Transport van nutriënten door rivieren naar de kustwateren van China

Samenvatting (in Engels)

Rivers export considerable amounts of nutrients to Chinese seas, causing
eutrophication. I developed the MARINA model (Model to Assess River Inputs of Nutrients to seAs) to analyse causes and effects of coastal water pollution in China and to explore solutions to reduce this pollution in the future.

My findings can be summarized as follows: Nitrogen and phosphorus export by Chinese rivers increased by a factor of 2-8 between 1970 and 2000. As a result, the potential for coastal eutrophication was higher in 2000 than in 1970. Most of dissolved nutrients was exported from middle- and downstream human activities. An important polluter is animal production directly discharging manure to Chinese rivers and thus causing eutrophication. In the future, it is possible to avoid water pollution by recycling manure and treating sewage waste efficiently