| Title | Quality assessment of bed sediments of the Po River (Italy) |
| Abstract | Comprehensive and contemporary evaluations of physical, chemical and toxicological endpoints have been performed on bed sediments of the Po River, the major Italian watercourse. Two extensive sampling campaigns were conducted in summer and winter low-flow conditions. Composite sediment samples were collected from ten reaches of the main river: the first was located in the upper region (ambient control), and the others downstream from the confluences of nine principal tributaries. The two sampling programs were paralleled by contemporary investigations on the macroinvertebrate community. The particle size composition along the Po River showed a relatively uniform distribution of fine sand, a progressive downstream decrease of coarse sands and a corresponding increase of fine materials. The levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), extractable organo halides (EOX), Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb and Zn were determined in sediment fine particles (<63 µm), and showed marked changes across the ten river reaches. Their longitudinal trends, as those of organic carbon and total nitrogen, were very similar and largely independent from the survey season. Sediment quality benchmarks were used to evaluate sediment chemistry, and, although the overall level of contamination was from moderate to low, the reaches located downstream of the tributaries Dora Riparia, Dora Baltea, Lambro and Oglio were considered to be at risk. Sediments were tested for toxicity on Oncorhynchus mykiss, Ceriodaphnia dubia, Raphidocelis subcapitata and Vibrio fischeri. The toxicity tests were conducted both with sediment extracts and whole samples. Sediment extracts showed toxic potentials that were consistent with the spatial distribution of contaminants. Whole sediment toxicity showed moderate/low effects which also included false positives and negatives. Alterations of the macroinvertebrate community were found for many km downstream of Dora Riparia, and with a seasonal dependence, also in other reaches of the Italian river. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used to describe the longitudinal and temporal changes of the Po River, and allowed the selection of the most useful and discriminating indicators |
| Source | Water research (Oxf.) 37, pp. 501–518 |
| Keywords | Sediment toxicitysediment chemistrysediment qualityPo River |
| Journal | Water research (Oxf.) |
| Editor | Pergamon Press., New York, Regno Unito |
| Year | 2003 |
| Type | Articolo in rivista |
| Authors | VIGANO' L., ARILLO A., BUFFAGNI A., CAMUSSO M., CIANNARELLA R., CROSA G., FALUGI C., GALASSI S., GUZZELLA L., LOPEZ A., MINGAZZINI M., PAGNOTTA R., PATROLECCO L., TARTARI G., VALSECCHI S |
| Text | 168058 2003 Sediment toxicity sediment chemistry sediment quality Po River Quality assessment of bed sediments of the Po River Italy VIGANO L., ARILLO A., BUFFAGNI A., CAMUSSO M., CIANNARELLA R., CROSA G., FALUGI C., GALASSI S., GUZZELLA L., LOPEZ A., MINGAZZINI M., PAGNOTTA R., PATROLECCO L., TARTARI G., VALSECCHI S 1 IRSA, 2 Universita di Genova, 3 Universita di Milano, 4 , Universita di Milano Bicocca Comprehensive and contemporary evaluations of physical, chemical and toxicological endpoints have been performed on bed sediments of the Po River, the major Italian watercourse. Two extensive sampling campaigns were conducted in summer and winter low flow conditions. Composite sediment samples were collected from ten reaches of the main river the first was located in the upper region ambient control , and the others downstream from the confluences of nine principal tributaries. The two sampling programs were paralleled by contemporary investigations on the macroinvertebrate community. The particle size composition along the Po River showed a relatively uniform distribution of fine sand, a progressive downstream decrease of coarse sands and a corresponding increase of fine materials. The levels of polychlorinated biphenyls PCB , polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons PAH , extractable organo halides EOX , Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb and Zn were determined in sediment fine particles <63 µm , and showed marked changes across the ten river reaches. Their longitudinal trends, as those of organic carbon and total nitrogen, were very similar and largely independent from the survey season. Sediment quality benchmarks were used to evaluate sediment chemistry, and, although the overall level of contamination was from moderate to low, the reaches located downstream of the tributaries Dora Riparia, Dora Baltea, Lambro and Oglio were considered to be at risk. Sediments were tested for toxicity on Oncorhynchus mykiss, Ceriodaphnia dubia, Raphidocelis subcapitata and Vibrio fischeri. The toxicity tests were conducted both with sediment extracts and whole samples. Sediment extracts showed toxic potentials that were consistent with the spatial distribution of contaminants. Whole sediment toxicity showed moderate/low effects which also included false positives and negatives. Alterations of the macroinvertebrate community were found for many km downstream of Dora Riparia, and with a seasonal dependence, also in other reaches of the Italian river. Principal Component Analysis PCA was used to describe the longitudinal and temporal changes of the Po River, and allowed the selection of the most useful and discriminating indicators 37 Si tratta di uno studio multidisciplinare caratterizzato dalla contemporaneita di determinazione dei molti descrittori adottati. E stato cosi possibile descrivere le caratteristiche fisiche e chimiche dei sedimenti del fiume Po; determinare se le loro variazioni possano rappresentare un rischio per la vita acquatica e valutare quali dei diversi descrittori abbia migliore capacita descrittiva dei cambiamenti di un sedimento. Questo studio e di grande importanza tanto per gli aspetti conoscitivi legati al fiume Po in senso stretto, quanto per gli aspetti di tipo metodologico che tanta ricerca stanno promuovendo anche in relazione alle applicazioni normative nazionali ed internazionali sulla tutela delle acque Articolo Pubblicato Pubblicazione Internazionale ISI WaterResearch_2003_Vigan_.pdf Articolo in rivista Pergamon Press. 0043 1354 Water research Oxf. Water research Oxf. Water res. Oxf. Water research. Oxf. stefano.polesello POLESELLO STEFANO luisa.patrolecco PATROLECCO LUISA marina.camusso CAMUSSO MARINA andreastefano.buffagni BUFFAGNI ANDREA STEFANO liciamaria.guzzella GUZZELLA LICIA MARIA antonio.lopez LOPEZ ANTONIO romano.pagnotta PAGNOTTA ROMANO gianni.tartari TARTARI GIANNI luigi.vigano VIGANO LUIGI saramaria.valsecchi VALSECCHI SARA MARIA marina.mingazzini MINGAZZINI MARINA |
