Continental scale inverse modeling of common organic water contaminants in European rivers

The paper presents an analysis of measured riverine concentrations of 16 common organic water contaminants. From observed concentrations we back-calculate emissions and chemical half lives through a simple inverse model. The analysis does not allow identifying a single half life/emission factor combination, but a set of combinations which are Pareto-optimal (or “non-dominated”). The approach is shown to provide a rational basis for the screening of chemicals in rivers: with reference to the 16 chemicals considered here, estimated emission factors and half lives are consistent with the ones reported in other studies. For more precise estimates, prior knowledge about either emission factors or half lives is necessary. For the considered chemicals, loads to European seas can be subsequently estimated with an uncertainty usually within a factor of 2. The approach can be proposed for the inventorying of catchment-specific chemical pollutant emissions required for European environmental policies.

► Inverse modeling of emissions from river concentrations of common organic compounds.
► Fluxes estimated from observations through parameters half life & emission factor.
► The method is easy to include in any routine evaluation of monitoring results.
► It provides insights on chemical fate over large domains (as continental Europe).
► The method brings tightly together and interprets modeling and monitoring jointly.