TITLE:
Surface Water Processes in Coping with Anthropogenic Impact in a Coastal Eastern Mediterranean Region
AUTHORS:
Nour Abboud, Zeinab Matar, Elias Maatouk, Véronique Kazpard
KEYWORDS:
Anions/Cations, Metals, DOC, Complexation, Coastal Rivers, Spatiotemporal Variability
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Modern Hydrology,
Vol.14 No.2,
March
26,
2024
ABSTRACT: Rivers are progressively being exposed to increased anthropogenic pollution
stresses that are undermining their designated uses and affecting sensitive coastal
areas. In this study, three adjacent eastern Mediterranean coastal rivers, Ibrahim,
Kaleb and Beirut, were evaluated. Water quality samples were collected in dry and
wet seasons from different sampling sites along the river from the source to the
outlet which represent a gradient of increased urbanization. The spatiotemporal
variability of the physio-chemical properties, heavy metals (Zn, Pb, Cu, Cr, and
Cd) and organic matter (DOC) were statistically analyzed to better understand the
contribution of point and nonpoint pollution sources. The three rivers (Beirut,
Kaleb and Ibrahim) show a similar behavior in calcium and carbonate alkalinity due
to the carbonate mineral weathering effect, so they are of calcium bicarbonate type
due to their calcareous geological nature. The speciation of anions was affected
by temporal variation. Moreover, it is obvious that the Beirut River has a different
behavioral characteristic where the water is a sulfate type water with a preferable
metal-OM complexation mainly with lead, zinc and copper, whereas Kaleb and Ibrahim
are considered to be of a nitrate phosphate type with a preferable metal inorganic
complexation, especially copper, that has a consistent behavior in both types of
waters. This difference is attributed to the urbanization effect highly impacting
the Beirut River.