Turbidity sensors
Contents
Introduction
Definition
Turbidity is defined as the reduction of transparency of a liquid caused by the presence of undissolved suspended matter.[1] The origin of the particles found in seawater can be mineral (such as clay and silts) or organic (such as particulate organic matter or living organisms like plankton). Turbidity is not, however, a direct measure of suspended particles in water, but a measure of the scattering effect such particles have on light.
Measurements of Turbidity throughout history
The first record of turbidity being approached in a scientific way, is attributed to the head of the Papal Navy in 1865, Commander Cialdi. Commander Cialdi was interested in the transparency of the sea and the visibility of its floor (for navigational purposes) and during his research he had read that a captain had reported seeing a plate in a net at a depth of 40 m. Commander Cialdi commenced his investigation on the sea visibility and immediately tried several different disc sizes and colors. Later, he hired the services of Professor Pietro Angelo Secchi, an Italian scholar and priest. Together they published Sur la Transparence de la Mer.(On the transparency of the Sea) where they described the development of a white disk connected to a pole or a cable to measure the transparency of the sea. Secchi made further observations on the influence of the boat's shadow, the surface reflection of the light, the clearness of the sky, and the height at which the observer stands[2]. While his method has been used ever since and it is still used today as a qualitative measure of the oceans' turbidity, it has never been standardized so its accuracy is very limited.
The first attempt to measure turbidity in a standardized fashion was made by Whipple and Jackson in 1900. Whipple and Jackson developed a standard suspension fluid using 1,000 parts per million (ppm) of diatomaceous earth in distilled water to use as a scale and a turbidimeter (Jackson candle turbidimeter). The method consists in placing a lit candle under a flat-bottomed tube in which the water in poured until the image of the candles fades unto a glare when observed from above. The height of the water would be read against the ppm-silica scale and units were given in Jackson turbidity units (JTU). Needless is to say that this method is prone to errors too, as the diatomaceous earth varies in its composition and the reading is subjected to the observer.
In 1926, Kingsbury and Clark discovered formazin, a suspension that is created by the polymerization of hexamethylenetetramine and hydrazine sulfate in water. This new suspension improved greatly the consistency in standards formulation. Measuring units were renamed to formazin turbidity units (FTU). Several techniques were developed throughout the years with different light sources and scale systems, but in the end they were all still dependent on the observer's subjectivity.
Finally, turbidity measurement standards changed in the 1970's when the nephelometric turbidimeter, or nephelometer, was developed which determines turbidity by the light scattered at an angle of 90° from the incident beam. A 90° detection angle is considered to be the least sensitive to variations in particle size (see Light Scattering Properties bellow)
Turbidity Sensors
Light Scattering Properties
A water sample that contains non-dissolved particles attenuates the incident light and in addition, the particles diffuse the light unequally in all directions. The diffusion of the radiation towards the front generated by the particles, changes the attenuation in such way that the relative spectral attenuation coefficient [math] \mu (\lambda)[/math] is the sum of the spectral diffusion coefficients [math] s (\lambda)[/math] and the spectral absorption coefficient [math] \alpha (\lambda)[/math].
[math] \mu (\lambda)\ = s (\lambda) + \alpha (\lambda)[/math]
Causes and Impacts of turbidity in Marine Ecosystems
High turbidity has a number of detrimental effects on aquatic ecosystems: decrease in light penetration (limiting plant growth), fish movements and the ability of predatory fish and birds to see their prey. High turbidity means high concentration of suspended solids, which can harm fish and other aquatic fauna. These suspended solids in the process of settling down to the ocean bottom have a choking effect on bottom dwelling organisms and aquatic habitats.[3]
See also
References
- ↑ ISO 7027, Water Quality, International Standard,1999
- ↑ Tyler, John E. , 1968, THE SECCHI DISC, LIMNOLOGY AND OCEANOGRAPHY, vol.8, no. 1
- ↑ Saba Mylvaganam, Torgeir Jakobsen, 1998, TURBIDITY SENSOR FOR UNDERWATER APPLICATIONS Sensor Design and System Performance with Calibration Results, OCEANS '98 Conference Proceedings, Vol.1, 158-161
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