Contamination of sediments with trace metals and historical organic substances in backwaters of the Elbe river

摘要

The German Elbe river flood plain has more than 1,000 individual backwaters covering an area of altogether 50 km(2(2)). In the context of setting up a concept for a basin-wide sediment management by the International Commission for the Protection of the Elbe (IKSE), this study has been initiated in order to inform the IKSE on the relevance of backwater sediments for the Elbe river's water quality. Prior to this, very few information was available on the contamination of sediments and the extent of their exchange with the major river.