What is turbidity?
Turbidity consists of small suspended particles that eventually fall out of solution. If you ever draw a glass of water from a faucet and you see those very small particles floating to the bottom of the glass, that’s turbidity. You are more likely to see high levels of turbidity in surface water than in ground water.
Turbidity refers to the clarity of the water. Turbidity or muddy water is usually caused by suspended silt or clay particules which diffuse or scatter light. As a result, the light doesn’t pentrate through the water and the water appears to be unclear. This should not be diffused with discolored water which sometimes results from dissolved materials such as organic acids from leaf litter. Erosion around watersheds or around the edges of the pond is the major contributing factor to turbidity. Also, fish foraging about in the bottom of earthen ponds can also be to blame. High turbidity will reduce light penetration and retard bottom plant growth. It may also irritate fish gills and impair fish spawning. It is typically poor for game fish production as well.
Turbidity is related to the amount of sediments a river or stream carries in the flowing water. Most sediment is soil that is removed from the land by erosion. Sediments also arise from the surface runoff from farms, industries, roads and housing developments. When sediments run into rivers or streams, it becomes a source of water pollution. During and after rainstorms, water that runs rapidly off mountain slopes or hillsides can pick up high levels of sediments resulting in high turbidity. Turbidity degrades the quality and quantity of raw water. During periods of high turbidity, water treatment is sometimes impossible or very difficult; therefore, the treatment plants are sometimes shut down until the water clears up. In addition, the plants may also be shut down to prevent damage to the facility and equipment as a result of the heavy mudflows. Most important, higher turbidity levels in the untreated water may be associated with higher levels of bacteria and other disease-causing mic
Turbidity characterizes the opacity of the atomosphere. Greater turbidity factors correspond to greater atmospheric scattering. A turbidity factor of 1.0 indicates an ideal, clear, fully dry atmosphere. Values less than 1.0 are physically impossible. The CIE standard value for Turbidity is 2.0 (very clear sky) and the generally the maxium is 6.0 (very hazy, polluted sky). Click here for a site which allows you to input a location (Europe and surrounding areas only) and outputs turbidity factors. Desktop Radiance uses the CIE default of 2.0 for turbidity factor.
