A global review of river sediment contamination and remobilization through climate change-induced flooding
Sadia Lena Alfee, Michelle Bloor
Abstract
A global systematic literature review of river sediment contamination was undertaken, based on secondary data published between 2015 and 2023, to identify the key challenges. It further explores how incidents of flooding, driven by climate change, can exacerbate the remobilization of contaminants, and cautiously discusses their potential pathway to the human food chain. As would be predicted, the research demonstrates that the chemical contamination of river sediment is not consistent worldwide. It was also found that often non-standardized approaches to sampling and sample preparation were reported in the published literature, which has implications for the credibility and replicability of research data, making comparison studies challenging and limiting the pool of data for use in data-driven decision-making. Finally, the authors have made five key policy-relevant, not policy-prescriptive recommendations for stakeholders and policymakers to address gaps in the information pool.