RT Journal Article
T1 Evaluation of the dissolved contaminant load transported by the Tinto and Odiel rivers (South West Spain)
A1 Olías Álvarez, Manuel
A1 Ruiz Cánovas, Carlos
A1 Nieto Liñán, José Miguel
A1 Miguel Sarmiento, Aguasanta
AB The Tinto and Odiel rivers are heavily affected by acid mine drainage (AMD). However, the exact quantities of contaminants transported into the Huelva estuary and the Gulf of Cadiz are unknown. The existing previous investigations are, in general, based on studies with few data or incorrect methodology, and are therefore unreliable. This study aims to present a reliable estimation of the dissolved contaminant load transported by both rivers for the periods 1995/96 to 2002/03. The methodology used is based principally on the correlation between contaminant concentration and flow rate. The results show that both rivers transport enormous quantities of dissolved contaminants: 7900 t a 1 of Fe, 5800 t a 1 Al, 3500 t a 1 Zn, 1700 t a 1 Cu, 1600 t yr 1 Mn and minor quantities of other metals. These values represent 60% of the global gross flux of dissolved Zn transported by rivers in to the ocean, and 17% of the global gross flux of dissolved Cu.
PB Elsevier
SN 0883-2927
YR 2006
FD 2006
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10272/22864
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10272/22864
LA eng
NO Olías, M., Cánovas, C. R., Nieto, J. M., & Sarmiento, A. M. (2006). Evaluation of the dissolved contaminant load transported by the Tinto and Odiel rivers (South West Spain). In Applied Geochemistry (Vol. 21, Issue 10, pp. 1733–1749). Elsevier BV. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2006.05.009
NO The authors wish to thank the Guadiana Hydrographic Confederation, and the Environmental Council of the Andalusia Regional Government for the information provided for this study, which has been financed through the project “Mining contamination evaluation, acid mine drainage treatment, hydrologic modelling of the Odiel river basin and study of the contaminant load to the Huelva estuary”, financed by the Environmental Council of the Andalusia Regional Government, and REN2003-09590-C04-03 financed by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science. The manuscript was greatly improved thanks to the comments of two anonymous reviewers and the corrections provided by Dr. Ron Fuge.
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Huelva
RD 1 jun 2026