Title:
Diel turbidity fluctuations in streams in Gwinnett County, Georgia
Diel turbidity fluctuations in streams in Gwinnett County, Georgia
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Author(s)
Gillain, Stephanie
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Editor(s)
Hatcher, Kathryn J.
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Abstract
Continuous turbidity data have been collected
since 2001 at 12 water-quality monitoring stations
in Gwinnett County, Georgia, as part of a cooperative
agreement between the U.S. Geological Survey and the
Gwinnett County Department of Public Utilities. With one
of the largest real-time turbidity monitoring networks in
the nation, this program has led in the development of
deployment strategies and data management practices.
Though the technology used in continuous monitoring of
turbidity is relatively new, sinusoidal diel turbidity fluctuations
have been observed at 11 of the 12 Gwinnett County
monitoring stations, as well as in other geologic and climatic
settings in the United States during baseflow conditions.
The fluctuations are represented by elevated turbidity
values that occur near sunrise, followed by a decrease
throughout the day, with lowest values occurring near sunset.
Evening values show a gradual increase through the
night to sunrise. Turbidity fluctuations do not show seasonality,
except that they are not observable during rainy periods,
when stormwater runoff dominates flow conditions.
Several mechanisms for turbidity variation—including
instrumentation effects, sediment transport, and biological
activity—are considered. Coincidence of turbidity and
dissolved oxygen fluctuations supports biological activity
as a cause of diel turbidity fluctuations. Diel fluctuations
in turbidity may have implications for studies that use turbidity
as a surrogate for other water-quality properties,
such as requiring correction factors for studies that report
bacteria concentrations during low-flow conditions.
Sponsor
Sponsored by:
Georgia Environmental Protection Division
U.S. Geological Survey, Georgia Water Science Center
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service
Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia Water Resources Institute
The University of Georgia, Water Resources Faculty
Date Issued
2005-04
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Text
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Proceedings