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Contamination of successive samples in portable pumping systems
Author(s) -
Thomas Robert B.,
Eads Rand E.
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
water resources research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.863
H-Index - 217
eISSN - 1944-7973
pISSN - 0043-1397
DOI - 10.1029/wr019i002p00436
Subject(s) - contamination , sediment , environmental science , streams , peristaltic pump , water quality , hydrology (agriculture) , geotechnical engineering , geology , meteorology , ecology , biology , computer network , paleontology , physics , computer science
Automatic discrete sample pumping systems used to monitor water quality should deliver to storage all materials pumped in a given cycle. If they do not, successive samples will be contaminated, a severe problem with highly variable suspended sediment concentrations in small streams. The cross‐contamination characteristics of two small commonly used portable pumping samplers are compared to each other and to reference measurements under conditions of sudden and severe changes in suspended sediment concentrations. The pressure‐vacuum sampler showed greater cross contamination, especially when changing from high to zero concentrations, than the peristaltic sampler. Both samplers, however, cross‐contaminated to some degree. The contamination was primarily due to the sand size particles rather than to the finer sizes.