Teaching GuideTerm
Higher Technical University College of Civil Engineering
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Mestrado Universitario en Enxeñaría da Auga (plan 2012)
 Subjects
  Physico-chemistry and quality of water
   Contents
Topic Sub-topic
Basics of water chemistry Structure and properties of water
- Phase diagram of water
- Density, salinity, heat capacity, viscosity
- Oceanic stratification and thermohaline circulation
- Phase transformations of water
- Stereochemistry of the wáter molecule
Basic chemistry concepts
- Ponderal laws
- Mass conservation
- Mol and stoichiometry
- Concentration units
- Intensity and capacity properties
Colligative properties
- Adhesión, cohesion and capillarity
Chemical bonding and aqueous interactions
- Types of chemical bonding
- Aqueous interactions
- Emulsions and solutions
Chemical equilibrium and solubility
- Thermodynamic systems and laws
- Components, phases and species
- Collision theory and chemical reactions
- Mass action law and the equilibrium constant
- Le Chatelier's Principle
- Chemical kinetics and reaction rates
Sampling and monitoring Planning a water quality survey
Routine and special analyses
Water sampling: Tools and methodology
Sample pre-treatment and preservation
In situ versus laboratory parameter determination
Sampling water systems
- Ground water sampling and special equipment
- Precipitation
- Surface water (streams and rivers)
- Lakes and reservoir sampling
Basic analitical techniques and quality assessment of water analysis Experimental measurements
Basic statistics
- Statistical moments
- Distribution functions and non-parametric statistics
- Quantiles
- Outliers
Basic analytical chemistry:
- Precision
- Accuracy
- Error and bias
- Calibration and analytical limits
Quality assessment:
- Recommendations and rules-of-thumb
Quantitative and qualitative analyses
Selection of instrumental analytical techniques:
- Titrimetry
- Spectrometric methods
- Chromatographic methods
Graphical analyses of water quality data Basic graphical assessment
- Single water samples
- Multiple water samples
Advanced plotting and analysis techniques
- Correlations and false correlations
- Complex relationships
- Time- and flow-adjusted concentrations
- Time trend analyses
- Time series analyses
Analyses tools:
- Time trends
- PAST
Interpretation of the quality of natural waters (Part I) The water cycle and the global enegy budget
Precipitation
- Components of precipitation (dry, bulk, wet, hail, fog, etc.)
- Precipitation sampling
- Rain/forest/soil interactions
- Smog and photochemical smog
- Meteorological drivers and rain shadows
- Chemical composition of precipitation
- Sea spray
- Acid rain
- Global effects on precipitation
- Critical loads
- Local effects in precipitation
Interpretation of the quality of natural waters (Part II) Rivers and Streams
- Basins and watersheds
- River processes
- Hyporrheic and riparian zones
- Diel cycles
- Major constituent origin and processes
- Space and time dependencies in riverine systems
Interpretation of the quality of natural waters (Part III) Lakes and Reservoirs
- Fresh water environments and ecological zoning
- Lake types
- The Aral Sea disaster
- Special cases: Reservoirs, pit lakes and subglacial lakes
- Residence time
- Morphometrical studies: Methodology and descriptors
- Energy budgets in lakes and reservoirs
- Thermal classification of lakes and reservoirs
- Light, attenuation and transparency
- Oxygen
- The cycles of C, N and P and their coupled systems
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