9th International SedNet Conference 2015

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Sediments and society – what is the connection? Sediments – unseen or unnoticed most of the time – have a variety of impacts on human activities and vice versa, particularly along rivers.

 

If the river is used for shipping, too much sediment may become an obstacle. The foundations of bridges may become unstable if too little sediment is available, creating a safety risk. After flooding, sediments are distributed over flood plains and with increased construction in natural flood plains these sediments add to the clean-up efforts and may become a health issue if contaminated. Even more dangerous are the mud and debris flows that can occur during larger floods.

 

Our aquatic resources are linked to sediment with its many and sometimes conflicting ecosystem services: recycling of nutrients, providing habitats for fish, adsorbing pollutants… But different ecosystem services are accompanied by different interests. How to deal along a watershed with too much or too little sediment? What to do about contaminated sediment that is mobile and may be taken downstream with the next flood? Or what about the contamination that stays in place but affects the local ecology and regional communities? Does contaminated mean “dangerous”? What is “too much” or “enough” sediment in a river and does it justify e.g. dredging or sand exploitation or are there alternatives?

 

Different countries have different experiences with the quantity and quality of sediments in their rivers, and with dealing with the challenges that arise from there. The role, attributed function and perception of sediments influence the way it is managed in a river system. At the core of the SedNet conference in 2015 will be the link between sediment and society, and the exchange of knowledge and respective experiences on an international level. Sediments are an integral part of the river system. Is this role acknowledged in a sufficient way?

Conference Programme

• Sediments and society (23 September, morning)
• Sediment quality and perception (23 September, afternoon)
• Sediment in historical and recent mining areas (23 September, afternoon)
• Sediment remediation and uses (23 September, afternoon)
• Valuing sediments and their services (24 September, morning)
• Understanding sediment fluxes and budgets on a river basin scale (25 September, morning)
• Building with dredged material and/or sediment (25 September, morning)

 

Place:

Krakow

Date:

23-26 September 2015

Organizer:

AGH University of Science and Technology,
Faculty of Geology, Geophysics and Environmental Protection

Contact person:

Professor Edeltrauda Helios-Rybicka

WWW:

www.sednet.org/conference2015.htm

 

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