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Mineralogy and Geochemistry of Suspended Particulate Matters in Rivers

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A special issue of Minerals (ISSN 2075-163X). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Mineralogy and Biogeochemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2023) | Viewed by 10068

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Dr. Viatcheslav V. Gordeev

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Guest Editor

P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117997 Moscow, Russia
Interests: geochemistry of river discharge; fate of trace elements in river-sea mixing zone; geochemistry of ocean waters and bottom sediments; antropogenic factor in environment

Dr. Alla V. Savenko

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Guest Editor

Moscow M.V. Geological Faculty, Lomonosov State University, 119991 Moscow, Russia
Interests: hydrochemistry; ocean chemistry; geochemistry of sedimentary processes; experimental modeling; migration of chemical elements; natural waters

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Dear Colleagues,

River discharge is the most important source of dissolved and suspended (hard) sedimentary material delivering from continents to oceans. Dissolved and suspended material enter the river waters primarily as a result of the physical and chemical weathering of the rocks of the upper continental crust. Suspended particulate matter (SPM) consists of the particles of mineral and organic composition of natural, and from the beginning of 20th century, of anthropogenic origin, with a particle size greater than 0.22–0.45µm. The ratio between dissolved and suspended forms of chemical elements in river water depends on the concentration of SPM and the geochemical mobility of elements. On a global scale, the average SPM concentration is about 500 mg/L. This is the main reason for the great prevalence of the suspended form of the majority of elements over the dissolved form that allowed academic A.P. Lisitzyn to label the river discharge as “the Kingdom of suspended forms of elements” in contrast to “the Kingdom of dissolved forms” in the ocean, where the typical SPM concentration in deep waters is near 0.01mg/L.

The minerals and chemical compositions of SPM are very varied and tightly connected with each other and with the particle grain-size distribution. In general, among the minerals, the silicates (quartz, feldspars et al.) and clay minerals prevail. The latter are enriched by heavy metals and many other elements and therefore they play a very important geochemical and ecological role. The clay mineral composition depends on at least three main factors: the character of prevailed rocks in the watershed basin, its relief and climate. The first factor determines the composition of clay minerals, and the second one leads to the differentiation of fine particles at the transition from the mountain conditions to the plain ones. The differentiation consists in the increase in the plains of swelled minerals of the montmorillonite group in pellet fraction and in the increasing of a share of threeoctahedral layered silicates in comparison with dioctahedral ones.

The different climate zones differ by the prevalent type of clay minerals. If, in the cold temperately humid zones (tundra, taiga et al.), illite and chlorite prevail, then in the arid zones, illite and smectite dominate, while in the humid subtropical–tropical belt in SPM, there are a lot of kaolinite and absents chlorite.

The particulate place in the fate of the elements takes the processes in the transitional zone between river and sea (the so-called marginal filter—MF). The integral influence of all proceeded processes in this zone (sedimentation of SPM, coagulation, flocculation, sorption-desorption, dissolution, and so on) results in the cardinal transformation of riverine sedimentary material. This transition zone between continents and oceans is so very effective at trapping material of this global scale. SPM concentration is sharply decreased with the increase of salinity, while many dissolved elements are transformed actively into a suspended form due to flocculation of organoferric colloidal fraction of elements. As a result, almost one order decreased SPM flux and significantly transformed the discharge of dissolved elements, penetrating into the open waters of the receiving basin.

The detailed study of riverine SPM and of the processes of its transformation in the river-sea mixing zone will allow us to shed light on the total number of problems of global scale:

- To evaluate the recycling of the upper continental crust and geochemical balance of the processes of weathering;

- To estimate the denudation rates of continents and constrain the major parameters controlling these rates;

- To evaluate the anthropogenic influence on the river discharge and the receiving basins;

- To assess the factual volumes of riverine sedimentary materials delivering the open areas of the seas and oceans.

- To estimate the influence of climate change of biogeochemistry on river discharge

The number will consist of 5 sections;

1) Geochemistry of dissolved and suspended matter in river waters.

2) Mineralogy and grain-size composition of SPM in the rivers.

3) Processes of riverine sedimentary material in the river-sea mixing zone.

4) Anthropogenic factor in river discharge.

5) Climate change and river discharge.

Dr. Viatcheslav V. Gordeev
Dr. Alla V. Savenko
Guest Editors

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Keywords

Suspended particulate matter (SPM) in rivers—concentrations and composition
Major and trace elements, organic carbon and nutrients in riverine SPM and their fluxes
Dissolved matter in rivers—concentrations and forms of major and trace elements, organic carbon, nutrients and their fluxes
Mineralogy of SPM in the rivers of different climatic zones
The river-sea mixing zone and the processes of element transformation
Interactions between SPM in rivers and the ores of the watershed basin
Role of anthropogenic factor in river discharge
Influence of climatic change on biogeochemistry of river discharge

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 14554 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Monitoring of Suspended Sediment Mineralogy in Puerto-Rican Rivers: Effects of Flowrate and Lithology

by Trevor J. Mackowiak and Nicolas Perdrial

Minerals 2023, 13(2), 208; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/min13020208 - 31 Jan 2023

Viewed by 1153

Abstract

Climate change induced changes in river flow dynamics have the potential to change the composition of suspended sediments in crucial tropical river ecosystems, possibly affecting their resiliency. This study investigates how changes in river discharge and bedrock lithology affected the physiochemical nature of river suspended sediments over a typical year in three Puerto-Rican rivers. Suspended sediment samples were collected on filter membranes in 2006 from three watersheds of differing lithology (quartz-diorite, volcaniclastic, and mixed lithology) in the Luquillo Mountains, Puerto-Rico. By monitoring changes in suspended sediment mineralogical composition (determined by XRD and SEM) as a function of discharge, we determined how sediment loads responded to changes in hydrological input in a typical year. Results showed that bedrock lithology influenced river suspended sediment mineralogy, with the fraction of crystalline versus amorphous material strongly influenced by the dominant lithology of the watershed. Crystalline phases were associated with granodiorite bedrock compared to amorphous material dominating the volcaniclastic watersheds. Thus, the mineralogy of suspended sediments in the river systems was controlled by secondary minerals. Mineralogical results showed that, bearing quantitative changes upon hydrological events, suspended sediments in all three watersheds returned to baseline composition post storm events, suggesting that the three watersheds are resilient to the events recorded that year. While the long-term mineralogical analysis of the evolution of suspended material in the studied rivers provided insights into river response to hydrologic events, it also proved technically challenging as materials in suspension in such pristine rivers are sparse and poorly crystalline. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mineralogy and Geochemistry of Suspended Particulate Matters in Rivers)

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22 pages, 4284 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Riverine Particulate Matter Enhances the Growth and Viability of the Marine Diatom Thalassiosira weissflogii

by Christian Grimm, Agnès Feurtet-Mazel, Oleg S. Pokrovsky and Eric H. Oelkers

Minerals 2023, 13(2), 183; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/min13020183 - 26 Jan 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1263

Abstract

Riverine particulates dominate the transport of vital nutrients such as Si, Fe or P to the ocean margins, where they may increase primary production by acting as slow-release fertilizer. Furthermore, the supply of particulate surface area to the ocean is considered to be a major control of organic carbon burial. Taken together, these observations suggest a close link between the supply of riverine particulate material and the organic carbon cycle. To explore this link, we conducted microcosm experiments to measure the growth of the marine diatom Thalassiosira weissflogii in the presence and absence of different types and concentrations of riverine particulate material. Results demonstrate a strong positive effect of riverine particulate material on diatom growth with increased total diatom concentrations and slowed post-exponential death rates with increasing particulate concentration. Moreover, SEM and optical microscope investigations confirm that riverine particulates facilitate organic carbon burial through their role in the aggregation and sedimentation of phytoplankton. The supply of riverine particulate material has been shown to be markedly climate sensitive with their fluxes increasing dramatically with increasing global temperature and runoff. This pronounced climate sensitivity implies that riverine particulates contribute substantially in regulating atmospheric CO₂ concentrations through their role in the organic carbon cycle. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mineralogy and Geochemistry of Suspended Particulate Matters in Rivers)

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18 pages, 4057 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Mineralogy of Particulate Suspended Matter of the Severnaya Dvina River (White Sea, Russia)

by Vyacheslav V. Gordeev, Olga M. Dara, Aleksandr S. Filippov, Sergey K. Belorukov, Aleksey S. Lokhov, Ekaterina I. Kotova and Anastasya I. Kochenkova

Minerals 2022, 12(12), 1600; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/min12121600 - 12 Dec 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1222

Abstract

This paper seeks to generalize the data obtained over 4 years of investigation of the suspended sediment mineral composition in Severnaya Dvina River. The sampling of the river water to isolate suspended particulate matter (SPM) using the method of sedimentation from large water volumes (200–800 L) was carried out at two points of the delta with different hydrological regimes every month for four years. SPM samples weighing 1 g and more allowed us to obtain and preserve for different analytical procedures the grain size fractions from 1.0–0.5 to <0.001 mm (from sands to pelit). The analyses of fractions revealed a sharp prevalence of pelitic fractions (<0.01 mm) (near 90% on average), while the share of silt was 4%–5%. Coarse fractions were found in the SPM of the main stream of the river but were absent in the samples taken at the point near the river–sea boundary. The determinations of clastic, clay, and some other minerals using the method of X-ray diffraction analysis have shown that in the group of clastic minerals, quartz and plagioclase prevail. Among the clay minerals, smectite and illite were present in high quantities, and chlorite and kaolinite were in lower quantitative. The distribution of minerals in the grain size fractions showed that the sum of clastic minerals reached its highest content of up to 84% in silt fractions (0.05–0.01 mm), while the sum of clay minerals in this fraction was minimal (about 15%). Investigations of seasonal variations of clastic and clay minerals during the whole period showed that the contents of minerals in the SPM of the Severnaya Dvina did not change much over the year. As a result of this work, the following trend was established on the behavior of all kinds of minerals: during the periods of high water in spring and autumn, a slightly increased quantity of clastic minerals was detected in comparison to winter and summer, while the variations in the quantities of clay minerals were insignificant. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mineralogy and Geochemistry of Suspended Particulate Matters in Rivers)

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19 pages, 5013 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Influence of Clogging at the Filtration on Analysis of Dissolved and Particulate Forms of Chemical Elements in Boreal Rivers of the Russian Far East

by Vladimir Shulkin, Natalia Bogdanova and Evgeniy Elovskiy

Minerals 2022, 12(6), 773; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/min12060773 - 17 Jun 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1675

Abstract

Clogging is inevitable when membranes with 0.45 µm pore size are used for the separation of particulates from dissolved/colloidal forms in river water. This can lead to a shift in water quality assessment and evaluation of geochemical fluxes. We studied the influence of clogging on the concentration of trace elements, major anions, nitrate, and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in the filtrates after a sequential pass from 0.1 to 0.5 L of river water samples through the same 47 mm membrane with 0.45 µm pore size. These experiments were carried out for the typical boreal rivers of the Russian Far East, including the biggest one, Amur R., with different quantities of suspended solids (SS) and anthropogenic load. The concentration of the major anions, nitrate, Si, DOC, and such trace elements as Li, B, Ni, Cu, As, Sr, Rb, Mo, Ba, U did not depend on the water volume filtered. However, filterable Al, Fe, Ti, Pb, Mn, Co, and most REEs showed a notable decrease in concentration at an increase in volume filtered, at more than 100–200 mL of river water. Clogging membranes with retention of colloids <0.45 µm was suggested as a reason for such a decrease. The quantity of suspended solids and their grain size are the major factors that control clogging itself. Still, the influence of clogging on the concentration of filterable forms depends on the share of coarse colloidal forms. Moreover, retention of colloids <0.45 µm by the clogged membrane can bias the assessment of particulate forms. Surpluses of particulate Fe, Al, Mn, Co due to clogging decline from 13–26% to 2–6% of suspended forms of these metals at the growth of SS in river waters from 10 mg/L to more than 50 mg/L. For particulate REEs, the share due to membrane clogging varies non-linearly from 2–9% to 23–39%, depending on the initial concentration of filterable forms of REEs in the river waters. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mineralogy and Geochemistry of Suspended Particulate Matters in Rivers)

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8 pages, 233 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Adsorbed Chemical Elements of River Runoff of Solids and Their Role in the Transformation of Dissolved Matter Runoff into the Ocean

by Alla V. Savenko and Vitaly S. Savenko

Minerals 2022, 12(4), 445; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/min12040445 - 04 Apr 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1321

Abstract

A procedure for experimental modeling of sorption–desorption processes in the mixing zone of river and sea waters, which excludes the determination of the absolute concentrations of adsorbed chemical elements, has been proposed. Based on experimental data, quantitative characteristics of the ion-exchange transformation of dissolved matter runoff during the penetration of terrigenous material into the marine environment were obtained. The real input of calcium into the ocean as a result of desorption from the solid substances of river runoff increases by 8.3–8.7%, while input of sodium, potassium, and magnesium decreases by 14.0–14.6, 22.2–23.3, and 3.0–3.2% of their dissolved river runoff. For trace elements, sorption–desorption processes lead to an increase in the runoff of dissolved manganese, cobalt, nickel, cadmium, thallium, barium, and ammonium by 98.6–103.5, 20.6–21.6, 3.8–4.0, 15.6–16.5, 4.7–4.9, 20.3–21.3, and 0.8% and to a decrease in the runoff of dissolved lead and cesium by 9.1–9.4 and 2.6–2.8%. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mineralogy and Geochemistry of Suspended Particulate Matters in Rivers)

17 pages, 57101 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Geochemical State of Wilga River Environment in Kraków (Poland)—Historical Aspects and Existing Issues

by Magdalena Strzebońska and Anna Kostka

Minerals 2021, 11(8), 908; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/min11080908 - 22 Aug 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2181

Abstract

Aquatic systems are a very important part of the environment, which requires special attention due to the constant deterioration of the quality and quantity of water globally. Aquatic environments in Poland are mostly affected by the mining and smelting industry, which is especially visible in the south of the country, and one of such anthropogenically affected rivers is the Wilga—a small tributary of the Vistula River (the biggest river in Poland). For many years, the catchment area of the Wilga River accommodated a functioning industry that was based on the use of metals (fur, leather processing, foundry and galvanizing plants), as well as the “Solvay” Kraków Soda Works, which have left behind soda waste piles, and currently, along the course of the river, there are ongoing works connected with the construction of the “Łagiewnicka Route”, which required the relocation of a section of the Wilga river bed, among other things. To determine the general condition of the river, selected physico-chemical parameters were analysed in the water (pH, conductivity, anions: Cl⁻, N-NO₃, P-PO₄ and SO₄ and cations: Al, Ba, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, Pb, Sr and Zn), suspended particulate matter and sediment (Al, Ba, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, Pb, Sr and Zn). Samples were taken before the relocation of the river bed (2019) and after its relocation (2021). The obtained data were compared with recorded historical data and this revealed that over the years, the condition of the Wilga environment has improved significantly, especially in terms of the contamination of sediments with metals, the concentrations of which fell several ten-fold. This is attributed to the closure of most industrial plants located within the river’s catchment area and to the modernization and legal regulation of the functioning of the remaining plants. An effect of leachates from the soda waste piles on the waters of Wilga has been observed (in the form of higher pH, mineralization and concentration of chlorides), which has however gradually decreased over time. However, no visible impact of road transport on the river’s environment has been observed, or any impact of the construction works or the related relocation of the river bed for that matter. The river should still be classified as polluted, but the level of this pollution has decreased significantly and the qualitative composition of the pollution has also changed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mineralogy and Geochemistry of Suspended Particulate Matters in Rivers)

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