Skip to content

Ask an Academic

  • Home
  • Ask a Question
  • Contact Us
Laboratory equipment

Dissolved Oxygen and Turbidity – An Inverse Relationship

September 25, 2019 by AskanAcademic.com

Turbidity describes the degree of haziness or cloudiness of a fluid, caused by particles suspended within it (Park, 2007). In bodies of ...

Question

What is the relationship between Dissolved Oxygen and Turbidity?

Answer

Turbidity describes the degree of haziness or cloudiness of a fluid, caused by particles suspended within it (Park, 2007). In bodies of water, turbidity can be used as a measure of quality; with higher turbidity indicating lower quality, and less turbidity (and therefore higher clarity) indicating higher quality (EPA, 2003). Dissolved oxygen (DO) describes the amount of gaseous oxygen (O2) dissolved in water and held in solution (Allaby, 2015). Highly turbid water contains less DO, whilst less turbidity correlates with more DO. Oxygen is among the most vital environmental factors in supporting life (Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 2003), and water quality and DO levels are key determinants of survival, growth and reproduction of aquatic organisms. Generally, levels of DO decline with increasing pollution (Allaby, 2015). As such, conditions of high turbidity and low levels of DO negatively impact aquatic species. Low DO concentrations cause reduced growth rates, altered distributions and behaviours, and increased mortalities of aquatic organisms; which in turn lead to significant alterations in aquatic ecosystems (Breitburg 2002). DO concentrations of 5 parts per million (ppm) are recommended for healthy aquatic vegetation and fish, (Francis-Floyd, 1992). When DO concentrations drop to 2 ppm or below, aquatic organisms become stressed; below 1 ppm can be fatal (Francis-Floyd, 1992).

Rising water turbidity limits light penetration through water, limiting aquatic photosynthetic potential (Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, 2016) and reducing oxygen content. This again illustrates the negative relationship between DO and turbidity. It also means that gross primary production (GPP) decreases with increasing turbidity (Hall et al, 2015; Figure 1). This negative correlation is paralleled by the concomitant negative correlation between decreasing DO and increasing turbidity. In conclusion, there is an inverse relationship between turbidity and DO, and this relationship can be observed and measured readily in aquatic ecosystems.

enter image description here

Figure 1. Graph illustrating the declines in gross primary production (GPP) observed with increasing turbidity in the Colorado River, Grand Canyon. Taken from Hall et al, 2015.

References

Allaby, M., 2015. A Dictionary of Ecology, 5th Edition. Oxford University Press: http://www.oxfordreference.com.ezproxy.library.qmul.ac.uk/view/10.1093/acref/9780191793158.001.0001/acref-9780191793158-e-1647?rskey=2G2Vff&result=3 [Accessed 15th November 2016]

Breitburg, D. L. 2002. Effects of hypoxia, and the balance between hypoxia and enrichment, on coastal fishes and fisheries. Estuaries: 25; 767-781.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 2003. Ambient Water Quality Criteria for Dissolved Oxygen, Water Clarity and Chlorophyll a for the Chesapeake Bay and Its Tidal Tributaries.

http://www.chesapeakebay.net/content/publications/cbp_13142.pdf [Accessed 15th November 2016]

Francis-Floyd, R., 1992. Fisheries and Aquatic Series. University of Florida: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fa002 [Accessed 15th November 2016]

Hall, R. O., Yackulic, C. B., Kennedy, T. A., Yard, M. D., Rosi-Marshall, E. J., Voichick, N., Behn. K. E., 2015. Turbidity, light, temperature, and hydropeaking control primary productivity in the Colorado River, Grand Canyon. Limnology and Oceanology: 60 (2); 512–526

Park, C., 2007. A Dictionary of Environment and Conservation, 1st Edition. Oxford University Press: http://www.oxfordreference.com.ezproxy.library.qmul.ac.uk/view/10.1093/acref/9780198609957.001.0001/acref-9780198609957-e-8468 [Accessed 15th November 2016]

Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, 2016. Dissolved Oxygen (DO) Tutorials: http://ossabaw.skio.usg.edu/content/tutorial_DO.php [Accessed 15th November 2016]

Post navigation

Previous Post:

Financial audit and its importance

Next Post:

‘A Beautiful Mind’: how did Ron Howard use cinematography to communicate ideas about love, reality and mental illness?

Search Q&As

Categories

  • Art Media and Literature (74)
  • Business and Management (256)
  • Computing and ICT (14)
  • Construction and Engineering (35)
  • Education (90)
  • Environmental Sciences (2)
  • Finance and Economics (91)
  • Health (64)
  • Languages (12)
  • Law (88)
  • Mathematics and Statistics (2)
  • Medical Sciences (19)
  • Politics and International Relations (83)
  • Research Methodology (1)
  • Science (49)
  • Social Sciences (101)

Archives

Who We Are

Askanacademic.com is owned and operated by All Answers Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales. Company Registration No: 4964706. VAT Registration No: 842417633. Data Controller No: Z1821391.

Registered office:
Venture House
Cross Street
Arnold
Nottingham
NG5 7PJ

Main Navigation

  • Home
  • Ask a Question
  • Contact Us

Legals

  • Cookie Policy
  • Privacy Policy

Popular Categories

  • Business and Management
  • Law
  • Finance and Economics
  • Health
An an Academic Logo
© 2023 Ask an Academic | WordPress Theme by Superb Themes
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Accept Reject
Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT