intro aquatic chem

Question 1

what is the relationship between sedimentation
and flushing rate

Answer 1

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

Question 2

water residence time

Answer 2

the average amount of time that a water
molecule will spend in a particular lake, is the reciprocal of the flushing
rate

Question 3

Interstitial water

Answer 3

water between particles in the sediment.

Question 4

what size of sediment particle will have the greatest effect on the water chemistry

Answer 4

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

Question 5

features that all sediments have in common

Answer 5

-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)

Question 6

what is a redox reaction

Answer 6

reaction that involves the transfer of electrons

Question 7

what does OIL RIG stand for in terms of redox reactions

Answer 7

OIL = Oxidation Is Losing electrons
RIG = Reduction Is Gaining electrons

Question 8

what is redox potential

Answer 8

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

Question 9

what does a high or low redox number indicate

Answer 9

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

Question 10

biogeochemistry

Answer 10

large scale
chemical cycles that include living organisms and large scale abiotic reservoirs.