Changes in DOM and alum doses for two rivers of contrasting catchments after intense wildfires

The dynamics of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in two river waters were investigated after their catchments had been severely burnt in the 2019/20 Australian wildfires. Shortly after these wildfires, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations were recorded at high levels (∼ 19 mg/L & 30 mg/L)...

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Main Authors: Daraei, Hiua, Awad, John, Leavesley, Adam, Agnew, Mark, Jones, Eriita, Gale, Matthew, Cinque, Kathy, Bertone, Edoardo, Van Leeuwen, John
Format: Journal Article
Published: 2024
Online Access:http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/LP160100217
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/96322
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author Daraei, Hiua
Awad, John
Leavesley, Adam
Agnew, Mark
Jones, Eriita
Gale, Matthew
Cinque, Kathy
Bertone, Edoardo
Van Leeuwen, John
author_facet Daraei, Hiua
Awad, John
Leavesley, Adam
Agnew, Mark
Jones, Eriita
Gale, Matthew
Cinque, Kathy
Bertone, Edoardo
Van Leeuwen, John
author_sort Daraei, Hiua
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description The dynamics of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in two river waters were investigated after their catchments had been severely burnt in the 2019/20 Australian wildfires. Shortly after these wildfires, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations were recorded at high levels (∼ 19 mg/L & 30 mg/L) and these became much lower (up to ∼80% less) in the following winter when river flows had increased. Satellite imagery-based data indicated up to 95% of catchment areas burnt and up to ∼50% subsequent vegetation recoveries after two years. Shifts in burn index values for the burnt areas coincided with DOC concentration variations. Specific colour of waters increased up to 40% as daily river flows increased, indicating higher input of humic content from the burnt catchments. Chlorophyll-a was detected at highest levels in waters soon after the fires when river flows were lowest. Enhanced alum doses were predicted using two feed-forward models; one based on DOC and turbidity data and the other based on UV@254nm, colour and turbidity. Doses predicted using the two models showed high correlations (r > 0.9) and were highest for waters directly after the fires. These models were developed for diverse source waters including those impacted by extreme climate events.
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institution Curtin University Malaysia
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publishDate 2024
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-963222025-01-07T05:56:59Z Changes in DOM and alum doses for two rivers of contrasting catchments after intense wildfires Daraei, Hiua Awad, John Leavesley, Adam Agnew, Mark Jones, Eriita Gale, Matthew Cinque, Kathy Bertone, Edoardo Van Leeuwen, John The dynamics of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in two river waters were investigated after their catchments had been severely burnt in the 2019/20 Australian wildfires. Shortly after these wildfires, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations were recorded at high levels (∼ 19 mg/L & 30 mg/L) and these became much lower (up to ∼80% less) in the following winter when river flows had increased. Satellite imagery-based data indicated up to 95% of catchment areas burnt and up to ∼50% subsequent vegetation recoveries after two years. Shifts in burn index values for the burnt areas coincided with DOC concentration variations. Specific colour of waters increased up to 40% as daily river flows increased, indicating higher input of humic content from the burnt catchments. Chlorophyll-a was detected at highest levels in waters soon after the fires when river flows were lowest. Enhanced alum doses were predicted using two feed-forward models; one based on DOC and turbidity data and the other based on UV@254nm, colour and turbidity. Doses predicted using the two models showed high correlations (r > 0.9) and were highest for waters directly after the fires. These models were developed for diverse source waters including those impacted by extreme climate events. 2024 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/96322 10.2166/wcc.2024.281 http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/LP160100217 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ fulltext
spellingShingle Daraei, Hiua
Awad, John
Leavesley, Adam
Agnew, Mark
Jones, Eriita
Gale, Matthew
Cinque, Kathy
Bertone, Edoardo
Van Leeuwen, John
Changes in DOM and alum doses for two rivers of contrasting catchments after intense wildfires
title Changes in DOM and alum doses for two rivers of contrasting catchments after intense wildfires
title_full Changes in DOM and alum doses for two rivers of contrasting catchments after intense wildfires
title_fullStr Changes in DOM and alum doses for two rivers of contrasting catchments after intense wildfires
title_full_unstemmed Changes in DOM and alum doses for two rivers of contrasting catchments after intense wildfires
title_short Changes in DOM and alum doses for two rivers of contrasting catchments after intense wildfires
title_sort changes in dom and alum doses for two rivers of contrasting catchments after intense wildfires
url http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/LP160100217
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/96322