Sediment Fingerprinting: Review of the Method and Future Improvements for Allocating Nonpoint Source Pollution
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 135, Issue 7
Abstract
Sediment fingerprinting has been developed by researchers over the past three decades for watershed sediment transport research. Sediment fingerprinting is a method to allocate sediment nonpoint source pollutants in a watershed through the use of natural tracer technology with a combination of field data collection, laboratory analyses of sediments, and statistical modeling techniques. The method offers a valuable tool for total maximum daily load assessment to aid in developing efficient remediation strategies for pollution in watersheds. We review the methodological steps of sediment fingerprinting including classification of sediment sources in a watershed, identification of unique tracers for each sediment source, representation of sediment sources and sinks using field sampling, accounting for sediment and tracer fate during transport from source to sink, and utilization of an unmixing model to allocate sediment sources. This review places additional emphasis upon tracers used to discriminate sediment sources during past studies performed on different continents and across different physiogeographic regions. Review and analysis of tracer dependence upon watershed variables provides an additional resource for tracer selection to the community. Finally, future improvements needed for sediment fingerprinting are discussed in order to practically apply the technology for sediment nonpoint source pollution allocation within the context of total maximum daily load assessments.
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Acknowledgments
The writers would like to thank the Civil Engineering Department at the University of Kentucky for partial funding of the first author. This research was also funded, in part, by a Student Enhancement Award from the Department of the Interior, United States Geological Service and the University of Kentucky Research Foundation.
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Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 135 • Issue 7 • July 2009
Pages: 490 - 504
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© 2009 ASCE.
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Received: Nov 1, 2007
Accepted: Dec 29, 2008
Published online: Jun 15, 2009
Published in print: Jul 2009
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