Iron mineralogy as a fingerprint of former steelmaking activities in river sediments.

Submerged sediment cores were collected upstream of a dam in the Orne River, northeastern France. This dam was built in the context of steelmaking to constitute a water reservoir for blast furnace cooling and wet cleaning of furnace smokes. The dam also enhanced sediment deposition in the upstream zone.

Hydrodynamic influence on reservoir sustainability in semi-arid climate: A physicochemical and environmental isotopic study.

Water scarcity and increasing water demand require the development of water management plans such as establishing artificial lakes and dams. Plans to meet water needs are faced by uprising challenges to improve water quality and to ensure the sustainability of hydro-projects. Environmental isotopes coupled to water physicochemical characteristics were investigated over a biennial cycle to assess both geomorphological and environmental impacts on the water quality of a reservoir situated in an intensively used agricultural watershed under a Mediterranean semi-arid climate.

Role of phosphogypsum and NPK amendments on the retention or leaching of metals in different soils.

Column leaching tests were conducted to investigate the effects of soil physicochemical characteristics on metal mobility in the subsurface. The metals investigated originated from disposed industrial waste byproducts and from agrochemicals spread over the farmlands. Soil column tests can provide insights into leaching of metals to underlying water compartments.

Reservoir sediments: a sink or source of chemicals at the surface water-groundwater interface.

This study delineates the physical, chemical, and biological effects resulting from anthropogenic and endogenic activities in a sensitive dammed reservoir situated in a semi-arid region. The reservoir is characterized by two major flow regimes: a wet fill hydrologic regime and a dry spill one. A seasonal sampling campaign was carried out over a period of 2 years (2011-2013) where water samples were collected across the water column and from piezometers just outside the perimeter of the reservoir.

Metal binding in soil cores and sediments in the vicinity of a dammed agricultural and industrial watershed.

The environment is witnessing a downgrade caused by the amelioration of the industrial and agricultural sectors, namely, soil and sediment compartments. For those reasons, a comparative study was done between soil cores and sediments taken from two locations in the Qaraaoun reservoir, Lebanon. The soil cores were partitioned into several layers.

Applying physicochemical approaches to control phosphogypsum heavy metal releases in aquatic environment.

One of the most important sources of solid waste in the Mediterranean Basin ecosystem originated from the phosphate fertilizer industries, which discharge phosphogypsum (PG) directly into aquatic environments or are stacked on stockpiles. The present study investigates metal release from PG under the influence of variable pH, increasing PG mass content, and complexing organic matter ligands. Major ions from PG leachates, grain size and charge, main functional groups along with metal leachability (Pb, Cd, Cr, Cu, and Zn) were determined using ion chromatography, laser diffraction, zetameter, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and atomic absorption spectroscopy, respectively.