Assessing the impact of the turbulence of river flow on variations in the concentrations of nutrients

Abstract

The article analyses the fourth-order stream of the Baltic Sea, which is a tributary that has remained in the riverbed as a result of natural river stretches not corresponding to the status of good water quality. The paper examines separate river stretches representing maximum changes in the hydraulic gradient and investigates the dependence of variations in the concentrations of biogenic nutrients on river flow velocity, i.e. turbulence, defining it by the Reynolds criterion. The calculation of the coefficient of self-purification provides that the river flowing downstream is 100 % self-purified and removes all nitrates and 61 % of phosphates. The content of dissolved oxygen at the confluence of the river in spring was by 5.5 % larger than that at the headwaters, whereas in the summer season, the difference in the content of dissolved oxygen in river water between the headwaters and confluence increased and made 25 %. The conducted research has disclosed that the dynamics of river flow affects water quality, and therefore, for selecting monitoring places, land use structure or economic entities situated around the sampling point as well as the nature of the river flow itself must be considered.