thesis on water analysis

Limnology in Australia pp 555–572 Cite as

Design and Analysis for Assessment of Water Quality

• R. H. Norris 3 &
• A. Georges 3  

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Part of the book series: Monographiae Biologicae ((MOBI,volume 61))

Quality of surface waters is a relative concept expressed in terms of the variables (physical, chemical and biological) that are measured to meet objectives of the study designed to assess it. The comparisons that are made between variables are important rather than their absolute values. Studies on water quality usually yield diverse data types and the study design should allow for the association of these data.

Standard guidelines for the measurement of chemical variables to assess water quality in Australia have been readily adopted from North America and Europe, but complete biological standards have not yet been formulated and accepted. Diversity and biotic indices have serious deficiencies for assessing water quality, especially in Australia, and their use should be avoided. Similarity indices make few assumptions about the data and they may be of most use as a basis for classification programs. Classification based on species distribution patterns, followed by multiple discriminant analysis, has been shown to be useful for water-quality assessment.

Curation in museum collections of taxa collected in studies assessing water quality will be of future benefit by providing some background ecological information, accurate comparisons of distributions of organisms, and possible cost savings resulting from improved taxonomy and study design. Biological specimens can be stored indefinitely and the data easily reproduced, which clearly are advantages over physicochemical data.

Any variables that are measured to assess water quality (physical, chemical and biological) will have some degree of uncertainty associated with them. To make comparisons of water quality valid, the degree of uncertainty (precision) must be estimated and environmental variability must be accounted for in sampling. If an insufficient number of replicate collections is made to account for environmental variability, a null hypothesis of no effect may be accepted when it could have been refuted had more replicates been collected. The more powerful parametric statistical methods used to associate diverse data types will require that the data have similar levels of precision and statistical distributions. The magnitude of the differences in the factors being assessed will determine the levels of precision required, which will, in turn, determine the number of replicate collections to be made, and the number of replicate collections will largely determine the cost of the study. It is argued that more emphasis could be placed on chemical measures of water quality when the magnitude of the difference is large and more on biological measures when differences are small.

• Water Quality
• Benthic Invertebrate
• Biological Method
• Environmental Variability
• Biotic Index

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Norris, R.H., Georges, A. (1986). Design and Analysis for Assessment of Water Quality. In: De Deckker, P., Williams, W.D. (eds) Limnology in Australia. Monographiae Biologicae, vol 61. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-4820-4_35

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Evaluation of sampling and monitoring designs for water quality

Haggarty, Ruth Alison (2012) Evaluation of sampling and monitoring designs for water quality. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Assessing water quality is of crucial importance to both society and the environment. Deterioration in water quality through issues such as eutrophication presents substantial risk to human health, plant and animal life, and can have detrimental effects on the local economy. Long-term data records across multiple sites can be used to investigate water quality and risk factors statistically, however, identification of underlying changes can only be successful if there is a sufficient quantity of data available. As vast amounts of resources are required for the implementation and maintenance of a monitoring network, logistically and financially it is not possible to employ continuous monitoring of all water environments. This raises the question as to the optimal design for long-term monitoring networks which are capable of capturing underlying changes. Two of the main design considerations are clearly where to sample, and how frequently to sample. The principal aim of this thesis is to use statistical analysis to investigate frequently used environmental monitoring networks, developing new methodology where appropriate, so that the design and implementation of future networks can be made as effective and cost efficient as possible. Using data which have been provided by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, several data from Scottish lakes and rivers and a range of determinands are considered in order to explore water quality monitoring in Scotland. Chapter 1 provides an introduction to environmental monitoring and both existing statistical techniques, and potential challenges which are commonly encountered in the analysis of environmental data are discussed. Following this, Chapter 2 presents a simulation study which has been designed and implemented in order to evaluate the nature and statistical power for commonly used environmental sampling and monitoring designs for surface waters. The aim is to answer questions regarding how many samples to base the chemical classification of standing waters, and how appropriate the currently available data in Scotland are for detecting trends and seasonality. The simulation study was constructed to investigate the ability to detect the different underlying features of the data under several different sampling conditions. After the assessment of how often sampling is required to detect change, the remainder of the thesis will attempt to address some of the questions associated with where the optimal sampling locations are. The European Union Water Framework Directive (WFD) was introduced in 2003 to set compliance standards for all water bodies across Europe, with an aim to prevent deterioration, and ensure all sites reach `good' status by 2015. One of the features of the WFD is that water bodies can be grouped together and the classification of all members of the group is then based on the classification of a single representative site. The potential misclassification of sites means one of the key areas of interest is how well the existing groups used by SEPA for classification capture differences between the sites in terms of several chemical determinands. This will be explored in Chapter 3 where a functional data analysis approach will be taken in order to investigate some of the features of the existing groupings. An investigation of the effect of temporal autocorrelation on our ability to distinguish groups of sites from one another will also be presented here. It is also of interest to explore whether fewer, or indeed more groups would be optimal in order to accurately represent the trends and variability in the water quality parameters. Different statistical approaches for grouping standing waters will be presented in Chapter 4, where the question of how many groups is statistically optimal is also addressed. As in Chapter 3, these approaches for grouping sites will be based on functional data in order to include the temporal dynamics of the variable of interest within any analysis of group structure obtained. Both hierarchical and model based functional clustering are considered here. The idea of functional clustering is also extended to the multivariate setting, thus enabling information from several determinands of interest to be used within formation of groups. This is something which is of particular importance in view of the fact that the WFD classification encompasses a range of different determinands. In addition to the investigation of standing waters, an entirely different type of water quality monitoring network is considered in Chapter 5. While standing waters are assumed to be spatially independent of one another there are several situations where this assumption is not appropriate and where spatial correlation between locations needs to be accounted for. Further developments of the functional clustering methods explored in Chapter 4 are presented here in order to obtain groups of stations that are not only similar in terms of mean levels and temporal patterns of the determinand of interest, but which are also spatially homogenous. The river network data explored in Chapter 5 introduces a set of new challenges when considering functional clustering that go beyond the inclusion of Euclidean distance based spatial correlation. Existing methodology for estimating spatial correlation are combined with functional clustering approaches and developed to be suitable for application on sites which lie along a river network. The final chapter of this thesis provides a summary of the work presented and discussion of limitations and suggestions for future directions.

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Lin, Daorui. "Global Sensitivity of Water Quality Modeling in the Gulf of Finland." Thesis, KTH, Mark- och vattenteknik, 2015. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-180285.

Abou-Ali, Hala. "Water and health in Egypt : an empirical analysis /." Göteborg : Dept. of Economics, School of Economics and Commercial Law [Nationalekonomiska institutionen, Handelshögsk.], 2003. http://www.handels.gu.se/epc/archive/00003482/01/Thesis_Hala_Abou-Ali.pdf.

Becnel, Audrey R. "Land Use and Water Quality Correlations in Miami-Dade, Florida." FIU Digital Commons, 2014. http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/1549.

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The Effects of Climate Change

The effects of human-caused global warming are happening now, are irreversible for people alive today, and will worsen as long as humans add greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.

• We already see effects scientists predicted, such as the loss of sea ice, melting glaciers and ice sheets, sea level rise, and more intense heat waves.
• Scientists predict global temperature increases from human-made greenhouse gases will continue. Severe weather damage will also increase and intensify.

Earth Will Continue to Warm and the Effects Will Be Profound

Global climate change is not a future problem. Changes to Earth’s climate driven by increased human emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases are already having widespread effects on the environment: glaciers and ice sheets are shrinking, river and lake ice is breaking up earlier, plant and animal geographic ranges are shifting, and plants and trees are blooming sooner.

Effects that scientists had long predicted would result from global climate change are now occurring, such as sea ice loss, accelerated sea level rise, and longer, more intense heat waves.

The magnitude and rate of climate change and associated risks depend strongly on near-term mitigation and adaptation actions, and projected adverse impacts and related losses and damages escalate with every increment of global warming.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

Some changes (such as droughts, wildfires, and extreme rainfall) are happening faster than scientists previously assessed. In fact, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) — the United Nations body established to assess the science related to climate change — modern humans have never before seen the observed changes in our global climate, and some of these changes are irreversible over the next hundreds to thousands of years.

Scientists have high confidence that global temperatures will continue to rise for many decades, mainly due to greenhouse gases produced by human activities.

The IPCC’s Sixth Assessment report, published in 2021, found that human emissions of heat-trapping gases have already warmed the climate by nearly 2 degrees Fahrenheit (1.1 degrees Celsius) since 1850-1900. 1 The global average temperature is expected to reach or exceed 1.5 degrees C (about 3 degrees F) within the next few decades. These changes will affect all regions of Earth.

The severity of effects caused by climate change will depend on the path of future human activities. More greenhouse gas emissions will lead to more climate extremes and widespread damaging effects across our planet. However, those future effects depend on the total amount of carbon dioxide we emit. So, if we can reduce emissions, we may avoid some of the worst effects.

The scientific evidence is unequivocal: climate change is a threat to human wellbeing and the health of the planet. Any further delay in concerted global action will miss the brief, rapidly closing window to secure a liveable future.

Here are some of the expected effects of global climate change on the United States, according to the Third and Fourth National Climate Assessment Reports:

Future effects of global climate change in the United States:

U.S. Sea Level Likely to Rise 1 to 6.6 Feet by 2100

Global sea level has risen about 8 inches (0.2 meters) since reliable record-keeping began in 1880. By 2100, scientists project that it will rise at least another foot (0.3 meters), but possibly as high as 6.6 feet (2 meters) in a high-emissions scenario. Sea level is rising because of added water from melting land ice and the expansion of seawater as it warms. Image credit: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0

Climate Changes Will Continue Through This Century and Beyond

Global climate is projected to continue warming over this century and beyond. Image credit: Khagani Hasanov, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0

Hurricanes Will Become Stronger and More Intense

Scientists project that hurricane-associated storm intensity and rainfall rates will increase as the climate continues to warm. Image credit: NASA

More Droughts and Heat Waves

Droughts in the Southwest and heat waves (periods of abnormally hot weather lasting days to weeks) are projected to become more intense, and cold waves less intense and less frequent. Image credit: NOAA

Longer Wildfire Season

Warming temperatures have extended and intensified wildfire season in the West, where long-term drought in the region has heightened the risk of fires. Scientists estimate that human-caused climate change has already doubled the area of forest burned in recent decades. By around 2050, the amount of land consumed by wildfires in Western states is projected to further increase by two to six times. Even in traditionally rainy regions like the Southeast, wildfires are projected to increase by about 30%.

Changes in Precipitation Patterns

Climate change is having an uneven effect on precipitation (rain and snow) in the United States, with some locations experiencing increased precipitation and flooding, while others suffer from drought. On average, more winter and spring precipitation is projected for the northern United States, and less for the Southwest, over this century. Image credit: Marvin Nauman/FEMA

Frost-Free Season (and Growing Season) will Lengthen

The length of the frost-free season, and the corresponding growing season, has been increasing since the 1980s, with the largest increases occurring in the western United States. Across the United States, the growing season is projected to continue to lengthen, which will affect ecosystems and agriculture.

Global Temperatures Will Continue to Rise

Summer of 2023 was Earth's hottest summer on record, 0.41 degrees Fahrenheit (F) (0.23 degrees Celsius (C)) warmer than any other summer in NASA’s record and 2.1 degrees F (1.2 C) warmer than the average summer between 1951 and 1980. Image credit: NASA

Arctic Is Very Likely to Become Ice-Free

Sea ice cover in the Arctic Ocean is expected to continue decreasing, and the Arctic Ocean will very likely become essentially ice-free in late summer if current projections hold. This change is expected to occur before mid-century.

U.S. Regional Effects

Climate change is bringing different types of challenges to each region of the country. Some of the current and future impacts are summarized below. These findings are from the Third 3 and Fourth 4 National Climate Assessment Reports, released by the U.S. Global Change Research Program .

• Northeast. Heat waves, heavy downpours, and sea level rise pose increasing challenges to many aspects of life in the Northeast. Infrastructure, agriculture, fisheries, and ecosystems will be increasingly compromised. Farmers can explore new crop options, but these adaptations are not cost- or risk-free. Moreover, adaptive capacity , which varies throughout the region, could be overwhelmed by a changing climate. Many states and cities are beginning to incorporate climate change into their planning.
• Northwest. Changes in the timing of peak flows in rivers and streams are reducing water supplies and worsening competing demands for water. Sea level rise, erosion, flooding, risks to infrastructure, and increasing ocean acidity pose major threats. Increasing wildfire incidence and severity, heat waves, insect outbreaks, and tree diseases are causing widespread forest die-off.
• Southeast. Sea level rise poses widespread and continuing threats to the region’s economy and environment. Extreme heat will affect health, energy, agriculture, and more. Decreased water availability will have economic and environmental impacts.
• Midwest. Extreme heat, heavy downpours, and flooding will affect infrastructure, health, agriculture, forestry, transportation, air and water quality, and more. Climate change will also worsen a range of risks to the Great Lakes.
• Southwest. Climate change has caused increased heat, drought, and insect outbreaks. In turn, these changes have made wildfires more numerous and severe. The warming climate has also caused a decline in water supplies, reduced agricultural yields, and triggered heat-related health impacts in cities. In coastal areas, flooding and erosion are additional concerns.

1. IPCC 2021, Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis , the Working Group I contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.

2. IPCC, 2013: Summary for Policymakers. In: Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Stocker, T.F., D. Qin, G.-K. Plattner, M. Tignor, S.K. Allen, J. Boschung, A. Nauels, Y. Xia, V. Bex and P.M. Midgley (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.

3. USGCRP 2014, Third Climate Assessment .

4. USGCRP 2017, Fourth Climate Assessment .

Related Resources

A Degree of Difference

So, the Earth's average temperature has increased about 2 degrees Fahrenheit during the 20th century. What's the big deal?

What’s the difference between climate change and global warming?

“Global warming” refers to the long-term warming of the planet. “Climate change” encompasses global warming, but refers to the broader range of changes that are happening to our planet, including rising sea levels; shrinking mountain glaciers; accelerating ice melt in Greenland, Antarctica and the Arctic; and shifts in flower/plant blooming times.

Is it too late to prevent climate change?

Humans have caused major climate changes to happen already, and we have set in motion more changes still. However, if we stopped emitting greenhouse gases today, the rise in global temperatures would begin to flatten within a few years. Temperatures would then plateau but remain well-elevated for many, many centuries.

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