Development of novel 2D and 3D correlative microscopy to characterise the composition and multiscale structure of suspended sediment aggregates

Suspended cohesive sediments form aggregates or ‘flocs’ and are often closely associated with carbon, nutrients, pathogens and pollutants, which makes understanding their composition, transport and fate highly desirable. Accurate prediction of floc behaviour requires the quantification of 3-dimensional (3D) properties (size, shape and internal structure) that span several scales (i.e. nanometre [nm] to millimetre [mm]-scale). Traditional …