The Nievole River Valley (NRV) is a sub-basin of the Arno River Basin, located in Tuscany (Central Italy) and characterised by a complex riverine network in its northern part, since it hosts the Nievole, Pescia di Collodi, and Pescia di Pescia rivers, and several other artificial channels that crosscut the basin and collects effluents from many small cities and industrial districts. All these rivers and channels inflow into the Padule di Fucecchio, a crucial swampy zone for the migratory routes of several bird species, whose waters are only regulated by the Usciana River. The study area insists within a complex ecosystem characterised by relevant anthropic activities and smallmedium enterprises, such as paper mill industries, flora farms, thermal spas, and one of the most productive Italian tanning districts, thus representing an ideal case study for the identification of natural and anthropogenic contributions to the geochemical composition of environmental matrices. In this work, a preliminary evaluation of the NRV river system quality is presented by analysing water and suspended solid load (SSL) samples collected in 2021 along the main courses and tributaries, distributed in an area of about 320 km2. The preliminary data highlighted a wide geochemical spectrum of the investigated waters, also dependent by seasonal variations, which ranged from Ca2+(Mg2+)HCO3- to Na+Cl(SO42-) geochemical facies. The most relevant variations, for the high and low river discharge periods, were pertaining to the N-bearing species, which varied from 36 to 80 (NO3-),mfrom 2.4 to 1.2 (NO2- ), and from 12 to 23 (NH4+) mg/L. Interestingly, relatively high Cs concentrations, from 37 to 170 μg/L in the waters over the period of sampling and up to 46 ppm in the SSLs only regarding the high river discharge period, were recorded. SSLs produced Pb isotopic signatures typically associated with the presence of anthropogenic contributions, which were more evident in those samples collected from the most urbanized and industrialized areas.
Heavy metals contamination in surface waters and suspended solid loads from the Nievole River Valley sub-basin (Tuscany, Central Italy) / Chiara Maccelli, Claudio Natali, Barbara Nisi, Martina Casalini, Orlando Vaselli, Stefania Venturi, Riccardo Avanzinelli. - ELETTRONICO. - (2022), pp. 0-0. (Intervento presentato al convegno 1st Congress of Società Geochimica Italiana “From theoretical to applied geochemistry”).
Heavy metals contamination in surface waters and suspended solid loads from the Nievole River Valley sub-basin (Tuscany, Central Italy)
Claudio Natali;Martina Casalini;Orlando Vaselli;Stefania Venturi;Riccardo Avanzinelli
2022
Abstract
The Nievole River Valley (NRV) is a sub-basin of the Arno River Basin, located in Tuscany (Central Italy) and characterised by a complex riverine network in its northern part, since it hosts the Nievole, Pescia di Collodi, and Pescia di Pescia rivers, and several other artificial channels that crosscut the basin and collects effluents from many small cities and industrial districts. All these rivers and channels inflow into the Padule di Fucecchio, a crucial swampy zone for the migratory routes of several bird species, whose waters are only regulated by the Usciana River. The study area insists within a complex ecosystem characterised by relevant anthropic activities and smallmedium enterprises, such as paper mill industries, flora farms, thermal spas, and one of the most productive Italian tanning districts, thus representing an ideal case study for the identification of natural and anthropogenic contributions to the geochemical composition of environmental matrices. In this work, a preliminary evaluation of the NRV river system quality is presented by analysing water and suspended solid load (SSL) samples collected in 2021 along the main courses and tributaries, distributed in an area of about 320 km2. The preliminary data highlighted a wide geochemical spectrum of the investigated waters, also dependent by seasonal variations, which ranged from Ca2+(Mg2+)HCO3- to Na+Cl(SO42-) geochemical facies. The most relevant variations, for the high and low river discharge periods, were pertaining to the N-bearing species, which varied from 36 to 80 (NO3-),mfrom 2.4 to 1.2 (NO2- ), and from 12 to 23 (NH4+) mg/L. Interestingly, relatively high Cs concentrations, from 37 to 170 μg/L in the waters over the period of sampling and up to 46 ppm in the SSLs only regarding the high river discharge period, were recorded. SSLs produced Pb isotopic signatures typically associated with the presence of anthropogenic contributions, which were more evident in those samples collected from the most urbanized and industrialized areas.
I documenti in FLORE sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
