The use of a Weight-of-Evidence approach to address sediment quality in the Odiel River basin (SW, Spain)
Graphical abstract
Introduction
The European Water Framework Directive (WFD) requires member states to assess the ecological quality status (EQS) of water bodies and to achieve “good water status” for all European waters by 2015 (EEC, 2000). Freshwater sediment quality values are required to protect the environment, and consequently, the public health (DelValls and Chapman, 1998). In spite of the freshwater sediment quality benchmarks are not established, most of the studies use the thresholds of the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) in order to determine the level of toxicity caused by some metal(loid) concentrations in sediment. On the other hand, sediment quality values (SQVs) should be site-specific, as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recommends, because they are based on target species to determinate toxicological effects of chemicals. DelValls et al. (1998a) developed a quantitative Weight-Of-Evidence (WOE) approach that has been optimized and applied in the last years in different aquatic ecosystems (Choueri et al., 2009, Martín-Díaz et al., 2008a, Martín-Díaz et al., 2008b, Morales-Caselles et al., 2009, Riba et al., 2004a, Riba et al., 2004b). This is a concept/model based on integration of the results of different studies including ecotoxicological data; in-situ observations over sediment-based population changes, etc. to derive comprehensive, integrated management decision about sediment quality. These integrative studies are the result of different methodologies: i) the sediment quality triad (Chapman, 1996); ii) statistical multivariate analyses techniques (Principal Component Analyses, PCA) (DelValls and Chapman, 1998); iii) Tabular tables (Riba et al., 2004a). Yet, the use of multivariate analyses approach allows to derive site-specific ranges of concentration delimits of chemicals associated with adverse effects denominated SQVs.
The geology and the mining activity are the major pressures of the environmental status of the fluvial systems from the Iberian Pyrite Belt (IPB, Fig. 1). The IPB, in the SW of the Iberian Peninsula, is one of the largest sulfide massive deposits of the world with original reserves in the order of 1,700 Mt of sulfide ore (Sáez et al., 1999). The geological characterization determines three lithological groups belonging to the Upper Paleozoic: i) Phyllite-Quartzite Group (PQ) formed by sequences of shales and sandtones; ii) the Volcano-Sedimentary Complex (CVS), which includes a mafic-felsic volcanic sequence interstratified with shales; and iii) the Culm Group in which shales, sandstones and conglomerates prevail (Neihlig et al., 1998; Sáez et al., 1999, Tornos, 2006). Among the sulfide deposits, pyrite (FeS2) is the main mineral followed by minor chalcopyrite (CuFeS2), arsenopyrite (FeAsS), sphalerite (ZnS) and galena (PbS). Due to this metal richness, long-term mining activities occur since ancient times (Nocete et al., 2005). Although large-scale exploitation started after the Industrial Revolution and ceased in the early XIX century, mineral demanding calls for the opening/re-opening of abandoned mines nowadays. The oxidation of sulfide deposit minerals is the main environmental problem associated with the fluvial systems of the IPB (Cánovas et al., 2007, 2014; Nieto et al., 2007, Nieto et al., 2013, Sarmiento et al., 2009). This acid lixiviate, named acid mine drainage (AMD), contaminates more than the 40% of the Odiel-Tinto network (Sarmiento et al., 2009) with high concentrations of sulfates, metals and metalloids next to the estuaries (Olías et al., 2006). Sediments act as sink of these contaminants and a source of metal(loid)s in the estuary (Nieto et al., 2007). Some of the hydrochemical parameters of the Odiel River were reported with mean pH values of 3.7, electrical conductivity of 1 mS/cm and concentration of toxic elements (in mg/L): 643 SO42−, 33 Al, 11 Zn, 8 Mn, 6 Cu and 5 Fe (Nieto et al., 2007). High concentrations of sulfides and elevated turbidity and conductivity, coupled with a low pH in the IPB, seem to be the main causes of the decline in native freshwater mollusk biodiversity (Pérez-Quintero, 2011). These characteristics create an extreme environment where benthic and pelagic of macrobiota are unable to survive, limiting life just to extremophile organisms. Indeed, in-situ observations of benthic organisms are rather difficult to carry out in such an extreme environment. What is more, the results in terms of ecological indicators into the sediment quality assessment would be inconsistent through the WOE approach.
The freshwater clam Corbicula fluminea, known as Asian clam, was selected as target organism for toxicity bioassays. In spite of this is an invasive species into the Iberian Peninsula (Pérez-Quintero, 2008), it has not been found yet in the Odiel River basin. Nevertheless, it was used in previous monitoring studies for AMD (Bonnail et al., 2016, Soucek et al., 2001) and other metal polluted environments (Abaychi and Mustafa, 1988, Bilos et al., 1998; Doherty et al., 1990; Shoults-Wilson et al., 2009, Shoults-Wilson et al., 2010).
The main objective of this study is to assess the sediment quality by means of the integration of multiple lines of evidence. A WOE approach allows identifying the impacted areas by measuring the metal(loid) concentration from different segments of the Odiel River basin, sediment toxicity bioassays and the bioaccumulation of metal(loid)s in soft tissue of the Asian clam. The classical sediment quality triad (SQT) study allows assessing the environmental degradation by comparing the sediment quality along Odiel River with other neighboring non polluted ecosystem. This integration permits to calculate the SQVs by linking both chemical and biological measurements using the multivariate analysis.
Section snippets
Sampling
This study was developed within three stations into the IPB along the Odiel River basin, where the river sources (O1), downstream first mining discharges (O2) and the lowest part of the basin downstream (O3) (Fig. 1). The first sediment sampling point (O1) was located in the upper part of the river, in the Ossa-Morena Zone, where limestone is common (Sarmiento et al., 2009). Hence, the hydrochemistry in the head of the Odiel River is characterized by Ca-Mg bicarbonate facies. The pH in water of
Chemical results
The summarized results of the sediment chemistry, toxicity and bioaccumulation used for the SQT measurements are given in Table 1. Briefly, the textural composition of the sediments consists of an increasing muddy fraction from the head towards the estuary of the Odiel River; such as result of particulate matter supply from mining effluents and loss of river energy in the lower part (14%, 25% and 45% of fines increasing downstream), i.e. formation of oxyhydroxysulphates as precipitates and
Discussion
The Odiel River basin drains materials of the IPB. This belt is a sulfide deposit unit that was mined in the past; however some of the mines are being re-opened due to the current demand of minerals. Then, the fluvial network is receiving AMD lixiviates from mining activities and residues spread over the catchment. As previously explained, the environmental degradation is mainly caused by these facts.
Based on information provided by the classical SQT representation (Fig. 3) plus the MAA results
Conclusions
The IPB is a sulfide mineral region extensively affected by mining activity; whose fluvial networks are characterized by high acidity and an important metal(loid) load (AMD). Due to that, and the lack of freshwater sediment quality values in the National legislation, it makes necessary to promptly develop assessment standards for freshwater sediment quality to highly polluted environments.
The current study presents the results and interpretation of the chemical composition and biological
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to the International Grant from Bank Santander/UNESCO Chair UNITWIN/WiCop. The first author thanks the Erasmus Mundus Programme for the MACOMA Doctoral funding contract (SGA 2012-1701/001-001-EMJD). We also thank the reviewers for their valuable comments.
References (61)
- et al.
The Asiatic clam, Corbicula fluminea: an indicator of trace metal pollution in the Shatt al-Arab River, Iraq
Environ. Pollut.
(1988) - et al.
The behavior of trace elements during schwertmannite precipitation and subsequent transformation into goethite and jarosite
Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta
(2006) - et al.
Natural attenuation of arsenic in the Tinto Santa Rosa acid stream (Iberian Pyritic Belt, SW Spain): the role of iron precipitates
Chem. Geol.
(2010) - et al.
Trace metals in suspended particles, sediments and Asiatic clams (Corbicula fluminea) of the Rio de la Plata estuary, Argentina
Environ. Pollut.
(1998) - et al.
The solid state partitioning of contaminant metals and As in river channel sediments of the mining affected Tisa drainage basin, northwestern Romania and eastern Hungary
Appl. Geochem.
(2003) - et al.
Assessment of metal contamination, bioavailability, toxicity and bioaccumulation in extreme metallic environments (Iberian Pyrite Belt) using Corbicula fluminea
Sci. Total Environ.
(2016) - et al.
Hydrogeochemical characteristics of the Tinto and Odiel Rivers (SW Spain). Factors controlling metal contents
Sci. Total Environ.
(2007) - et al.
Long term remediation of highly polluted acid mine drainage: a sustainable approach to restore the environmental quality of the Odiel river basin
Environ. Pollut.
(2011) - et al.
Integrated sediment quality assessment in Paranaguá Estuarine System, Southern Brazil
Ecotoxicol. Environ. Saf.
(2009) - et al.
Seasonality of contamination, toxicity, and quality values in sediments from littoral ecosystems in the Gulf of Cádiz (SW Spain)
Chemosphere
(2002)
Evaluation of heavy metal sediment toxicity in littoral ecosystems using juveniles of the fish Sparus aurata
Ecotoxicol. Environ. Saf.
Accumulation and histopathological damage in the clam Ruditapes philippinarum and the crab Carcinus maenas to assess sediment toxicity in Spanish ports
Chemosphere
A weight of evidence approach for quality assessment of sediments impacted by an oil spill: the role of a set of biomarkers as a line of evidence
Mar. Environ. Res.
Acid mine drainage pollution in the Tinto and Odiel rivers (Iberian Pyrite Belt, SW Spain) and bioavailability of the transported metals to the Huelva Estuary
Environ. Int.
Circulation of silicified oolitic limestone blades in South-Iberia (Spain and Portugal) during the third millennium B.C.: an expression of a core/periphery framework
J. Anthropol. Archaeol.
Evaluation of the dissolved contaminant load transported by the Tinto and Odiel rivers (South West Spain)
Appl. Geochem.
Freshwater mollusc biodiversity and conservation in two stressed Mediterranean basins
Limnol. Ecol. Manag. Inland Waters
Sediment quality in littoral regions of the Gulf of Cádiz: a triad approach to address the influence of mining activities
Environ. Pollut.
Sediment quality in the Guadalquivir estuary: lethal effects associated with the Aznalcollar mining spill
Mar. Pollut. Bull.
Hydrochemical characteristics and seasonal influence on the pollution by acid mine drainage in the Odiel river Basin (SW Spain)
Appl. Geochem.
A preliminary evaluation of sediment quality assessment values for freshwater ecosystems
J. Gt. Lakes Res.
Environmental of formation and styles of volcanogenic massive sulfides: the Iberian Pyrite Belt
Ore Geol. Rev.
Presentation and interpretation of sediment quality triad data
Ecotoxicology
Development of sediment quality guidelines for freshwater ecosystems
J. Soils Sediment.
Site-Specific sediment quality values for the Gulf of Cádiz (Spain) and San Francisco Bay (USA), using the sediment quality triad and the multivariate analysis
Cienc. Mar.
A weight of evidence approach to assess sediment quality in the Guadalquivir estuary
Aquat. Ecosyst. Health Manag.
An integrative assessment of sediment quality in littoral ecosystems from the Gulf of Cádiz
Environ. Toxicol. Chem.
Cited by (17)
Application of remote sensing techniques and machine learning algorithms in dust source detection and dust source susceptibility mapping
2020, Ecological InformaticsCitation Excerpt :Numerous studies have shown different approaches for producing susceptibility maps using different algorithms/models encompassing Geographical Information System (GIS), statistical algorithms (Rahmati et al., 2016), analytical hierarchy process (Sela et al., 2012), and logistic regression (Dewitte et al., 2015). Moreover, these models have been widely used for spatial analyses of environmental implications, such as flood mapping (Al-Abadi et al., 2016), debris flow (Chen et al., 2015), landslide (Hong et al., 2016), snow avalanche (Bühler et al., 2013), gully erosion (Dube et al., 2014), groundwater condition (Kordestani et al., 2018; Manap et al., 2014; Naghibi et al., 2018), and quality of groundwater, surface water and sediment (Bonnail et al., 2016; Motevalli et al., 2019). However, the application of machine learning and statistical algorithms in susceptibility mapping of dust source areas and dust storm has not yet been evaluated.
Ecological improvement assessment of a passive remediation technology for acid mine drainage: Water quality biomonitoring using bivalves
2019, ChemosphereCitation Excerpt :Many studies corroborate the use of the Asian clam (Corbicula fluminea) for environmental pollution monitoring as reviewed by Doherty (1990) and, more recently Guo and Feng (2018). This is an alien species in the Iberian Peninsula that has shown sensitivity to metal polluted environments, as well as, a strong resistivity to extreme polluted environments, such as acid mine drainage (Soucek et al., 2000, 2001; Bonnail et al., 2016a,b; Sarmiento et al., 2016). The aim of the study is to determine if the Asian clam can work as a suitable biomonitoring tool in short term exposure to AMD and aid the improvement of water quality in effluents.
Sediment quality assessment in the Guadalquivir River (SW, Spain) using caged Asian clams: A biomarker field approach
2019, Science of the Total EnvironmentCitation Excerpt :Many authors agree that sediment quality is better determined by integrating the information obtained from measures of chemical concentration and from specific tests to determine sediment toxicity (DelValls and Conradi, 2000; Chapman et al., 2002). Previous studies have integrated the toxicity responses provided by the Asian clam and the contamination to assess the environmental quality of fluvial systems (Bonnail et al., 2016b, 2018a, 2018b). The current study assesses the environmental quality of sediments from the Guadalquivir River watercourse between the Alcalá del Río dam and the city of Seville by the integration of biological responses and sediment physicochemical data using Asian clams under field conditions.
Biomarker responses of the freshwater clam Corbicula fluminea in acid mine drainage polluted systems
2018, Environmental PollutionMetal fractionation in marine sediments acidified by enrichment of CO<inf>2</inf>: A risk assessment
2018, Marine Pollution BulletinCitation Excerpt :Acid-mine drainage transported by these rivers is the main source of metal pollution into the Huelva Estuary (Sarmiento et al., 2009), but other important sources of contamination in this area include industrial residues from chemical industry plants located in the areas close to the Ría of Huelva and urban sewage from the city of Huelva. Because of the multiple sources of contamination, the Huelva Estuary is heavily contaminated by metal(loid)s, and it is considered to be one of the most polluted aqueous environments in Western Europe (Borrego et al., 2002; Caliani et al., 1997; Bonnail et al., 2016b). Two sediment sampling sites were chosen in the Huelva Estuary: (1) Levante (LEV) is situated within the Odiel River in the inner part of the estuary, and (2) Mazagón (MZ) is located at the mouth of the estuary (Fig. 1).
Spatial modelling of gully erosion in Mazandaran Province, northern Iran
2018, CatenaCitation Excerpt :Numerous studies have prepared gully erosion susceptibility maps using various technologies/models, including GIS (Conforti et al., 2011; Dube et al., 2014; Rahmati et al., 2016a), logistic regression (Dewitte et al., 2015), and analytical hierarchy process (AHP) (Sela et al., 2012). Also, these techniques have been used to spatial modeling of other environmental subjects, including flood (Al-Abadi et al., 2016), debris flow (Chen et al., 2015), landslide (Hong et al., 2016; Motevalli et al., 2017), snow avalanche (Bühler et al., 2013), groundwater resources (Naghibi et al., 2015; Moghaddam et al., 2015), and water and sediment quality (Cormier et al., 2008; Bonnail et al., 2016). In addition, Frequency Ratio (FR), Weight of Evidence (WofE) and Index of Entropy (IofE) models were implemented by Ram Mohan et al. (2011); Manap et al. (2012); Mohammady et al. (2012); Regmi et al. (2013); Ozdemir and Altural (2013); Pourtaghi and Pourghasemi (2014) in their studies.