Turbidity
Turbidity is a cloudiness or haziness of water caused by individual particles that are too small to be seen without magnification, thus being much like
smoke in air.
Encyclopedia
Turbidity is a cloudiness or haziness of water caused by individual particles that are too small to be seen without magnification, thus being much like
smoke in air.
Explanation
Fluids can contain suspended solid matter consisting of particles of many different sizes . While some suspended material will be large enough and heavy enough to settle rapidly to the bottom of a container if a liquid sample is left to stand , very small particles will settle only very slowly or not at all if the sample is regularly agitated or the particles are colloidal. These small solid particles cause the liquid to appear
turbid. Measurement of turbidity is a key test of water quality.
Measurement of turbidity
There are several practical ways of quantifying cloudiness in water, the most direct being some measure of attenuation of light as it passes through a sample column of water. The now little-used Jackson Candle method is essentially the inverse measure of the length of a column of water needed to completely obscure a candle flame viewed through it. The more water needed , the clearer the water. Of course water alone produces some attentuation, and any substances dissolved in the water that produce color can attenuate some wavelengths. Modern instruments do not use candles, but this approach of attenuation of a light beam through a column of water should be calibrated and reported in JTUs.
A property of the particles — that they will scatter a light beam focused on them — is considered a more meaningful measure of turbidity in water. Turbidity measured this way uses an instrument called a
nephelometer with the detector setup to the side of the light beam. More light reaches the detector if there are lots of small particles scattering the source beam than if there are few. The units of turbidity from a calibrated nephelometer are called Nephelometric Turbidity Units . To some extent, how much light reflects for a given amount of particulates is dependent upon properties of the particles like their shape, color, and reflectivity. For this reason , a correlation between turbidity and TSS is somewhat unique for each location or situation.
Turbidity in lakes, reservoirs, and the ocean can be measured using a
Secchi disk. This black and white disk is lowered into the water until it can no longer be seen; the depth is then recorded as a measure of the transparency of the water . The Secchi disk has the advantages of integrating turbidity over depth , being quick and easy to use, and inexpensive. It can provide a rough indication of the depth of the euphotic zone with a 3-fold multiplication of the
Secchi depth. However, this cannot be used in shallow waters where the disk can still be
seen on the bottom.
Standards
There are frequently standards on the allowable turbidity in drinking water. In the
United States the allowable standard is 1 NTU, with many drinking water utilities striving to achieve levels as low as 0.1 NTU.
See also
External links
- Understanding Turbidity: http://ga2.er.usgs.gov/bacteria/helpturbidity.cfm
- How turbidity is measured: http://water.usgs.gov/owq/FieldManual/Chapter6/6.7_contents.html
