Oxygen Deficit Absolute

Integrate oxygen deficit against supplied layer-specific saturation references and volumes; supersaturated layers contribute negative deficits, unlike a saturation-concentration model.

Description

An oxygen deficit compares measured dissolved oxygen with a chosen saturation reference.

An oxygen deficit compares measured dissolved oxygen with a chosen saturation reference. Integrating over layer volumes converts concentration differences into signed oxygen masses.^[1]

The tool returns signedLayerOxygenDeficitsKg, totalSignedOxygenDeficitKg. The computation uses supplied observations and parameters rather than acquiring measurements.

When to use Oxygen Deficit Absolute

Use this for the following task: Integrate oxygen deficit against supplied layer-specific saturation references and volumes; supersaturated layers contribute negative deficits, unlike a saturation-concentration model. Prepare observations and calibration parameters on the same unit and reporting basis.

How to use Oxygen Deficit Absolute and understand its results

Prepare the measured quantities and supplied model parameters. Match the units and align paired lists before calculating.
Enter layerVolumesM3, measuredOxygenMgPerLiter, referenceSaturationMgPerLiter according to the field table, then run the tool.
Read signedLayerOxygenDeficitsKg, totalSignedOxygenDeficitKg. Use the calculation below to interpret the selected mean or the model’s signs, units and comparison flags.
Review the supplied assumptions and calibration before comparing or reporting the result.

Input field	Meaning	Value type and bounds	Requirement
layerVolumesM3	Layer volumes m3	list of number	Required
measuredOxygenMgPerLiter	Measured oxygen mg per liter	list of number	Required
referenceSaturationMgPerLiter	Reference saturation mg per liter	list of number	Required

Provide aligned positive layer volumes and nonnegative measured and reference concentrations. Calculate signed layer deficits and sum them.

deficit kg[i]=volume m³[i]×(reference−measured) mg/L[i]/1000

The symbols and boundary conditions refer to the supplied fields and the implementation described above.

Output field	Meaning	Value type
signedLayerOxygenDeficitsKg	Signed layer oxygen deficits kg	list of number
totalSignedOxygenDeficitKg	Total signed oxygen deficit kg	number

json

{
  "input": {
    "layerVolumesM3": [
      100,
      200
    ],
    "measuredOxygenMgPerLiter": [
      8,
      4
    ],
    "referenceSaturationMgPerLiter": [
      10,
      10
    ]
  },
  "output": {
    "signedLayerOxygenDeficitsKg": [
      0.2,
      1.2
    ],
    "totalSignedOxygenDeficitKg": 1.4
  }
}

Limitations and assumptions

Saturation references are supplied rather than computed from temperature or pressure. Supersaturated layers have negative deficits; summing may offset deficits elsewhere.

Numerical inputs must be finite. Input-shape and calculation checks do not establish measurement quality or the validity of a supplied calibration.

Alternative or Complementary methods

Choose Areal Hypolimnetic Oxygen Depletion when you need its operation: Fit net hypolimnetic oxygen-inventory depletion and normalize by area; negative depletion records replenishment, and changing hypolimnetic boundaries or advective supply require separate correction. Choose Anoxia Risk Checker for the complementary operation: Screen finite time to a caller oxygen comparison under positive constant net depletion; negative projected balance is an unmet-demand model deficit, not physical negative oxygen or a diagnosis of anoxia.

Background reference: Lake Water Quality: dissolved oxygen profiles.

References

Lake Water Quality: dissolved oxygen profiles — U.S. Geological Survey, Circular 1381

Similar or alternative tools

Areal Hypolimnetic Oxygen Depletion
Fit net hypolimnetic oxygen-inventory depletion and normalize by area; negative depletion records replenishment, and changing hypolimnetic boundaries or advective supply require separate correction.
Anoxia Risk Checker
Screen finite time to a caller oxygen comparison under positive constant net depletion; negative projected balance is an unmet-demand model deficit, not physical negative oxygen or a diagnosis of anoxia.