PHYSICAL FEATURES

OF INLAND WATER
ENVIRONMENTS
By
M. Asadullah Al Galib
ID: 19103432 Session: 2018-19
Department of Environmental Science and Engineering
Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University
What does Inland Water means?

Inlandwaters are permanent water bodies inland from the coastal

zone and areas whose properties and use are dominated by the
permanent, seasonal, or intermittent occurrence of flooded condition
any of the waters within the territory of a state as contrasted with the
open seas or marginal waters bordering another state subject to
various sovereign rights of the bordering state
Inland
water encompass habitats such as lakes and rivers, marshes,
swamps and floodplains, small streams, ponds, and cave waters
Inland waters, also known as internal waters
About Inland Water

Inland waters are classified as one of four categories:

• Category A - narrow rivers and canals where the depth of water is generally
less than 1.5 metres
• Category B - wider rivers and canals where the depth of water is generally 1.5
metres or more and where the significant wave height could not be expected to
exceed 0.6 metres at any time
• Category C - tidal rivers, estuaries and large, deep lakes and lochs where the
significant wave height could not be expected to exceed 1.2 metres at any time
• Category D - tidal rivers and estuaries where the significant wave height could
not be expected to exceed 2 metres at any time
Physical Features of Inland Water
Density

Viscosity

Surface film

Surface tension

Surface radiation

Turbidity
Density
The density of water depends on the quantity of dissolved substances, the
temperature and the pressure.
With increasing amounts of dissolved solids the density increases in a
roughly linear fashion
The quantity of dissolved solids for inland waters is usually below 1 g / l,
except, for mineral waters (springs) inland salt water bodies, and water
bodies subjected to marine influence
The density difference due to chemical factors is not more than 0.85 g /l
and the density differences occurring in different zones of the same water
body are usually an order of magnitude less than this
At normal pressure, water reaches its maximum density at 4ºC when 1
cm3 of water has the mass of 1 gram. Water becomes less dense below
4ºC, so ice floats to the surface
Viscosity

Viscosity is the internal friction due to molecular cohesion in fluids which

results in resistance to flow
Viscosity can be conceptualized as quantifying the internal 
frictional force that arises between adjacent layers of fluid that are in
relative motion
Water viscosity decreases as temperature increases. Water viscosity
doubles as the temperature is lowered from 25 to 0°C
It is measured in poise (P), 0.100 kg m−1 s−1, but usually expressed as
centipoise (cP), 0.001 kg m−1 s−1
Surface Film
When water is exposed to air, it acts as if it were encased within an
extremely thin elastic, surface membrane. This boundary is
commonly known as the surface film
It is interpreted as a manifestation of unbalanced molecular action
There is a surface tension due to unbalanced attractions between
water molecules at surface on one side only and upward attraction is
lacking because there are no water molecules above them
Surface film provides support for organisms and miscellaneous
particulate material, upper as well as under surface of surface film
offers mechanized support
Surface Film
a)Beneficial effects are
(i) mechanical support and
(ii) respiration mainly air breathing aquatic insects.

b)Harmful effects are

(iii) reduction of light penetration thereby it will have effects on
photosynthesis and
(iv) traps the minute organisms thereby fall easy prey to big animals
Surface Tension
Surface tension- The property of the surface of a liquid that allows it to
resist an external force, due to the cohesive nature of its molecules
Produces inward force due to hydrogen bonding with the molecules
below the surface
At the surface, there are fewer water molecules to cling to since there is air
above (thus, no water molecules). This results in a stronger bond between
those molecules that actually do come in contact with one another, and a
layer of strongly bonded water
Surface tension decreases with increasing temperature, salinity, and
concentrations of organic compounds
Surface Radiation

A significant fraction of the solar radiation that reaches the water

surface is lost through reflection and backscattering, the remaining
fraction is works as Surface Radiation
The remaining fraction enters the water column where its energy
rapidly diminishes with depth as it is absorbed and converted either to
heat by physical processes or to chemical energy by the biological
process of photosynthesis
Surface Radiation
Turbidity
Turbidity is
a reduction in water clarity because of the presence of
suspended matter absorbing or scattering downwelling light
Turbidity can be described as “haziness” or “milkyness”
The suspended particles may be clay, silt, finely divided organic and
inorganic matter, plankton and other microscopic organisms
Producing substances may be divided into two groups-
a) Settling suspended matters – those substances which in
motionless water, will settle to the bottom sooner or later. The
settling of particulate materials is by no means at a uniform rate
particularly in deeper lake
b) Non-settling suspended matters - Finely divided solids whose
specific gravity is less than water which are in permanent
Effect of Light & Temperature:
on the growth of aquatic organisms
A shallow lake receives light to its very bottom resulting in an
abundant growth of vegetation both phytoplankton and rooted
vascular plants
Light affect the orientation and changes in position of attached
species and their nature of growth
Temperature is the most important factor that determines the rate of
growth, multiplication, survival, and death of all living organisms.
High temperature damage microbes by denaturing enzymes,
transport carries, and other proteins.
Microbial membrane are disrupted by temperature extremes.
At very low temperatures membranes also solidify and enzymes also
do not function properly
Effect of Light & Temperature:
on the growth of aquatic organisms
Water temperature can affect the metabolic rates and biological
activity of aquatic organisms
Some organisms, particularly aquatic plants flourish in warmer
temperatures, while some fishes such as trout or salmon prefer
colder streams
Temperature can also inhibit plant respiration and photosynthesis
Watertemperature affect metabolic rates, occurs as many cellular
enzymes are more active at higher temperatures
For most fish, a 10°C increase in water temperature will
approximately double the rate of physiological function
Thermal Stratification & Circulation
Thermal Stratification
refers to a change in the temperature at different depths in the
reservoir, and is due to the change in water's density with temperature
Thermal stratification is thus the combined result of solar heating and
wind influence at the surface
three different layers typically form-
I. Epilimnion- The shallowest layer is that warm surface layer. It is
the layer of water that interacts with the wind and sunlight, so it
becomes the warmest and contains the most dissolved oxygen
Thermal Stratification & Circulation
II. Hypolimnion- The deepest layer is the cold, dense water at the lake
bottom. It often remains around 4°C throughout the year, rarely gets any
direct warmth from the sun and is isolated from the air at the surface of
the lake. The hypolimnion contains the lowest amount of dissolved
oxygen
III. Metalimnion- The middle layer is the transition zone of water between
the warm epilimnion and cold hypolimnion. The metalimnion is a place
where the shallowest of the cool waters in the hypolimnion gradually
warm up until they mix into the epilimnion
The point of greatest temperature difference (and therefore density difference)
is called the thermocline and occurs within the metalimnion
Thermal Stratification & Circulation
Any Query?
THANK YOU!