 60–200 NTU/FNU, respectively. Streams draining agricultural areas with fine-grained soils had better correlations than forested streams draining more coarse-grained soils. However, the study also revealed considerable differences in methodological approaches, including analytical methods to determine SSC, water sampling strategies, quality control procedures, and the use of sensors based on different measuring principles. Relatively few national monitoring programmes in the six countries involved in the study included optical turbidity sensors, which may partly explain this lack of methodological harmonisation. Given the risk of future changes in soil erosion and sediment fluxes, increased harmonisation is highly recommended, so that turbidity data from optical sensors can be better evaluated and intercalibrated across streams in comparable geographical regions.

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Series: Catena
ISSN: 0341-8162
ISSN-E: 1872-6887
ISSN-L: 0341-8162
Volume: 225
Article number: 107006
DOI: 10.1016/j.catena.2023.107006
OADOI: https://oadoi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2023.107006
Type of Publication: A1 Journal article – refereed
Field of Science: 218 Environmental engineering
Subjects:
Funding: We thank the Nordic Centre of Excellence BIOWATER, funded by NordForsk under Project No. 82263, The Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research/The Research Council of Norway under Contract No. 342631/L10; FORMAS grant 2018-00890; Swedish Farmers’ Foundation for Agricultural Research SLF O-16-23-640, Academy of Finland projects (337523, 346163, 347704), the Freshwater Competence Centre (FWCC) Finland; and the Danish Innovation Foundation Industrial PhD project ‘SenTem’; grant 0153-00078B. The monitoring programmes/projects have been funded by the Research Council of Norway No. 342631/L10 and 243967/E50, the Norwegian Environment Agency, the Morsa River Basin Sub-District (NO), the Swedish Research Council, the Swedish Agency of Marine and Water Management, the LifeIP-Rich Waters (SE); the Danish EPA Pesticide research project ‘SurfPest’, the MaaMet monitoring program funded by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (FI), Southwest Finland ELY Centre, the Teagasc Agricultural Catchments Programme funded by the Irish Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), the Source to Tap (IVA5018) project in Northern Ireland and Ireland supported by the European Union’s INTERREG VA Programme, managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB).
Academy of Finland Grant Number: 337523
346163
347704
Detailed Information: 337523 (Academy of Finland Funding decision)
346163 (Academy of Finland Funding decision)
347704 (Academy of Finland Funding decision)
Copyright information: © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
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