Excess soil particles suspended in water are referred to as what?

Excess soil particles suspended in water are referred to as what?

• A. Sediment pollution
• B. Nutrient pollution
• C. Pathogens
• D. Eutrophication

Answer: (A)

When soil is eroded and carried into water, those fine particles remain suspended and create sediment pollution. This is a physical pollutant that makes water cloudy, a condition we measure as turbidity. The suspended sediment reduces light penetration, which can slow or stop photosynthesis in aquatic plants, disrupts habitats, and can clog fish gills or smother fish eggs and benthic organisms. Sediment can also carry attached pollutants into the water and complicate drinking-water treatment. Nutrient pollution, on the other hand, involves excess nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus that fuel algal blooms. Eutrophication is the process resulting from that nutrient enrichment, not the presence of soil particles themselves. Pathogens are disease-causing microbes. So the best term for excess soil particles suspended in water is sediment pollution.

When soil is eroded and carried into water, those fine particles remain suspended and create sediment pollution. This is a physical pollutant that makes water cloudy, a condition we measure as turbidity. The suspended sediment reduces light penetration, which can slow or stop photosynthesis in aquatic plants, disrupts habitats, and can clog fish gills or smother fish eggs and benthic organisms. Sediment can also carry attached pollutants into the water and complicate drinking-water treatment.

Nutrient pollution, on the other hand, involves excess nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus that fuel algal blooms. Eutrophication is the process resulting from that nutrient enrichment, not the presence of soil particles themselves. Pathogens are disease-causing microbes. So the best term for excess soil particles suspended in water is sediment pollution.