Weekly water quality monitoring data for the River Thames (UK) and its major tributaries (2009–2013): the Thames Initiative research platform
2018
Abstract. The River Thames and 15 of its major tributaries have been
monitored at weekly intervals since March 2009. Monitored
determinands include major nutrient fractions, anions, cations,
metals, pH, alkalinity, and chlorophyll a and are linked to mean daily
river flows at each site. This catchment-wide biogeochemical monitoring
platform captures changes in the water quality of the Thames basin during a
period of rapid change, related to increasing pressures (due to a rapidly
growing human population, increasing water demand and climate change) and
improvements in sewage treatment processes and agricultural practices. The
platform provides the research community with a valuable data and modelling
resource for furthering our understanding of pollution sources and dynamics,
as well as interactions between water quality and aquatic ecology. Combining
Thames Initiative data with previous (non-continuous) monitoring data sets
from many common study sites, dating back to 1997, has shown that there have
been major reductions in phosphorus concentrations at most sites, occurring
at low river flow, and these are principally due to reduced loadings from
sewage treatment works (STWs). This ongoing monitoring programme will provide
the vital underpinning environmental data required to best manage this vital
drinking water resource, which is key for the sustainability of the city of
London and the wider UK economy. The Thames Initiative data set is freely
available from the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology's (CEH) Environmental
Information Data Centre at
https://doi.org/10.5285/e4c300b1-8bc3-4df2-b23a-e72e67eef2fd .
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