Author ORCID Identifier
https://orcid.org/0009-0008-8821-9950
Date of Award
8-8-2023
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Geosciences
First Advisor
Jeremy Diem
Second Advisor
Dajun Dai
Third Advisor
Chetan Tiwari
Abstract
Urbanization alters the quality of the natural environment, with more land areas that were previously covered with forest are now being converted to built-up areas. As a result, watersheds are typically negatively impacted by urbanization. This study analyzed multiple water-quality variables (i.e., temperature, turbidity, pH, dissolved oxygen, and conductance) in 24 to 30 watersheds in the Atlanta, GA region during 2014 – 2021. To understand the impact of urbanization on water quality, monthly means, correlations, and linear regression were used to investigate the relationship between water quality variables and watersheds characteristics. Landcover characteristics such as developed land, imperviousness, population and housing densities, increased stream temperature, and conductance, while decreased DO levels and turbidity. High temperatures and low dissolved oxygen can affect water quality, rendering it unsuitable for various uses. It is recommended that this approach for water quality assessment be used in other metropolitan areas.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.57709/35868174
Recommended Citation
Orimolade, Oluwatosin I., "Assessing Urbanization Impacts on Surface Water Quality in the Atlanta Region." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2023.
doi: https://doi.org/10.57709/35868174
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