INTERACTIONS BETWEEN SEDIMENTS AND WATER SUMMARY OF THE 7TH INTERNATIONAL-SYMPOSIUM

The interactions between sediments and water have received increased e mphasis over the last two decades, leading to a greater understanding of physical chemical and biological processes in a wide range of aquat ic systems including river, lake, estuarine and coastal systems. This new understanding has fostered research and assessment projects, and f ocused awareness on the implications of sediment/water interactions fo r policy and regulation. The international symposium on ''The Interact ions Between Sediments and Water'' held in Baveno, Italy from 22-26 Se ptember 1996 was the seventh in a series of symposia held since 1976. All focused on issues relating to processes which occur near the sedim ent/water interface as well as responses to interactions between sedim ents and water. Previous symposia were held in Amsterdam in 1976, King ston (Canada) in 1982, Geneva in 1984, Melbourne in 1986, Uppsala in 1 990 and Santa Barbara in 1993. Almost 200 oral and poster presentation s were made by attendees representing 27 nations, including dozens of participants from developing countries. The scientific sessions were o rganized around the following themes: sediment/water dynamics, contami nant interactions, sediment/nutrient relationships, sediments as histo rical records of deposition, sediment/water science in remote areas, s ediment/organism interactions, and novel methods and analytical qualit y control. This paper attempts to summarize the key highlights of the various sessions.