Basic concepts and associated statistical methodology in the geochemical study of lake sediments

  • J.-M. Jaquet
  • E. Davaud
  • F. Rapin
  • J.-P. Vernet
Conference paper
Part of the Developments in Hydrobiology book series (DIHY, volume 9)

Abstract

On the basis of data collected in Lac Léman (Switzerland), we discuss a few of the fundamental concepts that underlie geochemical investigations: the carrier substance, the natural background level, the grain-size effects and the areal variability of geochemical associations.

The key role played by the statistical methods in expressing, testing, and refining these concepts is emphasized.

Keywords

lake sediments geochemistry statistical methods 

Résumé

En se basant sur des données récoltées dans le Léman, on discute quelques-uns des concepts fondamentaux qui sous-tendent la méthodologie géochimique: le support sédimentaire des traces, la teneur naturelle, l’effet granulométrique et la variabilité spatiale des associations géochimiques.

On souligne également le rôle capital joué par les méthodes statistiques dans l’expression, la mise à l’épreuve et raffinement de ces concepts.

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. Ackermann, F., 1980. A procedure for correcting the grain-size effect in heavy metal analysis of estuarine and coastal sediments. Environ. Techn. Lett. 1: 518–527.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  2. Davaud, E., 1976. Contribution à l’étude géochimique et sédi- mentologique de dépôts lacustres récents (Lac de Morat, Suisse). Ph. D. thesis, Univ. Geneva. 129 pp.Google Scholar
  3. Davaud, E., Rapin, F. & Vernet, J.-P., 1977. Contamination des sédiments côtiers par les métaux lourds. Rep. Comm. Int. Prot. Léman, Lausanne: 189–211.Google Scholar
  4. Forstner, U. & Wittmann, G., 1979. Metal Pollution in the Aquatic Environment. Springer, New York. 486 pp.Google Scholar
  5. Froidevaux, R., Jaquet, J.-M. & Thomas, R. L., 1977. AGCL, a FORTRAN IV program for agglomerative nonhierarchical Q-mode classification of large data sets. Comput. Geosci. 3: 31–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  6. Garcia, J. & Loris, Z., 1978. Technique de lessivage sélectif pour l’extraction et le dosage de métaux traces dans les sédiments. M.Sc. thesis, Dept. Analyt. Chem., Univ. Geneva.Google Scholar
  7. Jaquet, J.-M., 1981. Heavy-metal phosphates in contaminated sediments of Lac Léman (Switzerland). Environ. Techn. Lett, (in press).Google Scholar
  8. Jaquet, J.-M., Barde, B., Cachelin, M.-F. & Rochat, G., 1979. Pollution des sédiments par les métaux lourds dans les zones de Nyon, Rolle, Morges, Vidy et du delta du Rhône. Rep. Comm. int. Prot. Léman, Lausanne: 247–264.Google Scholar
  9. Jaquet, J.-M., Davaud, E. & Vernet, J.-P., 1978. Impact des rejets des stations d’épuration sur les sédiments côtiers du Léman. Proceedings of symposium on natural lakes, French Limnol. Assoc., Chambéry: 134–155.Google Scholar
  10. Jaquet, J.-M., Froidevaux, R. & Vernet, J.-P., 1975a. Comparison of automatic classification methods applied to lake geo-chemical samples. Math. Geol. 7: 237–265.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  11. Jaquet, J.-M., Rapin, F., Davaud, E. & Vernet, J.-P., 1982. Géochimie des sédiments du Léman. Mat. Carte Géol. Suisse (Hydrol.) (in press).Google Scholar
  12. Jaquet, J.-M. & Vernet, J.-P., 1978. Formes du phosphore dans les sédiments lémaniques. Rep. Comm. int. Prot. Léman, Lausanne: 310–326.Google Scholar
  13. Jaquet, J.-M., Vernet, J.-P. & Thomas, R. L., 1975b. Etude granulométrique des sédiments du Léman. Proc. IXth Int. Sedim. Congress, Nice. 19 pp.Google Scholar
  14. Jones, B. F. & Bowser, C.-J., 1978. The mineralogy and related chemistry of lake sediments. In: Lerman, A. (ed.) Lakes — Chemistry, Geology, Physics, pp. 179–236. Springer, New York.Google Scholar
  15. Rapin, F., 1980. Les sédiments des baies de Nice et de Villefran- che-sur-Mer (Méditerranée, France): étude sédimentologique et géochimique. Ph.D. thesis, Univ. Geneva. 139 pp.Google Scholar
  16. Rapin, F., Davaud, E. & Vernet, J.-P., 1978. Etude générale de la pollution des sédiments du Léman. Rep. Comm. int. Prot. Léman: 294–309.Google Scholar
  17. Sly, P. G., 1975. Statistical evaluation of recent sediment geo-chemical sampling. Proc. IXth int. Sedim. Congress, Nice. 22 pp.Google Scholar
  18. Tessier, A., Campbell, P.-G.-C. & Bisson, M., 1979. Sequential extraction procedure for the specification of particulate trace metals. Analyt. Chem. 51: 844–851.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  19. Thomas, R.-L. & Jaquet, J.-M., 1976. Mercury in the surficial sediments of Lake Erie. J. Fish Res. Bd Can. 33: 404–412.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  20. Thomas, R. L., Kemp, A.-L.-W. & Lewis, C.-F.-M., 1972. Distribution, composition and characteristics of the surficial sediments of Lake Ontario. J. Sedim. Petrol. 52: 66–84.Google Scholar
  21. Turekian, K.-K. & Wedepohl, K. H., 1961. Distribution of the elements in some major units of the earth’s crust. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 72: 175–192.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  22. Vernet, J.-P. & Thomas, R.-L., 1972. The occurrence and distribution of mercury in the sediments of the Petit Lac (western Lake Geneva). Eclogae geol. helv. 65: 307–316.Google Scholar
  23. Vernet, J.-P. & Thomas, R.-L., 1973. Geochemistry of the sediments of the Petit-Lac (western Lake Geneva). Abstract 16th Conf. Great Lakes Res.: 68–69.Google Scholar

Copyright information

© Dr W. Junk Publishers, The Hague 1982

Authors and Affiliations

  • J.-M. Jaquet
    • 1
  • E. Davaud
    • 1
  • F. Rapin
    • 1
  • J.-P. Vernet
    • 1
  1. 1.Institut ForelUniversity of GenevaVersoixSwitzerland

Personalised recommendations