Analyses of Spatial and Temporal Variations of Salt Concentration in Waterbodies Based on High Resolution Measurements Using Sensors
Studies have shown that salt concentrations are increasing in waterbodies such as lakes, rivers, wetlands, and streams in areas where deicers are commonly applied for winter road maintenance, resulting in degraded water quality. As the salt concentration varies spatially and temporally based on envi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-04-01
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| Series: | Hydrology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5338/8/2/64 |
| _version_ | 1797538469972541440 |
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| author | Rohan Benjankar Ravin Kafle Shanti Satyal Nirajan Adhikari |
| author_facet | Rohan Benjankar Ravin Kafle Shanti Satyal Nirajan Adhikari |
| author_sort | Rohan Benjankar |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Studies have shown that salt concentrations are increasing in waterbodies such as lakes, rivers, wetlands, and streams in areas where deicers are commonly applied for winter road maintenance, resulting in degraded water quality. As the salt concentration varies spatially and temporally based on environmental and hydrological characteristics, we monitored high resolution (15 min) salt concentrations for a relatively long period (winter and spring season) at different sites (i.e., stream, urban-stream, roadside drain, and parking-lot drain) using multiple electric conductivity-based sensors. The salt concentrations were significantly different from each other considering individual sensors and different sites in both winter and spring seasons, which support past research results that concentration varies spatially. Parking-lot (1136 ± 674 ppm) and Roadside (701 ± 263 ppm) drain measured significantly higher concentration than for Stream (260 ± 60 ppm) and Urban-stream (562 ± 266 ppm) in the winter season. Similar trends were observed for the spring season, however, the mean concentrations were lower in the spring. Furthermore, salt concentrations were significantly higher during the winter (242 ± 47 ppm to 1695 ± 629 ppm) than for the spring (140 ± 23 ppm to 863 ± 440 ppm) season considering different sites, which have been attributed to the winter snow maintenance practice using deicers in past studies. All sites exceed the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) threshold (salt concentration higher than 230 mg/L) for chronic exposure level for 59% to 94% and 10% to 83% of days in winter and spring seasons, respectively. The study has highlighted the usefulness and advantages of high resolution (spatially and temporally) salt concentration measurement using sensor technology. Furthermore, the salt concentration in waterbodies can vary spatially and temporally within a small spatial scale, which may be important information for managing water quality locally. The high resolution measurements (i.e., 15 min) were helpful to capture the highest potential salt concentrations in the waterbody. Therefore, the sensor technology can help to measure high resolution salt concentrations, which can be used to quantify impacts of high salt concentrations, e.g., application of deicer for winter road maintenance on aquatic systems based on the criteria developed by USEPA. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T12:30:51Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5b42521a16b3464e9c2f6138fe59303f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2306-5338 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T12:30:51Z |
| publishDate | 2021-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Hydrology |
| spelling | doaj.art-5b42521a16b3464e9c2f6138fe59303f2023-11-21T14:38:09ZengMDPI AGHydrology2306-53382021-04-01826410.3390/hydrology8020064Analyses of Spatial and Temporal Variations of Salt Concentration in Waterbodies Based on High Resolution Measurements Using SensorsRohan Benjankar0Ravin Kafle1Shanti Satyal2Nirajan Adhikari3Department of Civil Engineering, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Edwardsville, IL 62026, USADepartment of Civil Engineering, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Edwardsville, IL 62026, USADepartment of Civil Engineering, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Edwardsville, IL 62026, USADepartment of Civil Engineering, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Edwardsville, IL 62026, USAStudies have shown that salt concentrations are increasing in waterbodies such as lakes, rivers, wetlands, and streams in areas where deicers are commonly applied for winter road maintenance, resulting in degraded water quality. As the salt concentration varies spatially and temporally based on environmental and hydrological characteristics, we monitored high resolution (15 min) salt concentrations for a relatively long period (winter and spring season) at different sites (i.e., stream, urban-stream, roadside drain, and parking-lot drain) using multiple electric conductivity-based sensors. The salt concentrations were significantly different from each other considering individual sensors and different sites in both winter and spring seasons, which support past research results that concentration varies spatially. Parking-lot (1136 ± 674 ppm) and Roadside (701 ± 263 ppm) drain measured significantly higher concentration than for Stream (260 ± 60 ppm) and Urban-stream (562 ± 266 ppm) in the winter season. Similar trends were observed for the spring season, however, the mean concentrations were lower in the spring. Furthermore, salt concentrations were significantly higher during the winter (242 ± 47 ppm to 1695 ± 629 ppm) than for the spring (140 ± 23 ppm to 863 ± 440 ppm) season considering different sites, which have been attributed to the winter snow maintenance practice using deicers in past studies. All sites exceed the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) threshold (salt concentration higher than 230 mg/L) for chronic exposure level for 59% to 94% and 10% to 83% of days in winter and spring seasons, respectively. The study has highlighted the usefulness and advantages of high resolution (spatially and temporally) salt concentration measurement using sensor technology. Furthermore, the salt concentration in waterbodies can vary spatially and temporally within a small spatial scale, which may be important information for managing water quality locally. The high resolution measurements (i.e., 15 min) were helpful to capture the highest potential salt concentrations in the waterbody. Therefore, the sensor technology can help to measure high resolution salt concentrations, which can be used to quantify impacts of high salt concentrations, e.g., application of deicer for winter road maintenance on aquatic systems based on the criteria developed by USEPA.https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5338/8/2/64salt concentrationspatial distributiontemporal distributionsensorwinterspring season |
| spellingShingle | Rohan Benjankar Ravin Kafle Shanti Satyal Nirajan Adhikari Analyses of Spatial and Temporal Variations of Salt Concentration in Waterbodies Based on High Resolution Measurements Using Sensors Hydrology salt concentration spatial distribution temporal distribution sensor winter spring season |
| title | Analyses of Spatial and Temporal Variations of Salt Concentration in Waterbodies Based on High Resolution Measurements Using Sensors |
| title_full | Analyses of Spatial and Temporal Variations of Salt Concentration in Waterbodies Based on High Resolution Measurements Using Sensors |
| title_fullStr | Analyses of Spatial and Temporal Variations of Salt Concentration in Waterbodies Based on High Resolution Measurements Using Sensors |
| title_full_unstemmed | Analyses of Spatial and Temporal Variations of Salt Concentration in Waterbodies Based on High Resolution Measurements Using Sensors |
| title_short | Analyses of Spatial and Temporal Variations of Salt Concentration in Waterbodies Based on High Resolution Measurements Using Sensors |
| title_sort | analyses of spatial and temporal variations of salt concentration in waterbodies based on high resolution measurements using sensors |
| topic | salt concentration spatial distribution temporal distribution sensor winter spring season |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5338/8/2/64 |
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