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Accurately measuring sediment flux in large rivers remains a challenge due to the spatial and temporal cross-sectional variability of suspended sediment concentrations in conjunction with sampling procedures that fail to accurately quantify these differences. This study presents a field campaign methodology that can be used to improve the measurement of suspended sediment concentrations in the Amazon River or similarly large rivers. The turbidity signal and Rouse model are together used in this study to define the spatial distribution of suspended sediment concentrations in a river cross-section, taking into account the different size fractions of the sediment. With this methodology, suspended sediment fluxes corresponding to each sediment class are defined with less uncertainty than with manual samples. This paper presents an application of this methodology during a field campaign at different gauging stations along a 3,000-km stretch of the Solimões/Amazon River during low water and flood periods. Vertical concentration profiles and Rouse model applications for distinctive sediment sizes are explored to determine concentration gradients throughout a cross-section of the river. The results show that coupling both turbidity technology and the Rouse model may improve our understanding of the spatial distribution of different sediments fractions sizes in the Solimões/Amazon River. These data are very useful in defining a pertinent monitoring strategy for suspended sediment concentrations in the challenging context of large rivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the results of a detailed study of dissolved Sr isotopes in the Solimões and Beni-Madeira Rivers of the Amazon basin. This study developed data collected over 8 years indicating large spatial and temporal variations in dissolved Sr isotopes among the rivers of the Amazon basin. The large 87Sr/86Sr variations were found to be correlated with the geology of the source areas of the suspended sediments. The Beni-Madeira River displays a high average 87Sr/86Sr ratio and large 87Sr/86Sr fluctuations during the hydrological cycle. This large average value and fluctuations were related to the presence of Precambrian rocks and Ordovician sediments in the source area of the suspended sediment of the river. In contrast, the Solimões River displays a narrow range of Sr isotope ratio variations and an average value close to 0.709. This river drains mostly Phanerozoic rocks of northern Peru and Ecuador that are characterized by low Sr isotope ratios. The isotopic fluctuations in the Beni-Madeira River were observed to propagate downstream at least as far as Óbidos. This signal is characterized by an inverse relationship between the concentration of elemental Sr and its isotopic ratios. We further demonstrate that the Sr isotopic composition and content in the Beni-Madeira River is controlled by suspended sediments derived from the Andes. Despite draining areas underlain by Precambrian rocks and having high 87Sr/86Sr ratios, such rivers as the Negro and Tapajós play a minor role in the total Sr budget of the Amazon basin. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study used an atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) with a 20-km grid spacing and a global river routing model with 0.5° grid resolution to project climatological mean river discharges in the late 21st century under a changing climate. We also performed an ensemble simulation with the same AGCM except with a resolution of 60 km and forced with different lower boundary conditions to quantify the level of confidence in the projections. By the late 21st century, projected annual mean river discharges increased in the high latitudes and in India and the southeastern United States but decreased in broad regions of Europe, western Asia, the western United States, Central America, and the southern half of the Amazon River basin. Projected future changes in monthly river discharges include unique seasonal details not present in the annual discharge projections: in the Amazon River, for example, river discharges were projected to increase in the high-water season but decrease in the low-water season. These seasonal changes suggest that monthly river discharge projections should be useful for assessing the human impacts and risks in future planning of water resources and flood control. We devised a way to measure the consistency between the various projections made by our 60-km ensemble simulations and our standard 20-km high-resolution model. Wherever the projected changes were consistent, the future changes also tended to be statistically significant in our high-resolution model. These results encourage a future projection of discharge for a specific river basin in the world. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large rivers have been previously shown to be vertically heterogeneous in terms of suspended particulate matter (SPM) concentration, as a result of sorting of suspended solids. Therefore, the spatial distribution of suspended sediments within the river section has to be known to assess the riverine sedimentary flux. Numerous studies have focused on the vertical distribution of SPM in a river channel from a theoretical or experimental perspective, but only a few were conducted so far on very large rivers. Moreover, a technique for the prediction of depth-integrated suspended sediment fluxes in very large rivers based on sediment transport dynamics has not yet been proposed. We sampled river water along depth following several vertical profiles, at four locations on the Amazon River and its main tributaries and at two distinct water stages. Depending on the vertical profile, a one- to fivefold increase in SPM concentration is observed from river channel surface to bottom, which has a significant impact on the 'depth-averaged' SPM concentration. For each cross section, a so-called Rouse profile quantitatively accounts for the trend of SPM concentration increase with depth, and a representative Rouse number can be measured for each cross section. However, the prediction of this Rouse number would require the knowledge of the settling velocity of particles, which is dependent on the state of aggregation affecting particles within the river. We demonstrate that in the Amazon River, particle aggregation significantly influences the Rouse number and renders its determination impossible from grain-size distribution data obtained in the lab. However, in each cross section, the Rouse profile obtained from the fit of the data can serve as a basis to model, at first order, the SPM concentration at any position in the river cross section. This approach, combined with acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) water velocity transects, allows us to accurately estimate the depth-integrated instantaneous sediment flux. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study of the upstream-downstream sediment budget along the Napo River in the Andean foothills of Ecuador, at the west of the Amazon basin. The analysis showed that on the headwaters of the Napo River drainage basin, the tectonic uplift causes the Pastaza Megafan's existence. In addition, the study found that this geodynamic trend is completed by the impact of volcanic eruption, earthquakes and landslides.

The article focuses on a study that proposed an approach of obtaining better images of floodplain basin structure from digital elevation model (DEM), known as the floodplain burning approach (FB approach), as applied to Amazon River sub-basin. The new method is based on a "double DEM burning" process and floodplain spatial distribution provided by satellite images. The results showed that basin delineation maps obtained from the proposed approach provided realistic results than those obtained from the traditional stream burning method.

The article examines the effect of new river geomorphic and flow parameterizations on the simulated surface waters dynamics of the Amazon River basin. The study describes the improvements to the basic equations of the Terrestrial Hydrology Model with Biogeochemistry, determines a new river geomorphology dataset for the Amazon basin, and explores the impact of such changes on the representations of the surface water dynamics of the Amazon River basin. It identified three major sources of error in their simulation of flooding in the Amazon: the digital elevation model accuracy, the simulated river discharge amount, and the floodplain initiation parameter.

The article presents the study which determines the impact of land management on runoff sources in Amazon watersheds. It uses an end member mixing analysis approach (EMMA) to examine the contributing sources of streamflow during an entire rainy season in a forest and a pasture watersheds. The study shows differences in the proportions of total streamflow between the forest and pasture watershed. It suggests that there is great potential for alteration of the hydrological budgets of larger watersheds as the proportion of deforested land in Amazon increases. Moreover, the more rainfall diverted into fast flowpath to streams in established pastures, the more water with higher solute concentration generated by erosion or by bypassing sites of solute removal will be delivered.

This study describes the transport and speciation of mercury (Hg) and the associated role of organic matter in these processes at the confluence of the Negro (‘black waters’) and Solimões (‘white waters’) Rivers, which form the Amazon River. The Negro has the highest total Hg content (11·6 to 18·2 ng l−1) due to the extreme particulate Hg concentrations (2074 ng g−1 at the surface), 10 to 20 times higher than those measured in other Amazon tributaries. The total organic carbon (TOC) consists primarily of dissolved organic carbon, which corresponds to 89% and 66% of the TOC in the Negro and Solimões Rivers respectively, and is mainly composed of humic substances, carriers for most of the metal ions transported in rivers. At the confluence of the Negro and Solimões Rivers, the total Hg concentrations decrease markedly. An isotopic mass balance showed that the complete mixing of the two rivers was achieved 25 km downstream of the confluence. At 60 km downstream of the confluence, the flux of Hg decreases to 73 kg day−1, which represents a net losses of 5 kg day−1 and 15 kg day−1 of dissolved Hg and particulate Hg respectively, assuming that the discharge was constant during the sampling survey and without significant lateral input. Moreover, the Hg losses are correlated with the total suspended matter concentrations, which vary throughout the mixing zone, and also with the particulate and dissolved organic carbon distribution. We suggest that the dissolved loss occurs during the flocculation of organic matter within the zone of rapidly changing physical and chemical conditions downstream of the confluence, and that the particulate loss is by the deposition of particles along the mixing zone favoured by decreasing stream velocities during the sampling survey. Adsorption processes of Hg on dissolved organic matter seem to be responsible for the decrease of dissolved Hg concentrations in the mixing zone. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nature and distribution of organic matter in the mixing zone of black (Rio Negro) and white (Rio Solimões) waters in the Amazon River was studied to understand the processes responsible for its transport and distribution. Water samples from 13 stations, including Rio Negro, Rio Solimões and Rio Madeira and ten stations downstream of the confluence with the Amazon, were collected during a low-water period. Particulate organic matter (POM; >0·7 µm) and dissolved organic matter (DOM; <0·7 µm) were quantified by analysing elemental carbon and nitrogen and by high-temperature catalytic oxidation, and characterized by infrared spectrometry and fluorescence microscopy. We also performed adsorption experiments with DOM and alumina particles to determine the adsorption abilities and the nature of the most reactive DOM. Adsorption was estimated by measuring the amount of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) lost during the experiments. We found a significant difference between the measured and theoretical fluxes of the two end members in DOC (−52%), particulate organic carbon (−32%), and particulate organic nitrogen (−59%). This suggests that organic matter is not conservative at the confluence of the two rivers. Among processes affecting POM and DOM during the mixing of the two rivers, adsorption may be one of the principal mechanisms by which the dissolved fraction is removed. Adsorption experiments showed that up to ca 40% of DOC can be removed by adsorption reactions. Furthermore, dissolved organic nitrogen was preferentially adsorbed onto alumina surfaces, which may be important for the fractionation of organic matter in the Amazon river system and seems to be related to the origin and freshness of the DOM. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rare earth element (REE) concentrations of the dissolved and particulate fractions and bed sediment between Manaus and Santarém in the Amazon River, and in some major tributaries, were evaluated. A very important zone in the Amazon basin, the ‘encontro das aguas’ area where the Rio Solimões and the Rio Negro meet, was especially sampled. Different size fractions were isolated by ultrafiltration. Water samples were collected at different stages of the mixing. Three groups of waters are distinguished: group I has a low pH (<5·5) and is represented by the Negro basin rivers; group II has alkalinity less than 0·2 meq l−1 and is represented by the Rios Tapajós and Trombetas; group III has high alkalinity (>0·2 meq l−1) and higher pH (>6·5) and is represented by the Madeira basin rivers, the Solimões and the Amazon. The highest dissolved REE concentration is in the Rio Negro and the lowest in the Rio Tapajós (dissolved REEs vary by more than a factor of ten). The solubility of REEs is pH dependent: in river waters with a pH < 6 the Ce concentration is twice that of La, whereas in rivers with a higher pH the concentrations of Ce and La are similar. Dissolved REE concentrations are positively correlated with the dissolved organic carbon. Correlations between Fe, Al, and La suggest that La is associated with Al (Fe)-rich organic matter and/or related to dissolved Fe-rich inorganic material. Dissolved REEs normalized to North American shale composite show an enrichment in intermediate/heavy REEs (from Eu to Er), except for the shields rivers (such as Rio Negro and Rio Trombetas). Both of them are depleted in heavy REEs and show a relative Ce enrichment. In contrast, for the Andeans rivers (such as Rio Solimões), light REEs are slightly depleted and a negative Ce relative anomaly occurs. The pattern of the Amazon River at Óbidos confirms the major influence of the Rios Negro and Solimões with REE fractionation. For the Rio Negro, 60 to 70% of REEs are concentrated in the particulate fraction (>0·2 µm), 20 to 30% are in the colloidal fraction (0·2 µm to 5000 Da) and less than 10% are in solution (<5000 Da). For the Solimões the distribution is different. More than 95% of REEs are in the particulate fraction. In the mixing area, the colloidal fraction is enriched in heavy REEs. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The chemical composition of the Amazon River results from the mixing of two water types: black water and white water. On-site fractionation by sequential tangential ultrafiltration (STUF) was used to differentiate transported organic carbon and to determine the distribution and association of major and trace elements with different size fraction of the organic carbon (OC). Several sampling campaigns (1994–1996) allow a monthly quantification of particulate (OCP, MeP), colloidal (OCC, MeC) and dissolved (OCD, MeD) organic carbon and metal ions inputs. In white rivers the OC is mainly concentrated in the low molecular weight fraction (OCD < 5000 D) while in black rivers most of the OC is in the heavier molecular weight fractions (OCP and OCC > 5 kDa). For Mg, Ca and K, 50% of the total amount of each element is found in fraction MeD while 15% and 35% are found in fractions MeC and MeP, respectively. Al and Fe are in the particulate fraction at 99% of the total metal concentration for all river samples. This work emphasizes the coagulation processes and the sink for elements in the mixing zone. These physicochemical transformations of the organic matter vary seasonally. The changes happen during the transition periods: before high-level waters and before low-level waters. By way of flux measurement, a seasonal carbon loss was observed. The estimated annual organic carbon flux of the Amazon at Òbidos is 28 × 106 t. At the same time, an average of 9 × 106 t of organic carbon per year is retained in the reach between Manaus and Òbidos, probably via coagulation processes. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As part of a joint Brazilian–French project, entitled ‘Hydrology and Geochemistry of the Amazon Basin’, we carried out a seven-year study (1994–2000) on the distribution, behaviour and flux of particulate and dissolved organic carbon in the Amazon River and its main tributaries (the Negro, Solimões, Branco, Madeira, Tapajós, Xingú and Trombetas rivers). The concentrations of particulate and dissolved organic carbon varied from one river to another and according to the season, but dissolved organic carbon (DOC) always accounted for about 70% of the total organic carbon (TOC). The mean concentration of dissolved organic carbon was 6·1 mg l−1 in the Madeira River, 5·83 mg l−1 in the Solimões River and 12·7 mg l−1 in the Negro River. The percentage in weight of the particulate organic carbon decreased as the concentration of suspended matter increased. The Solimões River contributed the most carbon to the Amazon River: about 500 kg C s−1 during the high water period and about 300 kg C s−1 during the low water period. However, the temporal variations in organic carbon in the Amazon River (i.e. downstream of Manaus) are basically controlled by inputs from the Negro River and its variations. The Negro River does not produce a simple dilution effect. During the high water period (between March and August) the TOC flux, calculated as the sum of the Solimões, Negro and Madeira tributaries, was about 5·7 × 1013 g C yr−1, whereas during the low water period (between September and February) the TOC flux was about 2·6 × 1013 g C yr−1. The mean annual flux of TOC at Óbidos (the final gauging station upstream of the estuary) was about 3·27 × 1013 g C yr−1 (i.e. 32·7 ± 3·3 Tg yr−1). Of this, the flux of DOC represents about 2·7 × 1013 g C yr−1 and the flux of particulate organic carbon (POC) represents about 0·5 × 1013 g C yr−1. The mean annual input of TOC by all tributaries (Negro, Solimões, Madeira, Trombetas, Tapajós and Xingú) was about 2·8 × 1013 g C yr−1. When we compared this input with the output recorded at Óbidos (3·27 × 1013 g C yr−1), we found that the amount of organic carbon increased (about 0·4 × 1013 g C yr−1). This shows that other important sources of organic carbon exist in the lower reaches of the Amazon River. These inputs can be attributed to the adjacent floodplain lake system, called ‘várzea’. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The distribution of trace metals (V, Cr, Mn, Co, Cu, Zn, As, Rb, Sr, Mo, Cd, Sb, Cs, Ba, U) was investigated in surface waters and associated particulates in the Amazon mainstream (Solimões and Amazon rivers). Dissolved V, Cu, As, Sr, Ba, U correlate with major ions and appear to be predominantly derived from soluble rocks occurring in the Amazon upper basin. These elements appear conservative in waters and are progressively diluted by less-concentrated waters coming from the lowland and shield areas. A monthly time series obtained at the Óbidos gauging station shows that temporal variability of trace element concentrations reflects the source, remobilization and/or biological processes occurring in the channel or in the surrounding floodplain lakes. The trace element concentrations in the particulate matter show a clear relationship with the location of the samples. V, Co, Cr, Mn, Sr, Cs and Ba concentrations are higher in the Solimões and the Rio Negro is enriched in Fe, Al and Zn. In the Rio Solimões, V, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Zn, Cs and Pb are almost entirely carried by the river particulate matter; Cu, Rb, Sr, Ba and U are transported mainly by the suspended particles, but a dissolved phase contributes to the transport. In the Rio Negro, the proportion of elements transported by the dissolved phase is higher for the whole set of elements. The implications of these results allow us to compute the fluxes from the Amazon River to the Atlantic Ocean. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]