Integrating the Chemical Fluxes of Transported Sediments in Large Rivers: AN Attempt on the Ganga

Large rivers are the main conveyors of continental material to the oceans through sediment and dissolved fluxes. The redistribution of elements is fundamental in Earth surface processes and central in various biogeochemical cycles. The nature of the exported continental material is a function of the processes operating in the river’s catchment. From external forcings such as climate, tectonics or anthropogenic activity, having a strong control on erosion and weathering, to transport dynamics and sediment storage in flood plain, chemical elements are segregated from source to sink. Evaluating the composition of the exported sediments is thus essential in our understanding of large scale processes. This raises the problem of integrating the sediments chemical composition both spatially in a river section and…