The global I.A.G./A.I.G. SEDIBUD (Sediment Budgets in Cold Environments) programme: Introduction and overview

Abstract

Amplified climate change and the ecological sensitivity of polar and cold environments has been highlighted as a key global environmental issue. The connected effects will change surface water environments in cold environments and alter the flux of sediment, nutrients and solutes, but the absence of data and analyses to understand the sensitivity of the surface water environment is acute in cold regions. The I.A.G./A.I.G. SEDIBUD working group has been formed to address this key knowledge gap. The central research question of this global group of researchers is to assess the contemporary sediment fluxes in cold environments, with emphasis on both particulate and dissolved components. Selected SEDIBUD key test sites will report annual climate conditions as well as total discharge and particulate and dissolved fluxes. To support these efforts, the first edition of the SEDIFLUX manual has been produced to establish common methods and data standards, which facilitates inter-comparison of research results.