Effluents, surface and subterranean waters monitoring: review and advances

Surface and runoff waters should be characterized and monitored according to mandatory legislation inwesterncountries. Many legislations have hitherto neglected consequences of these waters; but since they impact on rivers, seas, subterranean matrices, they need to be monitored and data have to be processed. The paper illustrates, as review, passed and recent findings of the authors, proposing an approach that traces out: real-time and in-situ monitoring of rivers, lakes, seawaters; optical detection systems with three innovative examples; monitoring sediments by means of turbidity measurements; the use of infrared thermography for characterizing some components encompassed in waters and the effects of contaminated waters running off roads.