Fieldwork on the Carnon River at Restronguet Creek

The Fal Estuary at Restronguet Creek is a heavily contaminated water body. The main contamination source of this estuary is the Carnon River which drains a mining valley (Carnon Valley). The Carnon River has been studied extensively and I hope that my project can further contribute to this. Part of my PhD project focuses on this site, looking at the mine waste and its effects on the estuary. I have researched previous studies on the area to get a better understanding of this valley in order to figure out what is going on. In December Karen Hudson-Edwards, Rich Crane, Patrizia Onnis and I carried out some fieldwork, following COVID 19 guidelines, collecting sediment samples and determining the river’s pH (see photograph on the right). The sediment samples will give us an idea of the geochemistry of the Carnon Valley recording the spatial distribution of contaminants there. Even though it was December and quite chilly, we sampled the area over 2 and a half days and collected over 23 sediment samples at 17 sites! We found some very interesting sites that I hope will give great results in January, when I will be able to go into the lab to analyse these sediments. The next step is to go out and collect some water samples for trace metal, cation, and anion concentrations, along with pH, temperature, and electrical conductivity measurements. It has been a great start to my PhD, and I look forward to recommencing this work the New Year.

‌‌

Last modified: Mon, 04 Jan 2021 13:58:49 GMT