P. G. Sly Canada Centre Inland Waters, P.O. Box 5050, Burlington, Ontario L7R 4A6, Canada Keywords: symposium, sediments, freshwater Following the highly successful First Symposium work of the symposium: on Research into the Interactions between Sedi- I. Summary of sediment dynamics and distribu- ments and Freshwater held in Amsterdam, in 1976, tion in fluvial and lacustrine environments. it was decided that a second symposium in this 2. Land use effects on sediment yields,and quality. series should be held to continue the discussions on 3. Sediments in mass balance models, including progress in this rapidly expanding field of aquatic total loadings. science. The Second Symposium was held at 4. Sediments as concentrating mechanisms of nat- Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, between 15 ural and anthropogenic, organic and inorganic and 18 June 1981. It was originally intended to hold materials. the meeting in Toronto a year earlier, but because 5. Release mechanisms, and transfer to biosystem, of difficulties in planning and the high cost of ac- from bed and suspended solids. commodation it was necessary to revise the original 6. Short- and long-term dating methods, spatial program and schedule. and temporai consistency, bioturbation and dif- The symposium received generous support from fusion.