Electrical Conductivity Of Water Salinity

Therefore we can deduct it is the salt which affects electrical conductivity not the water itself.

Electrical conductivity of water salinity. Salts dissolve in water to produce an anion and a cation. Salts increase the ability of a solution to conduct an electrical current so a high ec value indicates a high salinity level. The electrical conductivity of deionized water pure h2o is around 5 5 us m at 25c whereas seawater is approximately 5 000 000 us m. Salts that dissolve in water break into positively and negatively charged ions.

This ability is directly related to the concentration of ions in the water 1. However using an electrical conductivity sensor to measure the salinity of water will provide you with a different measurement unit of ms cm which is the amount of millisiemens per centimeter in the water. Soil salinity refers to dissolved salts such as sodium chloride calcium chloride and magnesium chloride. The salts may not only be chlorides but carbonates as well.

As temperature is important in salinity calculation usually measured at 25ºc most ec meters have built in temperature compensation. While the electrical conductivity is a good indicator of the total salinity it still does not provide any information about the ion composition in the water. A single millisiemens per centimeter is equal to 1 000 microsiemens per centimeter which comes with a unit of µs cm. The electrical conductivity or ec of a soil or water sample is influenced by the concentration and composition of dissolved salts.

Hence water s electrical conductivity will tell us the concentration of salts or solids dissolved in the fluid. Many ec meters nowadays automatically standardize the readings to 25 o c. Conductivity is a measure of water s capability to pass electrical flow. These ions make up the basis of conductivity in water.

Electrical conductivity ec is the most common measure of soil salinity and is indicative of the ability of an aqueous solution to carry an electric current. Surface water salinity is described by units of electrical conductivity ec groundwater salinity is described by units of parts per million ppm scientific reports use decisiemens per metre ds m as the main unit of measure. Conductivity is the ability of water to conduct an electrical current and the dissolved ions are the conductors. Electrical conductivity ec is also a term used to describe a measurement unit of salinity.

Solids can be found in nature in a dissolved form. A new model describing the relation between bulk soil electrical conductivity ec a volumetric content θ w and electrical conductivity of soil water ec w is given along with supporting evidence for its validity the new model distinguishes between the water and salt present in the soil in the immobile fine pores and mobile large pores phases. Higher concentration means higher conductivity.