Computing time-series suspended-sediment concentrations and loads from in-stream turbidity-sensor and streamflow data

Over the last decade, use of a method for computing suspended-sediment concentration and loads using turbidity sensors—primarily nephelometry, but also optical backscatter—has become more prevalent. Because the in-situ turbidity sensor is capable of measuring turbidity instantaneously, a turbidity time series can be recorded and related directly to time-varying suspended-sediment concentrations. Depending on the suspended-sediment characteristics of the measurement site, this method can be more reliable and, in many cases, a more accurate means for computing suspended-sediment concentrations and loads than traditional computation methods using streamflow.