Effect of Sediment Suspensions on Seawater Salinity Assessments

Marc Le Menn; Laurent Pacaud

doi:doi:10.11648/j.wros.20170602.11

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Effect of Sediment Suspensions on Seawater Salinity Assessments

Marc Le Menn, Laurent Pacaud

Published in Journal of Water Resources and Ocean Science (Volume 6, Issue 2)

Received: 3 January 2017 Accepted: 20 January 2017 Published: 28 April 2017

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Abstract

The absolute salinity of seawater can be assessed by conductivity measurements and the calculation of a practical salinity, or by density measurements. The effect of low concentrations of suspended particulate matter on these measurements has never been documented, but the theories developed to explain and predict the conductivity of sediments show clearly that, under an electrical field, they interact with the ionic composition of seawater. Moreover, it can be easily shown that adding any quantity of particles has an effect on the measured density of a seawater sample. This publication describes a measurement method settled to measure the effect of sediment particles on seawater conductivity and proposes relations for explaining and predicting the observed phenomena. It also describes the effects of particles on density measurements. The results obtained show that the errors on the measured conductivities (and practical salinities) caused by sand in suspensions, are less than 0.001 mS cm^-1 (on average) with concentrations encountered in oceans fields, but that these cannot be neglected in some coastal areas. The amplitude of the measurement noise leaded by particles circulation in the conductivity cell exceeds 0.002 in salinity beyond 200 mg l^-1. For density measurements, the threshold for keeping the error inferior to the uncertainty of 0.004 kg m^-3 usually obtained with vibrating tube densimeters, is much lower, 9 mg l^-1, and close to the concentrations encountered in the open ocean.

Published in	Journal of Water Resources and Ocean Science (Volume 6, Issue 2)
DOI	10.11648/j.wros.20170602.11
Page(s)	23-34
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2017. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Seawater, Salinity, Conductivity, Density, Sediment, Formation Factor, Limnology

References

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APA Style

Marc Le Menn, Laurent Pacaud. (2017). Effect of Sediment Suspensions on Seawater Salinity Assessments. Journal of Water Resources and Ocean Science, 6(2), 23-34. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.wros.20170602.11

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ACS Style

Marc Le Menn; Laurent Pacaud. Effect of Sediment Suspensions on Seawater Salinity Assessments. J. Water Resour. Ocean Sci. 2017, 6(2), 23-34. doi: 10.11648/j.wros.20170602.11

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AMA Style

Marc Le Menn, Laurent Pacaud. Effect of Sediment Suspensions on Seawater Salinity Assessments. J Water Resour Ocean Sci. 2017;6(2):23-34. doi: 10.11648/j.wros.20170602.11

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@article{10.11648/j.wros.20170602.11,
  author = {Marc Le Menn and Laurent Pacaud},
  title = {Effect of Sediment Suspensions on Seawater Salinity Assessments},
  journal = {Journal of Water Resources and Ocean Science},
  volume = {6},
  number = {2},
  pages = {23-34},
  doi = {10.11648/j.wros.20170602.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.wros.20170602.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.wros.20170602.11},
  abstract = {The absolute salinity of seawater can be assessed by conductivity measurements and the calculation of a practical salinity, or by density measurements. The effect of low concentrations of suspended particulate matter on these measurements has never been documented, but the theories developed to explain and predict the conductivity of sediments show clearly that, under an electrical field, they interact with the ionic composition of seawater. Moreover, it can be easily shown that adding any quantity of particles has an effect on the measured density of a seawater sample. This publication describes a measurement method settled to measure the effect of sediment particles on seawater conductivity and proposes relations for explaining and predicting the observed phenomena. It also describes the effects of particles on density measurements. The results obtained show that the errors on the measured conductivities (and practical salinities) caused by sand in suspensions, are less than 0.001 mS cm-1 (on average) with concentrations encountered in oceans fields, but that these cannot be neglected in some coastal areas. The amplitude of the measurement noise leaded by particles circulation in the conductivity cell exceeds 0.002 in salinity beyond 200 mg l-1. For density measurements, the threshold for keeping the error inferior to the uncertainty of 0.004 kg m-3 usually obtained with vibrating tube densimeters, is much lower, 9 mg l-1, and close to the concentrations encountered in the open ocean.},
 year = {2017}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Effect of Sediment Suspensions on Seawater Salinity Assessments
AU  - Marc Le Menn
AU  - Laurent Pacaud
Y1  - 2017/04/28
PY  - 2017
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.wros.20170602.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.wros.20170602.11
T2  - Journal of Water Resources and Ocean Science
JF  - Journal of Water Resources and Ocean Science
JO  - Journal of Water Resources and Ocean Science
SP  - 23
EP  - 34
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2328-7993
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.wros.20170602.11
AB  - The absolute salinity of seawater can be assessed by conductivity measurements and the calculation of a practical salinity, or by density measurements. The effect of low concentrations of suspended particulate matter on these measurements has never been documented, but the theories developed to explain and predict the conductivity of sediments show clearly that, under an electrical field, they interact with the ionic composition of seawater. Moreover, it can be easily shown that adding any quantity of particles has an effect on the measured density of a seawater sample. This publication describes a measurement method settled to measure the effect of sediment particles on seawater conductivity and proposes relations for explaining and predicting the observed phenomena. It also describes the effects of particles on density measurements. The results obtained show that the errors on the measured conductivities (and practical salinities) caused by sand in suspensions, are less than 0.001 mS cm-1 (on average) with concentrations encountered in oceans fields, but that these cannot be neglected in some coastal areas. The amplitude of the measurement noise leaded by particles circulation in the conductivity cell exceeds 0.002 in salinity beyond 200 mg l-1. For density measurements, the threshold for keeping the error inferior to the uncertainty of 0.004 kg m-3 usually obtained with vibrating tube densimeters, is much lower, 9 mg l-1, and close to the concentrations encountered in the open ocean.
VL  - 6
IS  - 2
ER  -

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Author Information

Marc Le Menn

Metrology and Chemical Oceanography Department, French Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service (Shom), Brest, France
Laurent Pacaud

Metrology and Chemical Oceanography Department, French Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service (Shom), Brest, France

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APA Style

Marc Le Menn, Laurent Pacaud. (2017). Effect of Sediment Suspensions on Seawater Salinity Assessments. Journal of Water Resources and Ocean Science, 6(2), 23-34. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.wros.20170602.11

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ACS Style

Marc Le Menn; Laurent Pacaud. Effect of Sediment Suspensions on Seawater Salinity Assessments. J. Water Resour. Ocean Sci. 2017, 6(2), 23-34. doi: 10.11648/j.wros.20170602.11

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AMA Style

Marc Le Menn, Laurent Pacaud. Effect of Sediment Suspensions on Seawater Salinity Assessments. J Water Resour Ocean Sci. 2017;6(2):23-34. doi: 10.11648/j.wros.20170602.11

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.wros.20170602.11,
  author = {Marc Le Menn and Laurent Pacaud},
  title = {Effect of Sediment Suspensions on Seawater Salinity Assessments},
  journal = {Journal of Water Resources and Ocean Science},
  volume = {6},
  number = {2},
  pages = {23-34},
  doi = {10.11648/j.wros.20170602.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.wros.20170602.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.wros.20170602.11},
  abstract = {The absolute salinity of seawater can be assessed by conductivity measurements and the calculation of a practical salinity, or by density measurements. The effect of low concentrations of suspended particulate matter on these measurements has never been documented, but the theories developed to explain and predict the conductivity of sediments show clearly that, under an electrical field, they interact with the ionic composition of seawater. Moreover, it can be easily shown that adding any quantity of particles has an effect on the measured density of a seawater sample. This publication describes a measurement method settled to measure the effect of sediment particles on seawater conductivity and proposes relations for explaining and predicting the observed phenomena. It also describes the effects of particles on density measurements. The results obtained show that the errors on the measured conductivities (and practical salinities) caused by sand in suspensions, are less than 0.001 mS cm-1 (on average) with concentrations encountered in oceans fields, but that these cannot be neglected in some coastal areas. The amplitude of the measurement noise leaded by particles circulation in the conductivity cell exceeds 0.002 in salinity beyond 200 mg l-1. For density measurements, the threshold for keeping the error inferior to the uncertainty of 0.004 kg m-3 usually obtained with vibrating tube densimeters, is much lower, 9 mg l-1, and close to the concentrations encountered in the open ocean.},
 year = {2017}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Effect of Sediment Suspensions on Seawater Salinity Assessments
AU  - Marc Le Menn
AU  - Laurent Pacaud
Y1  - 2017/04/28
PY  - 2017
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.wros.20170602.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.wros.20170602.11
T2  - Journal of Water Resources and Ocean Science
JF  - Journal of Water Resources and Ocean Science
JO  - Journal of Water Resources and Ocean Science
SP  - 23
EP  - 34
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2328-7993
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.wros.20170602.11
AB  - The absolute salinity of seawater can be assessed by conductivity measurements and the calculation of a practical salinity, or by density measurements. The effect of low concentrations of suspended particulate matter on these measurements has never been documented, but the theories developed to explain and predict the conductivity of sediments show clearly that, under an electrical field, they interact with the ionic composition of seawater. Moreover, it can be easily shown that adding any quantity of particles has an effect on the measured density of a seawater sample. This publication describes a measurement method settled to measure the effect of sediment particles on seawater conductivity and proposes relations for explaining and predicting the observed phenomena. It also describes the effects of particles on density measurements. The results obtained show that the errors on the measured conductivities (and practical salinities) caused by sand in suspensions, are less than 0.001 mS cm-1 (on average) with concentrations encountered in oceans fields, but that these cannot be neglected in some coastal areas. The amplitude of the measurement noise leaded by particles circulation in the conductivity cell exceeds 0.002 in salinity beyond 200 mg l-1. For density measurements, the threshold for keeping the error inferior to the uncertainty of 0.004 kg m-3 usually obtained with vibrating tube densimeters, is much lower, 9 mg l-1, and close to the concentrations encountered in the open ocean.
VL  - 6
IS  - 2
ER  -

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