Sediment source fingerprinting: benchmarking recent outputs, remaining challenges and emerging themes

A - Papers appearing in refereed journals

Collins, A. L., Blackwell, M. S. A., Boeckx, P., Chivers, C-A., Emelko, M., Evrad, O., Foster, I., Gellis, A., Gholami, H., Granger, S. J., Harris, P., Horowitz, A. J., Laceby, J. P., Martinez-Carreras, N., Minella, J., Mol, L., Nosrati, K., Pulley, S., Silins, U., Da Silva, Y. J., Stone, M., Tiecher, T., Upadhayay, H. and Zhang, Y. 2020. Sediment source fingerprinting: benchmarking recent outputs, remaining challenges and emerging themes. Journal of Soils and Sediments. 20, pp. 4160-4193. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-020-02755-4

AuthorsCollins, A. L., Blackwell, M. S. A., Boeckx, P., Chivers, C-A., Emelko, M., Evrad, O., Foster, I., Gellis, A., Gholami, H., Granger, S. J., Harris, P., Horowitz, A. J., Laceby, J. P., Martinez-Carreras, N., Minella, J., Mol, L., Nosrati, K., Pulley, S., Silins, U., Da Silva, Y. J., Stone, M., Tiecher, T., Upadhayay, H. and Zhang, Y.
Abstract

Purpose This review of sediment source fingerprinting assesses the current state-of-the-art, remaining challenges and emerging themes. It combines inputs from international scientists either with track records in the approach or with expertise relevant to progressing the science. Methods Web of Science and Google Scholar were usedto review published papers spanning the period 2013–2019, inclusive, toconfirm publication trends inquantities ofpapers bystudy area country and the types of tracers used. The mostrecent (2018– 2019, inclusive) papers were also benchmarked using a methodological decision-tree published in 2017. Scope Areas requiring further research and international consensus on methodological detail are reviewed, and these comprise spatial variability in tracers and corresponding sampling implications for end-members, temporal variability in tracers and sampling implications for end-members and target sediment, tracer conservation and knowledge-based pre-selection, the physico-chemical basis for source discrimination and dissemination of fingerprinting results to stakeholders. Emerging themes are also discussed: novel tracers, concentration-dependence for biomarkers, combining sediment fingerprinting and age-dating, applications to sediment-bound pollutants,incorporation of supportive spatial information to augment discrimination and modelling, aeolian sediment source fingerprinting, integration with process-based models and development of open-access software tools for data processing. Conclusions The popularity of sediment source fingerprinting continues on an upward trend globally, but with this growth comes issues surrounding lack of standardisation and procedural diversity. Nonetheless, the last 2 years have also evidenced growing uptake of critical requirements for robust applications and this review is intended to signpost investigators, both old and new, towards these benchmarks and remaining research challenges for, and emerging options for different applications of, the fingerprinting approach.

KeywordsFingerprinting approach; Tracers; Biomarkers; Sediment-age dating; Weathering indices
Year of Publication2020
JournalJournal of Soils and Sediments
Journal citation20, pp. 4160-4193
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-020-02755-4
Open accessPublished as ‘gold’ (paid) open access
FunderBiotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
Funder project or codeS2N - Soil to Nutrition - Work package 3 (WP3) - Sustainable intensification - optimisation at multiple scales
Publisher's version
Output statusPublished
Publication dates
Online16 Sep 2020
Publication process dates
Accepted13 Aug 2020
PublisherSpringer Heidelberg
ISSN1439-0108

Permalink - https://repository.rothamsted.ac.uk/item/981v7/sediment-source-fingerprinting-benchmarking-recent-outputs-remaining-challenges-and-emerging-themes

164 total views
100 total downloads
3 views this month
1 downloads this month
Download files as zip