Appraisal of a simple sampling device for collecting time-integrated fluvial suspended sediment samples

Geochemical analysis of suspended sediment is a key requirement in nutrient and contaminant transfer studies, but the collection of fluvial suspended sediment samples is problematic due to the highly episodic nature of its transport. Traditional approaches involve the collection of instantaneous samples, but uncertainties regarding intra- and inter-stor- m variations in sediment-associated nutrient and contaminant concentrations introduce problems in establishing the total sediment-associated flux. This paper assesses the effectiveness of a simple, inexpensive, in situ sampler that collects a time-integrated sample of fluvial suspended sediment. The representativeness of the samples collected by the sampler was confirmed by comparing measurements of a range of geochemical propertie- s of the sediment collected by the sampler with equivalent measurements undertaken on manual point samples collected during the period of sampler deployment. The potential for using the time-integrated sediment samples collected by the sampler is demonstrated by presenting an example of suspended sediment source fingerprinting.