Total Solids Total solids are the inorganic and organic particles remaining after a sediment sample has been dried. This parameter is measured in order to convert chemical concentrations from a wet weight to a dry weight basis. Total Volatile Solids Total volatile solids is the fraction of total solids that are lost on ignition at a high temperature. This value is used as an estimate of the amount of organic matter in the solids portion. This is a measure of the size range of particles contained in a given sample.
Grain size has an influence on chemical concentrations found in sediments.
In addition, grain size also influences benthic community composition. This is a measure of the total amount of particulate and nonparticulate organic carbon contained in a sample. In the same manner as grain size, total organic carbon also has an influence on chemical concentrations contained in sediments. The higher the organic carbon content, the higher chemical concentrations tend to be. This is particularly true for organic compounds.