intro aquatic chem Flashcards
what is the relationship between sedimentation
and flushing rate
its inverse: the greater the flushing rate, the less likely particles are to sediment, the slower the flushing rate - greater the importance of sedimentation in the system
water residence time
the average amount of time that a water
molecule will spend in a particular lake, is the reciprocal of the flushing
rate
Interstitial water
water between particles in the sediment.
what size of sediment particle will have the greatest effect on the water chemistry
Finer sands and small
particles of organic matter will have a much greater influence on water
chemistry of not only the interstitial water, but on the overlying water as
well
features that all sediments have in common
-They are relatively solid and unmixing;
* Have bacteria associated with them (bacteria attach to any particle)
* The bacteria will decompose organic matter releasing CO2, phosphate,
ammonium ions (then nitrite and nitrate)
what is a redox reaction
reaction that involves the transfer of electrons
what does OIL RIG stand for in terms of redox reactions
OIL = Oxidation Is Losing electrons
RIG = Reduction Is Gaining electrons
what is redox potential
Redox potential is measured with a
meter that measures the availability of
transferable electrons relative to the
ability of electrons in hydrogen gas and
is read in millivolts
what does a high or low redox number indicate
Low values (below
100 or even negative) mean there are large numbers of transferable electrons = a reducing environment. A high redox number indicates few transferable electrons = an oxidizing environment
biogeochemistry
large scale
chemical cycles that include living organisms and large scale abiotic reservoirs.