Abstract
Climate change, upstream land-use change and change in floodplain topography may all alter the functioning of floodplains as sediment and contaminant sinks. Both climate change and floodplain rehabilitation may increase the inundation frequency of floodplains, thereby increasing the possible deposition of contaminated sediments. However, upstream land abandonment probably leads to a decrease in input of sediments and associated heavy metals to rivers, reducing sediment loads and potential floodplain deposition rates. We studied the impact of these contrasting changes on the deposition of sediment and heavy metals on the lower River Rhine floodplains and assessed their relative importance.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 129-149 |
Number of pages | 21 |
Journal | Nederlandse geografische studies |
Issue number | 337 |
Publication status | Published - 16 Feb 2006 |
Keywords
- Climate change
- Floodplain
- Heavy metals
- Modelling
- River rehabilitation
- River Rhine
- Sedimentation