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IMPACTS OF COASTAL LANDFILLS ON THE QUALITY OF
ESTUARINE ENVIRONMENTS
F.T. O’Shea
∗1
, K.L.Spencer
1
,J.Brasington
1
,M.W ebb
2
1
QueenMary, UniversityofLondon, UnitedKingdom.
2
ArcadisN.V., UnitedKingdom
*Corresponding Author, f.t.oshea@qmul.ac.uk
Abstract submitted to the
12
th
InternationalEstuarineBiogeochemistrySymposium, Plymouth, July 2013
Historically, landfill sites have been situated proximal to river banks in fluvial, estuarine
and coastal settings and with the IPCC predicting increases in sea level, precipitation
and storm frequency/intensity these sites are vulnerable to erosion and inundation.
Previous work establishes unengineered landfill sites as potential diffuse pollution
sources; however the extent of this contamination how the pollutant impact may be
influenced by climate change, including inundation with saline waters and sediment
erosion, is not currently understood. The aim of this work is to assess the impact of a
historic, unlined landfill site on an adjacent saltmarsh receptor.
Surface sediment samples and vertical sediment cores have been collected from an
unprotected saltmarsh adjacent to a historic landfill on the Thames Estuary typical of
those in South East England. Assessment of the spatial extent of the contamination
legacy through geochemical (heavy metals) and physicochemical (pH, organic content,
grain size) analysis indicates the impact potential on receptors such as saltmarshes.
Preliminary data show clear evidence of elevated sediment contaminant concentrations
and a decreasing trend with distance from the source, indicating that the landfill site
has been a past source of diffuse pollution, and that, in turn, these saltmarsh sediments
may also be a potential source of contaminants for the wider estuary. A complete 3D
spatial analysis will be presented to show the extent of the sub-surface plume.
Data from this initial baseline study will be employed to inform future experimental
designs to evaluate climatic thresholds likely to result in further contaminant release.
The future of the project is the development of non-site specific guidelines to assess the
extent to which coastal landfills may impact environmental receptors under predicted
climate change scenarios.
1