Impact of extreme climatic events on the spatial and temporal distribution of major and trace elements in bed sediments of reservoirs in the Dominican Republic

Abstract

The Dominican Republic has a tropical climate intensified by periods of extreme hydrometeorological events that occur almost every year. This climate, in a volcanic region with pronounced slopes and fine-grained soils, enhance the transport and deposition of the finer particles in lakes, causing high sedimentation rates and decreasing water quality. Studies carried out in two reservoirs located near the higher mountainous zone (Cordillera Central), with identical lithology in the drainage basins and distinct climatic conditions (Tavera at North with greater precipitation, Sabana Yegua (SY) at South, under drier weather), tried to evaluate the influence of the climate and ECE in their sedimentation.