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Suspended Solids Standards for the Protection of Aquatic Organisms JOHN CAIRNS, JR., Professor Department of Zoology University of Kansas * Lawrence, Kansas 66045 INTRODUCTION White (1), a professor of history at the University of California, notes that many of the calls to action in our current ecological crisis are too partial, palliative or negative. To quote several sentences from his interesting article, "The simplest solution to any suspect change is, of course, to stop it, or, better yet, to revert to a romanticized past: make those ugly gasoline stations look like Anne Hathaway's cottage or (in the Far West) like ghost-town saloons. The "wilderness area" mentality invariably advocates deep-freezing an ecology, whether San Gimignano or the High Siena, as it was before the first Kleenex was dropped. But neither atavism nor prettification will cope with the ecological crisis of our time." It is also evident to thoughtful people that no species from diatoms to man can avoid interacting with the environment and changing it in various ways which will then spread through the entire ecosystem as the ripples from a thrown stone spread over the surface of a pond. So our choice is not whether we should or shouldn't interact with out environment but rather how and toward what end. It is readily apparent to even the most casual observer that mankinds power resulting from science and technology has produced a variety of "ecological backlashes. As a result, our belief in man's transcendence of and mastery over nature is now being replaced by recognition that in order to achieve a harmonious relationship with our environment we must adjust our activities to avoid damage to the ecological systems upon which we depend. It is within this context that I intend to discuss suspended solid standards for the protection of aquatic organisms. NATURAL VARIATION IN SUSPENDED SOLIDS LOAD The concentration of suspended sediment in streams is influenced by such factors as topography, geology, soil conditions, intensity and duration of rainfall, and the type and amount of vegetation in the drainage basin. Suspended solids concentrations may vary quite dramatically. For example, McCarthy and Keighton( 2) report that sediment concentrations for the Delaware River at Trenton, New Jersey, have ranged from one mg/1 to 4,100 mg/1. The daily loads of suspended sediment in the Delaware River at Trenton Thave ranged" from 0.5 tons per day to one million tons per day (on August 20, 1955). In the six years from October 1949 to September 1955 a total of 6. 7 million tons of suspended sediment was carried by the Delaware River past Trenton; 26 percent of this was in the flood caused by hurricane Diane. Most flowing waters have considerable variation in the suspended solid concentration from day to day. In addition there may be substantial differences in suspended solid concentrations in different stretches of a stream. This may occur where material carried as bed load is thrown into suspension at a narrows or falls where the velocity increases. * Address after September 2, 1968 -• Department of Biology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Blacksourg, Virginia 24061 -'16 -
Object Description
Purdue Identification Number | ETRIWC196704 |
Title | Suspended solids standards for the protection of aquatic organisms |
Author | Cairns, John |
Date of Original | 1967 |
Conference Title | Proceedings of the 22nd Industrial Waste Conference |
Conference Front Matter (copy and paste) | http://earchives.lib.purdue.edu/u?/engext,14179 |
Extent of Original | p. 16-27 |
Series |
Engineering extension series no. 129 Engineering bulletin v. 52, no. 3 |
Collection Title | Engineering Technical Reports Collection, Purdue University |
Repository | Purdue University Libraries |
Rights Statement | Digital object copyright Purdue University. All rights reserved. |
Language | eng |
Type (DCMI) | text |
Format | JP2 |
Date Digitized | 2009-05-20 |
Capture Device | Fujitsu fi-5650C |
Capture Details | ScandAll 21 |
Resolution | 300 ppi |
Color Depth | 8 bit |
Description
Title | page 16 |
Collection Title | Engineering Technical Reports Collection, Purdue University |
Repository | Purdue University Libraries |
Rights Statement | Digital object copyright Purdue University. All rights reserved. |
Language | eng |
Type (DCMI) | text |
Format | JP2 |
Capture Device | Fujitsu fi-5650C |
Capture Details | ScandAll 21 |
Transcript | Suspended Solids Standards for the Protection of Aquatic Organisms JOHN CAIRNS, JR., Professor Department of Zoology University of Kansas * Lawrence, Kansas 66045 INTRODUCTION White (1), a professor of history at the University of California, notes that many of the calls to action in our current ecological crisis are too partial, palliative or negative. To quote several sentences from his interesting article, "The simplest solution to any suspect change is, of course, to stop it, or, better yet, to revert to a romanticized past: make those ugly gasoline stations look like Anne Hathaway's cottage or (in the Far West) like ghost-town saloons. The "wilderness area" mentality invariably advocates deep-freezing an ecology, whether San Gimignano or the High Siena, as it was before the first Kleenex was dropped. But neither atavism nor prettification will cope with the ecological crisis of our time." It is also evident to thoughtful people that no species from diatoms to man can avoid interacting with the environment and changing it in various ways which will then spread through the entire ecosystem as the ripples from a thrown stone spread over the surface of a pond. So our choice is not whether we should or shouldn't interact with out environment but rather how and toward what end. It is readily apparent to even the most casual observer that mankinds power resulting from science and technology has produced a variety of "ecological backlashes. As a result, our belief in man's transcendence of and mastery over nature is now being replaced by recognition that in order to achieve a harmonious relationship with our environment we must adjust our activities to avoid damage to the ecological systems upon which we depend. It is within this context that I intend to discuss suspended solid standards for the protection of aquatic organisms. NATURAL VARIATION IN SUSPENDED SOLIDS LOAD The concentration of suspended sediment in streams is influenced by such factors as topography, geology, soil conditions, intensity and duration of rainfall, and the type and amount of vegetation in the drainage basin. Suspended solids concentrations may vary quite dramatically. For example, McCarthy and Keighton( 2) report that sediment concentrations for the Delaware River at Trenton, New Jersey, have ranged from one mg/1 to 4,100 mg/1. The daily loads of suspended sediment in the Delaware River at Trenton Thave ranged" from 0.5 tons per day to one million tons per day (on August 20, 1955). In the six years from October 1949 to September 1955 a total of 6. 7 million tons of suspended sediment was carried by the Delaware River past Trenton; 26 percent of this was in the flood caused by hurricane Diane. Most flowing waters have considerable variation in the suspended solid concentration from day to day. In addition there may be substantial differences in suspended solid concentrations in different stretches of a stream. This may occur where material carried as bed load is thrown into suspension at a narrows or falls where the velocity increases. * Address after September 2, 1968 -• Department of Biology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Blacksourg, Virginia 24061 -'16 - |
Resolution | 300 ppi |
Color Depth | 8 bit |
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