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River Fate and Transport

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Transport and Fate of Chemicals in the Environment

Abstract

Rivers are naturally flowing waterbodies. Small rivers are also called streams or brooks. Rivers are a watershed’s self-formed gutter system and usually empty into an ocean, lake, or another river. This chapter describes the characteristics of rivers and the fate and transport in rivers. The mathematical description of river processes and the modeling of rivers are also described here.

This chapter was originally published as part of the Encyclopedia of Sustainability Science and Technology edited by Robert A. Meyers. DOI:10.1007/978-1-4419-0851-3

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Abbreviations

Advection:

The horizontal transport by flows that move patches of material around but do not significantly distort or dilute them.

Biodegradation:

The breakdown of a compound by enzyme-mediated transformation primarily due to bacteria, and to a lesser extent, fungi.

Dispersion:

The mixing of water properties in rivers.

Henry’s law:

A law which states that at a given temperature, the solubility of a gas is proportional to the pressure of the gas directly above the water.

Hydrograph:

A graph showing time variation in flow rate or stage (depth) of water in a river.

Hydrolysis:

The reaction of a chemical with water in which splitting of a molecular bond occurs in the chemical and there is formation of a new bond with either the hydrogen component (H+) or the hydroxyl component (OH−) of a water molecule.

Manning equation:

An empirical formulation relating velocity (or flow rate) depth, slope, and a channel roughness coefficient in a river.

Mineralization:

The process by which a dissolved organic substance is converted to dissolved inorganic form.

Nonpoint SOURCE:

A pollution source that cannot be traced to a specific spot.

Photolysis:

The transformation of a compound that results directly from the adsorption of light energy.

Point source:

A pollution source that comes from a specific identifiable source such as a pipe.

Residence time:

The time required by a particle to cross a river reach.

River:

A naturally flowing waterbody.

Volatilization:

The process representing a chemical substance entering the atmosphere by evaporation from water.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Minerals Management Service, 381 Elden Street, Herndon, VA, 20170, USA

    Dr. Zhen-Gang Ji

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  1. Dr. Zhen-Gang Ji
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Correspondence to Zhen-Gang Ji .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Department of Civil Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, 55455, Minnesota, USA

    John S. Gulliver

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Ji, ZG. (2012). River Fate and Transport. In: Gulliver, J. (eds) Transport and Fate of Chemicals in the Environment. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5731-2_10

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