Sedimentation of Soils from Three Physiographic Regions of Alabama at Different Salinities

This study evaluated the rate of sedimentation from water under various salinities, over a time period of 72 h. The particles come from soils that are commonly found in shrimp growing areas of Alabama: Black Belt Prairie, Piedmont Plateau, and Upper Coastal Plain. Different salinity treatments and settling times resulted in significant differences (P≤ 0.05) in the reduction of turbidity and TSS for each soil type. Solutions containing 2 ppt salinity had a similar rate of turbidity reduction as the solutions with 5, 10, or greater ppt treatments. Concentrations of turbidity and TSS decreased rapidly between 1 and 12 h of sedimentation; very little decline was observed during the time intervals 12–72 h. Higher salinity treatments yielded settling patterns similar to the 2 ppt salinity treatment. After 1 h, turbidity was removed by 65% in the control compared with 85% salinity treated samples. Variations in turbidity and TSS among the three sediments suggest that finer particles, the Piedmont Plateau soils, settled at a slower rate than larger particles. This difference occurs because the percentage of turbidity and TSS removed was significantly higher in mineralized waters compared to freshwater. Therefore, a small amount of salt, 2 ppt, can be used in pond aquaculture treatments to reduce the turbidity and TSS concentrations in shrimp ponds.