I can detect a distinct smell when I am near water going over a weir. I could tell that I was near "white water" if I was blindfold. Can anyone tell me what causes this odour?
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Welcome to chemistry.SE! If you had any questions about the policies of our community, please visit the help center. || Um, I've never heard of this terminology. What's "white water"? – M.A.R. Sep 02 '15 at 19:22
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@inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M It means rough water that is turned white by the foam - like the type you might get in a fast flowing, rocky river. – bon Sep 02 '15 at 19:31
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As in 'white water rafting' - ah, I got it now - interesting question! – Sep 02 '15 at 19:38
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Perhaps you could describe the smell in a bit more detail. – bon Sep 02 '15 at 19:47
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1related http://chemistry.stackexchange.com/questions/19495/does-water-have-a-smell, http://chemistry.stackexchange.com/questions/25076/what-is-the-smell-of-a-glass-of-water-in-contact-with-fresh-air – Mithoron Sep 02 '15 at 21:54
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Can you clarify the limit of this sense? E.g., does it only apply to freshwater in a natural river? Or can you also tell with pool water, or in a lab with distilled water? (Because river water is chemically vastly more complex than just "water"!) – feetwet Sep 12 '15 at 13:39
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1See: What makes rain smell so good – MaxW Oct 20 '15 at 21:36
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Possibly moss and foliage, along with damp dirt. Moist banks shaded by medium trees next to the white water areas could be a great growth site, and in my experience, this is true. If you are referring to white water on blank rocks, with no sign of organic matter, feel free to correct me.
Felix
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I don't have any journal article citations to back me up, but I've always understood that this distinct smell is from water aerosol. You can detect the same smell during a fine misting rain as well as near water sprinklers (if the sprinklers produce a very fine mist of water). But you don't get this smell from water vapor (steam) or bulk water, so there is clearly a specific range of water droplet size that triggers the olfactory response.
I've personally always wanted to know what the specific size range of these aerosol droplets needs to be to trigger the olfactory response. I'm confident someone has studied this, but I don't know which journals to search to find the answer.
S. Burt
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