The concentration-discharge slope as a tool for water quality management.

Recent technological breakthroughs of optical sensors and analysers have enabled matching the water quality measurement interval to the time scales of stream flow changes and led to an improved understanding of spatially and temporally heterogeneous sources and delivery pathways for many solutes and particulates. This new ability to match the chemograph with the hydrograph has promoted renewed interest in the concentration-discharge (c-q) relationship and its value in characterizing catchment storage, time lags and legacy effects for both weathering products and anthropogenic pollutants. In this paper we evaluated the stream c-q relationships for a number of water quality determinands (phosphorus, suspended sediments, nitrogen) in intensively managed agricultural catchments based on both high-frequency (sub-hourly) and long-term low-frequency (fortnightly-monthly) routine monitoring data.

Seasonal persistence of faecal indicator organisms in soil following dairy slurry application to land by surface broadcasting and shallow injection.

Dairy farming generates large volumes of liquid manure (slurry), which is ultimately recycled to agricultural land as a valuable source of plant nutrients. Different methods of slurry application to land exist; some spread the slurry to the sward surface whereas others deliver the slurry under the sward and into the soil, thus helping to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agriculture. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of two slurry application methods (surface broadcast versus shallow injection) on the survival of faecal indicator organisms (FIOs) delivered via dairy slurry to replicated grassland plots across contrasting seasons.

Unravelling organic matter and nutrient biogeochemistry in groundwater-fed rivers under baseflow conditions: Uncertainty in in situ high-frequency analysis.

In agricultural catchments, diffuse nutrient fluxes (mainly nitrogen N and phosphorus P), are observed to pollute receiving waters and cause eutrophication. Organic matter (OM) is important in mediating biogeochemical processes in freshwaters. Time series of the variation in nutrient and OM loads give insights into flux processes and their impact on biogeochemistry but are costly to maintain and challenging to analyse for elements that are highly reactive in the environment.

Molecular tools for bathing water assessment in Europe: Balancing social science research with a rapidly developing environmental science evidence-base.

The use of molecular tools, principally qPCR, versus traditional culture-based methods for quantifying microbial parameters (e.g., Fecal Indicator Organisms) in bathing waters generates considerable ongoing debate at the science-policy interface.

Impact of low intensity summer rainfall on E. coli-discharge event dynamics with reference to sample acquisition and storage.

Understanding the role of different rainfall scenarios on faecal indicator organism (FIO) dynamics under variable field conditions is important to strengthen the evidence base on which regulators and land managers can base informed decisions regarding diffuse microbial pollution risks. We sought to investigate the impact of low intensity summer rainfall on Escherichia coli-discharge (Q) patterns at the headwater catchment scale in order to provide new empirical data on FIO concentrations observed during baseflow conditions. In addition, we evaluated the potential impact of using automatic samplers to collect and store freshwater samples for subsequent microbial analysis during summer storm sampling campaigns.