Comparisons of Water Motion I Coral Reefs by measuring Corrosion Rates of Dissimilar Metals

摘要

A method is described to quantify water motion in the marine environment by measuring rates of galvanic corrosion of copper and zinc held in salt water. The rate of corrosion varied directly with the degree of water movement and was measured by weighing metals before and after immer- sion. Zinc corrosion was significantly related with water flow of known rates in the laboratory by relating weight loss in grams per day and velocity in centimeters per second. This relationship was quantified using simple regressions, and the information was used to quantify water motion in the field by measuring weight loss of metal placed on reefs for 10 days.