Water quality fluxes for eastern UK rivers entering the North Sea: a summary of information from the Land Ocean Interaction Study (LOIS)

Abstract

Over the past decade a major initiative examined the chemical flux transfers from eastern UK Rivers to the North Sea as part of an ambitious community research programme, the Land Ocean Interaction Study (LOIS). In this paper, a compilation of data on flux and flux per unit area for five major river basins, the Tweed, the Wear, the Humber, the Great Ouse and the Thames is presented based on an extensive riverine monitoring programme within the LOIS. The compilation includes details on the fluxes of major, minor and trace elements as well as the nutrients and sediments. In the process, the flux inputs are related to the major tributary sources for these basins and compared with earlier studies based on complementary information for eastern UK Rivers entering the North Sea collected within the Harmonized Monitoring Scheme. The significance of the southern Humber Rivers to pollution fluxes to the North Sea is highlighted in relation to the predominance of urban and industrial sources.