SpringerLink
Log in

Using spectrocolourimetry to trace sediment source dynamics in coastal catchments draining the main Fukushima radioactive pollution plume (2011–2017)

  • Sediment Fingerprinting in the Critical Zone
  • Published:
Journal of Soils and Sediments Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

Spectrocolourimetric measurements provide a relatively inexpensive, quick and non-destructive alternative to the analysis of geochemical and organic matter properties. When used in the analysis of sediments and their potential sources, these colour parameters may provide important information on the dominant processes (i.e. erosion) occurring in the Critical Zone. Here, they are used to investigate whether eroded sediment is derived from forest (i.e. natural), cultivated (i.e. anthropogenic) or subsoil sources in order to assess their potential to monitor the effect of decontamination in regions impacted by fallout from the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident.

Materials and methods

Fifteen spectrocolourimetric properties (L*, a*, b*, C*, h, x, y, z, L, a, b, u*, v*, u’, v’) were measured in potential source (n = 37) and sediment (n = 400) samples collected during 13 campaigns from 2011 to 2017 after major flood events in two catchments (total surface area of 450 km2) draining the main FDNPP radioactive pollution plume. Potential sources included topsoil from forest and cultivated sources along with subsoil material originating from landslides, channel banks and the decontamination of cultivated areas. The optimum set of parameters used in the mixed linear model to calculate the sediment source contributions was obtained through the use of a range test, the Kruskal–Wallis H test and a linear discriminant analysis.

Results and discussion

Nine selected colour parameters correctly classified 100% of the source samples (i.e. forest, subsoil and cultivated sources). The results illustrate that cultivated landscapes were the main source of sediment to these river systems (mean 56%, SD 34%) followed by subsoil (mean 26%, SD 16%) and forest sources (mean 21%, SD 24%). However, these contributions varied strongly over time, with a peak of subsoil contributions (mean 57%, SD 17%) in Fall 2015, coinciding with the occurrence of a typhoon after the remediation works. These results were consistent with monitoring studies conducted in the same area that showed the major impact of typhoon Etau in September 2015 on sediment and radiocaesium fluxes.

Conclusions

These original results demonstrate that spectrocolourimetric measurements may contribute to the routine monitoring of the effectiveness of remediation works in this post-accidental context. Owing to the inexpensive, rapid and non-destructive analyses, spectrocolourimetric-based tracing methods have significant potential to provide information on the dominant erosion processes occurring in the Critical Zone.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
EUR 32.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or Ebook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price includes VAT (France)

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Brosinsky A, Foerster S, Segl K, López-Tarazón JA, Piqué G, Bronstert A (2014) Spectral fingerprinting: characterizing suspended sediment sources by the use of VNIR-SWIR spectral information. J Soils Sediments 14:1965–1981

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chartin C, Evrard O, Onda Y, Patin J, Lefèvre I, Ottlé C, Ayrault S, Lepage H, Bonté P (2013) Tracking the early dispersion of contaminated sediment along rivers draining the Fukushima radioactive pollution plume. Anthropocene 1:23–34

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chartin C, Evrard O, Laceby JP, Onda Y, Ottlé C, Lefèvre I, Cerdan O (2017) The impact of typhoons on sediment connectivity: lessons learnt from contaminated coastal catchments of the Fukushima Prefecture (Japan). Earth Surf Process Landf 42:306–317

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • CIE C (1978) Publication no. 15, supplement number 2 (E-1.3. 1, 1971) official recommendations on uniform color spaces, color-difference equations, and metric color terms. Commission Internationale de L’Eclairage, Paris

  • CIE CUPC (1931) Commission internationale de l’eclairage proceedings. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

  • Dabrin A, Schäfer J, Bertrand O, Masson M, Blanc G (2014) Origin of suspended matter and sediment inferred from the residual metal fraction: application to the Marennes Oleron Bay, France. Cont Shelf Res 72:119–130

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Debret M, Sebag D, Desmet M, Balsam W, Copard Y, Mourier B, Susperrigui AS, Arnaud F, Bentaleb I, Chapron E, Lallier-Vergès E, Winiarski T (2011) Spectrocolorimetric interpretation of sedimentary dynamics: the new “Q7/4 diagram”. Earth-Sci Rev 109:1–19

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Douglas G, Palmer M, Caitcheon G (2003) The provenance of sediments in Moreton Bay, Australia: a synthesis of major, trace element and Sr-Nd-Pb isotopic geochemistry, modelling and landscape analysis, The interactions between sediments and water. Springer, pp 145–152

  • Evrard O, Poulenard J, Némery J, Ayrault S, Gratiot N, Duvert C, Prat C, Lefèvre I, Bonté P, Esteves M (2013) Tracing sediment sources in a tropical highland catchment of central Mexico by using conventional and alternative fingerprinting methods. Hydrol Process 27:911–922

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Evrard O, Laceby JP, Lepage H, Onda Y, Cerdan O, Ayrault S (2015) Radiocesium transfer from hillslopes to the Pacific Ocean after the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant accident: a review. J Environ Radioact 148:92–110

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Evrard O, Laceby JP, Onda Y, Wakiyama Y, Jaegler H, Lefèvre I (2016) Quantifying the dilution of the radiocesium contamination in Fukushima coastal river sediment (2011–2015). Sci Rep 6:34828

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Evrard O, Laceby JP, Ficetola GF, Gielly L, Huon S, Lefèvre I, Onda Y, Poulenard J (2019) Environmental DNA provides information on sediment sources: a study in catchments affected by Fukushima radioactive fallout. Sci Total Environ 665:873–881

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fan Q, Yamaguchi N, Tanaka M, Tsukada H, Takahashi Y (2014) Relationship between the adsorption species of cesium and radiocesium interception potential in soils and minerals: an EXAFS study. J Environ Radioact 138C:92–100

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fukushima Prefecture (2019) Rainfall and river monitoring (in Japanese). http://kaseninf.pref.fukushima.jp/gis/. Accessed 3 Feb 2019

  • Garzon-Garcia A, Laceby JP, Olley JM, Bunn SE (2017) Differentiating the sources of fine sediment, organic matter and nitrogen in a subtropical Australian catchment. Sci Total Environ 575:1384–1394

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Grimshaw D, Lewin J (1980) Source identification for suspended sediments. J Hydrol 47:151–162

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haddadchi A, Ryder DS, Evrard O, Olley J (2013) Sediment fingerprinting in fluvial systems: review of tracers, sediment sources and mixing models. J Sediment Res 28:560–578

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harris D, Horwath WR, van Kessel C (2001) Acid fumigation of soils to remove carbonates prior to total organic carbon or CARBON-13 isotopic analysis. Soil Sci Soc Am J 65:1853–1856

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • He Q, Walling D (1996) Interpreting particle size effects in the adsorption of 137Cs and unsupported 210Pb by mineral soils and sediments. J Environ Radioact 30:117–137

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Huon S, Hayashi S, Laceby JP, Tsuji H, Onda Y, Evrard O (2018) Source dynamics of radiocesium-contaminated particulate matter deposited in an agricultural water reservoir after the Fukushima nuclear accident. Sci Total Environ 612:1079–1090

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • JAEA (2019) Database for radioactive substance monitoring data (in English). Japan Atomic Energy Agency. https://emdb.jaea.go.jp/emdb/en/. Accessed 3 Feb 2019.

  • Kato H, Onda Y, Teramage M (2012) Depth distribution of 137Cs, 134Cs, and 131I in soil profile after Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident. J Environ Radioact 111:59–64

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kinoshita N, Sueki K, Sasa K, Kitagawa J, Ikarashi S, Nishimura T, Wong YS, Satou Y, Handa K, Takahashi T, Sato M, Yamagata T (2011) Assessment of individual radionuclide distributions from the Fukushima nuclear accident covering central-east Japan. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 108:19526–19529

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Laceby JP, McMahon J, Evrard O, Olley J (2015) A comparison of geological and statistical approaches to element selection for sediment fingerprinting. J Soils Sediments 15:2117–2131

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Laceby JP, Chartin C, Evrard O, Onda Y, Garcia-Sanchez L, Cerdan O (2016a) Rainfall erosivity in catchments contaminated with fallout from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident. Hydrol Earth Syst Sci 20:2467–2482

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Laceby JP, Huon S, Onda Y, Vaury V, Evrard O (2016b) Do forests represent a long-term source of contaminated particulate matter in the Fukushima Prefecture? J Environ Manag 183:742–753

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Laceby JP, Evrard O, Smith HG, Blake WH, Olley JM, Minella JPG, Owens PN (2017) The challenges and opportunities of addressing particle size effects in sediment source fingerprinting: a review. Earth-Sci Rev 169:85–103

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Le Gall M, Evrard O, Dapoigny A, Tiecher T, Zafar M, Minella JPG, Laceby JP, Ayrault S (2017) Tracing sediment sources in a subtropical agricultural catchment of southern Brazil cultivated with conventional and conservation farming practices. Land Degrad Dev 28:1426–1436

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Legout C, Poulenard J, Nemery J, Navratil O, Grangeon T, Evrard O, Esteves M (2013) Quantifying suspended sediment sources during runoff events in headwater catchments using spectrocolorimetry. J Soils Sediments 13:1478–1492

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lepage H, Evrard O, Onda Y, Chartin C, Lefevre I, Sophie A, Bonte P (2014) Tracking the origin and dispersion of contaminated sediments transported by rivers draining the Fukushima radioactive contaminant plume. IAHS-AISH Proceedings and Reports 367:237–243

  • Lepage H, Evrard O, Onda Y, Lefèvre I, Laceby JP, Ayrault S (2015) Depth distribution of cesium-137 in paddy fields across the Fukushima pollution plume in 2013. J Environ Radioact 147:157–164

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lepage H, Laceby JP, Bonté P, Joron J-L, Onda Y, Lefèvre I, Ayrault S, Evrard O (2016) Investigating the source of radiocesium contaminated sediment in two Fukushima coastal catchments with sediment tracing techniques. Anthropocene 13:57–68

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martínez-Carreras N, Krein A, Gallart F, Iffly JF, Pfister L, Hoffmann L, Owens PN (2010a) Assessment of different colour parameters for discriminating potential suspended sediment sources and provenance: a multi-scale study in Luxembourg. Geomorphology 118:118–129

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martínez-Carreras N, Krein A, Udelhoven T, Gallart F, Iffly JF, Hoffmann L, Pfister L, Walling DE (2010b) A rapid spectral-reflectance-based fingerprinting approach for documenting suspended sediment sources during storm runoff events. J Soils Sediments 10:400–413

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Minella JPG, Walling DE, Merten GH (2008) Combining sediment source tracing techniques with traditional monitoring to assess the impact of improved land management on catchment sediment yields. J Hydrol 348:546–563

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Navas A, Lopez-Vicente M, Gaspar L, Palazon L, Quijano L (2014) Establishing a tracer-based sediment budget to preserve wetlands in Mediterranean mountain agroecosystems (NE Spain). Sci Total Environ 496:132–143

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Osawa K, Nonaka Y, Nishimura T, Tanoi K, Matsui H, Mizogichi M, Tatsuno T (2018) Quantification of dissolved and particulate radiocesium fluxes in two rivers draining the main radioactive pollution plume in Fukushima, Japan (2013–2016). Anthropocene 22:40–50

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Owens PN, Batalla RJ, Collins AJ, Gomez B, Hicks DM, Horowitz AJ, Kondolf GM, Marden M, Page MJ, Peacock DH, Petticrew EL, Salomons W, Trustrum NA (2005) Fine-grained sediment in river systems: environmental significance and management issues. River Res Appl 21:693–717

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Owens PN, Blake WH, Gaspar L, Gateuille D, Koiter AJ, Lobb DA, Petticrew EL, Reiffarth DG, Smith HG, Woodward JC (2016) Fingerprinting and tracing the sources of soils and sediments: earth and ocean science, geoarchaeological, forensic, and human health applications. Earth-Sci Rev 162:1–23

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Poulenard J, Perrette Y, Fanget B, Quetin P, Trevisan D, Dorioz JM (2009) Infrared spectroscopy tracing of sediment sources in a small rural watershed (French Alps). Sci Total Environ 407:2808–8219

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Poulenard J, Legout C, Némery J, Bramorski J, Navratil O, Douchin A, Fanget B, Perrette Y, Evrard O, Esteves M (2012) Tracing sediment sources during floods using Diffuse Reflectance Infrared Fourier Transform Spectrometry (DRIFTS): a case study in a highly erosive mountainous catchment (Southern French Alps). J Hydrol 414-415:452–462

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pulley S, Rowntree K (2016) The use of an ordinary colour scanner to fingerprint sediment sources in the South African Karoo. J Environ Manag 165:253–262

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Smith HG, Blake WH (2014) Sediment fingerprinting in agricultural catchments: a critical re-examination of source discrimination and data corrections. Geomorphology 204:177–191

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strunk N (1992) Case studies of variations in suspended matter transport in small catchments, sediment/water interactions. Springer, pp 247–255

  • Takahashi J, Onda Y, Hihara D, Tamura K (2018) Six-year monitoring of the vertical distribution of radiocesium in three forest soils after the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident. J Environ Radioact 192:172–180

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Thothong W, Huon S, Janeau J-L, Boonsaner A, de Rouw A, Planchon O, Bardoux G, Parkpian P (2011) Impact of land use change and rainfall on sediment and carbon accumulation in a water reservoir of North Thailand. Agric Ecosyst Environ 140:521–533

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tiecher T, Caner L, Minella JP, dos Santos DR (2015) Combining visible-based-color parameters and geochemical tracers to improve sediment source discrimination and apportionment. Sci Total Environ 527(528):135–149

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Viscarra Rossel RA, Minasny B, Roudier P, McBratney AB (2006) Colour space models for soil science. Geoderma 133:320–337

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Walling DE (2013) The evolution of sediment source fingerprinting investigations in fluvial systems. J Soils Sediments 13:1658–1675

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yasutaka T, Naito W (2016) Assessing cost and effectiveness of radiation decontamination in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. J Environ Radioact 151:512–520

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yoshimura K, Onda Y, Kato H (2014) Evaluation of radiocaesium wash-off by soil erosion from various land uses using USLE plots. J Environ Radioact 139:362–369

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work has been supported by the French National Research Agency (ANR) in the framework of the TOFU (ANR-11-JAPN-001) and AMORAD (ANR-11-RSNR-0002) projects. The assistance of Jeremy Patin, Philippe Bonté, Caroline Chartin, Hugo Lepage, Hugo Jaegler and Rosalie Vandromme for fieldwork and/or labwork was greatly appreciated.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement (LSCE/IPSL), Unité Mixte de Recherche 8212 (CEA/CNRS/UVSQ), Université Paris-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette, France

    Olivier Evrard, Roxanne Durand, Anthony Foucher, Virginie Sellier & Irène Lefèvre

  2. Department of Soil Science, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil

    Tales Tiecher

  3. Center for Research in Isotopes and Environmental Dynamics (CRIED), University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan

    Yuichi Onda

  4. Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières (BRGM), DRP/RIG, Orléans, France

    Olivier Cerdan

  5. Environmental Monitoring and Science Division (EMSD), Alberta Environment and Parks (AEP), 3115-12 Street NE, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

    J. Patrick Laceby

Authors
  1. Olivier Evrard
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Roxanne Durand
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Anthony Foucher
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Tales Tiecher
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Virginie Sellier
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Yuichi Onda
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Irène Lefèvre
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Olivier Cerdan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. J. Patrick Laceby
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Olivier Evrard.

Additional information

Responsible editor: William H. Blake

Publisher’s note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Evrard, O., Durand, R., Foucher, A. et al. Using spectrocolourimetry to trace sediment source dynamics in coastal catchments draining the main Fukushima radioactive pollution plume (2011–2017). J Soils Sediments 19, 3290–3301 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-019-02302-w

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-019-02302-w

Keywords

Search

Navigation