Sequoia - Articles - Comparing volume concentration and mass concentration

How does µl/l and mg/l compare?

[Sequoia, April 7, 2010]

A question that Sequoia often gets asked is: How does the volume concentration (in units of µl/l) from the LISST compare to mass concentration in mg/l? And how do I convert µl/l to mg/l if I know the density in g/cm³ - the units do not seem to agree?

The answer is as follows:

A volume of 1 l equals 1000 ml or 1,000,000 µl. So there are 1,000 µl / ml, and 1 ml = 1 cm³. Therefore 1µl = 1×10^-3 cm³.
Consequently, a volume concentration of, say 15 µl / l is equal to 15×10^-3 cm³ / l.
Now, if the density of the particles is 2.65 g/cm³, then the mass concentration is computed as
15×10^-3 cm³ / l × 2.65 g / cm³ = 39.75×10^-3g / l = 39.75mg / l.

Voila!

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