title: Variation of total organic carbon content along the stream Harsit, Eastern Black Sea Basin, Turkey.
abstract: The TOC in surface waters and wastewater is an important analytical parameter describing the total content of all organic substances containing carbon. In practice, the TOC originated from natural and anthropogenic sources, and even if it is not directly responsible for dangers on human health, its determination is important for any kind of water that is used by public. The aim of this study was to determine variation of total organic carbon (TOC) and total carbon (TC) content in the stream Harsit, which courses in Eastern Black Sea Region, Turkey. Sampling was fortnightly conducted in each of the four seasons between March 2009 and February 2010. A total of 230 water samples were collected from ten sampling stations along the main branch of the stream Harsit with 143 km of length. Obtained TOC values were evaluated and used to classify the water quality of stream Harsit, according to the Turkish Water Pollution Control Regulation (TWPCR). The annual average TOC content values for the stations were found between 2.33 and 6.97 mg/L. It was seen that the TOC content have increased along the streamcourse of Harsit until the fourth station, where reaches its maximum value. The TOC content, then, has decreased and the minimum value was observed in the eighth station. The results showed that, except in winter season, maximum TOC content observed in many of the water samples were above Class I water standard indicated in TWPCR, which classifies the water resources according to the different area of uses. It was also found that TOC has a small contribution to TC and the highest TOC content in stream waters were measured in Gumushane station where direct discharge of city wastewaters and solid waste dumping to the stream were observed.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering, Karadeniz Technical University, 61080 Trabzon, Turkey. adembayram@gmail.com
authors.forename: Adem
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bayram
authors.forename: Hizir
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Önsoy
authors.forename: Görkem
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Akinci
authors.forename: Volkan Numan
authors.initials: VN
authors.lastname: Bulut
mesh_terms: D059038:Black Sea; D002244:Carbon / Q000032:analysis*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D045483:Rivers / Q000737:chemistry*; D014421:Turkey; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*; D014877:Water Pollution, Chemical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
chemical_list: D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D002244:Carbon