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Analyzing Water Quality with UV-Visable Light Absorbance Spectropscopy

  • Writer: gphscholars
    gphscholars
  • 10 hours ago
  • 2 min read

Presenter: Annika Means, General Biology, Global Public Health Scholars

For my practicum I conducted research with the Cooperative Institute for Satellite Earth System Studies (CISESS) at the UMD Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center, in collaboration with my mentors, who are scientists from NOAA and UMD. My research project was about using UV-Visible light absorbance spectroscopy for water quality analysis, so I conducted a literature review about water constituents such as CDOM, phycocyanin, phycoerythrin, lead, nitrate, nitrite, copper, chlorophyll a, and arsenic. I collected water samples from rain, streams, creeks, taps, ponds, and lakes, and measured the absorbance of each sample with a UV-Visible light spectrometer. I analyzed the absorbance data by examining the wavelengths with high levels of absorbance and comparing them to the wavelengths of peak absorbance of the constituents I had researched, in order to determine which constituents were present in the water. I learned that UV-Visible light spectroscopy is a cost-effective method for determining general water quality, but it cannot convey all aspects of a water sample, as undissolved particles sometimes went undetected by the spectrometer. Additionally, there was often noise in the absorbance readings, and the data sometimes indicated the presence of constituents that were not actually there. Instead, UV-Visible spectroscopy should be used in conjunction with other water quality analysis techniques such as transmission and reflectance to better determine water quality. I also learned that the appearance of water does not necessarily correlate with water quality. Contaminated water may appear clean, since dissolved particles are not visible, and its consumption can lead to waterborne disease outbreaks and illnesses such as diarrhea, dysentery, and cholera. My practicum research is relevant to public health because water contaminants are detrimental to human and ecosystem health, so it is essential to know what constituents are present in drinking water. There are about 1 million annual deaths from waterborne diarrhea and diarrhea caused by poor hygiene and sanitation, which emphasizes the need for water quality interventions. Sustainable Development Goal 6 highlights the importance of water quality: “Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all”. The issue of water quality is being exacerbated by population growth and climate change, making the need for cost-effective water quality analysis methods even more urgent. My practicum addresses this need by exploring the effectiveness of UV-Visible light absorbance spectroscopy. UV-Visible light spectroscopy can help identify contaminants in the water, aiding with health treatments and illness prevention, and it can be used in conjunction with water filters to improve access to clean water.

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