Temperature is a measure of the level or absence of heat in water, although ‘heat’ is a subjective term so temperature can also be considered in terms of thermal energy and thermal energy transference.
Commonly measured in either degrees Celsius (ºC) or degrees Fahrenheit (ºF).
Water temperature is potentially one of the most basic water quality parameters but that doesn’t undermine its importance in regulating and supporting aquatic systems.
The temperature of water can affect many other physicochemical components within the aquatic environment such as
Levels of dissolved gases, including oxygen; warmer water holds less dissolved oxygen than cooler waters.
ORP and pH levels
Density of the water
Temperature also affects the aquatic and plant life through metabolic rates and primary production such as photosynthesis. It’s been demonstrated that cellular enzyme activity is higher at warmer temperature, therefore causing increases in metabolism.
Temperature will also affect behaviour of aquatic plants and fauna, with regard to feeding, breeding, predator-prey interactions and migratory routines.
Temperature is also a concern when it comes to toxicity of compounds, as temperature changes can increase their solubility and therefore make them bioavailable to the aquatic life. Compounding this is the fact that changing temperature can also affect an organism’s vulnerability to such compounds by causing changes to their biological functioning.
Simply put, the influence of temperature on water quality cannot be overstated. Above is only a small fraction of how water temperature can affect different processes and systems in aquatic environments demonstrating how crucial it is to both monitor and understand temperature dynamics in water quality monitoring.
