Correlation between Turbidity and Suspended Solids Concentration in a Tidal Saltmarsh Creek
Namsoo S. Suk, Qizhong Guo, and Norbert P. Psuty
Proceedings of the 27th IAHR Congress, San Francisco, CA, August 1997
Abstract
A field infrared nephelometric turbidimeter was deployed to measure turbidity continuously in a tidal creek-saltmarsh system, and water samples were taken periodically and analyzed for suspended solids concentrations. 521 water samples were collected over 22 different time periods from May to September 1996, and measured suspended solids concentrations are statistically related to measured turbidity with the correlation coefficient of 0.826. The linear regression relationship between TSS concentration and turbidity has a slope of 1.543 (mg/L per FTU) and an intercept of 2.548 (mg/L). Using the turbidimeter offers an opportunity for measuring suspended solids flux continuously over a long term in the coastal wetlands system.
