Using varying channel impulse response to determine water pollution

Abstract

Water occupies three forth of earth's surface. Although human habitats reside on land, there is no denying of the vital connection between land and water. The future sustainability of human species on this planet depends on wise utilization of all available resources, including that provided by the vast water world. Therefore, it is imperative to explore, understand, define, and protect this massive, varying, and in many areas unexplored water domain. With the exponential growth in urbanization all over the world, water seems to be the common dumping ground of industrial waste. In addition, water is indirectly polluted in many ways in our everyday lives. Therefore, it is of vital importance to monitor water pollution levels effectively and regularly. It is a well known fact that sound wave propagation through water changes considerably in time, frequency, and in spatial domains. Any changes in the water channel and its parameters directly affect the propagation of the acoustic signal through it. Therefore, changes in acoustic channel impulse response (CIR) and acoustic signal level can be a valued indicator of water pollution. This paper presents preliminary laboratory results of the effects of two water contaminants, namely, motor oil and liquid detergent and shows how they change the water channel and in turn changes resulting acoustic CIR and signal level. The differences in CIR and signal level between clean water and that with pollutants can be utilized to monitor water pollution and its level effectively.