Research Question: How is the water quality of Seneca Lake impacted by environmental threats?
Controlled Variables: Area where there are no environmental threats, same amount of water being sampled, pulse of sound, temperature, and speed.
Independent Variables: 1 deep, 1 shallow, 1 medium depth
Relevant Variables: Measure the pH, Dissolved Oxygen, Chloride ion and the macro-invertebrates present in the water to determine water quality. Measure and observe environmental threats subjected to Seneca Lake.
As mentioned in the Science on Seneca Manual, Seneca Lake is a primary source of drinking water and is useful to nearby towns and municipalities. However all of the Finger Lakes are subjected to environmental harms such as; "agricultural pollutants, shoreline development, increasing recreational use,and the introduction of exotic species like the spiny water flea, zebra and quagga
mussel and Eurasian watermilfoil" (Science on Seneca Manual, p.6). Theses environmental threats are factors that impact the water quality of Seneca Lake. As done in the Furnace Brook lab, water quality was tested by sampling macro-invertebrates present in the water, along with testing pH, Dissolved Oxygen, and Turbidity. By testing for the things mentioned above in the three soil samples taken from the lake, along with taking into account the environmental threats that impact Seneca Lake, the water quality can be determined. By seeing organisms that live or do not live in Seneca Lake, you can determine the water quality based on the organisms' pollution tolerance. As in the Furnace Brook lab, the Caddisfly Larvae (which is very intolerant of pollution) was present in Furnace Brook, which shows that Furnace Brook's water quality is not polluted enough for that organism to be absent, indicating the water quality is fair.
Bibliography: "Science on Seneca Manual.pdf." Google Docs. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2015.
"Macroinvertebrates as Indicators of Water Quality (Water Quality)." Water Quality (Penn State Extension). N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2015.
"Benthic Macroinvertebrates and Biological Monitoring." Enviroscience. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2015.
Hypothesis: Seneca Lake will have good water quality and be impacted very little by environmental threats. The organisms in the three soil samples will differ slightly. Organisms will higher pollution tolerances will be present more near the shoreline, based on the shoreline development surrounding Seneca Lake mentioned in Science of Seneca Lake Manual. The Lake will have a high population of zebra mussels. However, I believe the water quality has been impacted negatively over time due to the very little environmental threats that Seneca Lake is subjected to.
Methods: To limit variability between locations, sample depths in the same range of Seneca Lake. Pick two distances and construct an arc or radius that is equal to the range in relation to that target. Make an arc which is centered on the second target and which has a radius equal to the range to that target. The locations will be on the arc and where they intersect. To control the sound pulse, the travel time and speed will have to remain at a certain level. The speed of sound will be controlled by water temperature. Use the depth finder to take a sample from. Use the Secchi Disk to measure the Turbidity of the water. Test the pH, Dissolved Oxygen, Chloride, and Hardness.
Procedure:
1) Use the pH meter to determine the pH of the lake water.
2) Determine the Dissolved Oxygen by using the dissolved oxygen kit
3) add 8 drops of the manganese(II) sulfate solution (bottle 4167) followed by 8 drops of the alkaline potassium iodide azide solution (bottle 7166). Some water may drip off the sides, this is expected! Carefully cap the bottle, mix by gently inverting (do not generate bubbles inside the glass sample bottle), then allow the orange-brown precipitate that has formed to settle below the shoulder of the bottle (about 3-4 minutes).
4) Using the 1 gram spoon provided in the kit (0697), add one level spoonful of
sulfamic acid (bottle 6286) to the solution in your LaMotte sample bottle. Cap the bottle and mix until both the reagent (white crystals) and precipitate (brown crystals) have completely dissolved and you obtain a clear brown-yellow solution.CAUTION: Sulfamic acid will burn if you get it on your skin. Be careful!!
5) Pour this clear brown-yellow solution from the LaMotte bottle into the titration tube and fill it up to the 20 ml line. Then, using the plastic eye-dropper provided in the kit, add 8 drops of the starch solution to the titration tube. At this point, the solution should change color to a bluish-green.
6) Fill the Direct Reading Titrator (0337) up to the 0 mark [looks like a syringe, marked 0-10 ppm] with the sodium thiosulfate solution (bottle 4169).
7) Insert the titrator you just filled through the small hole in the cap of the titration tube and titrate the solution slowly. Swirl the titration tube until the blue color of the solution disappears permanently with one drop of titrant (i.e., you are looking for a color progression from green-blue to blue to light blue to colorless). You may have to fill the titrator more than once. Be sure to record how much titrant you used before refilling. The direct reading titrator is calibrated in units of parts per million (ppm) dissolved oxygen, therefore, be sure to record all of these units (Science on Seneca, p. 21-22).
8) Handle the waste and clean up.
9) Do not dump remaining contents in the LaMotte sample bottle, in the sink! Dump the remains in the container marked DO WASTE.
10) Test the chemistry of the dissolved oxygen determination
11) In Step 1, a solution of manganese(II) sulfate is initially added to the lake water
12) Next, you add a solution of potassium hydroxide (KOH), sodium azide (NaN3) and potassium iodide (KI) to the LaMotte bottle.sample.
13) In step 2, you add sulfamic acid (H2SO3NH2) to the solution with a yellow-brown precipitate.
14) At this point, the oxygen is bound. The amount of dissolved oxygen is determined by titrating the iodine in solution with a starch indicator (the I2 is blue in starch.)
15) When all of the I2 has been reduced (to I-(Na2S4O6) are formed. The blue color disappears and the solution becomes colorless. This is the end point of the titration. The concentration of I2 formed equals the concentration of dissolved oxygen.), sodium iodide (NaI) and sodium tetrathionate. (Science on Seneca Manual)
16) Test the Chloride ion
17) Fill the titration tube to the 15 ml mark with the lake water sample from the large plastic LAKE SAMPLE water bottle.
18) Add three drops of CHLORIDE REAGENT #1 (bottle 4504, contains potassium chromate) to the sample in the titration tube. Cap the tube and shake to mix. A yellow color will result.
19) Fill the Direct Reading Titrator (0382) up to the 0 mark [looks like a syringe: marked 0-200 ppm] with CHLORIDE REAGENT #2 (bottle 4505, contains silver nitrate). Note:Silver Nitrate (AgNO3) can stain heavily if it gets on your hands or clothing and is exposed to daylight or direct sunlight. Be careful!!
20) Insert the titrator containing CHLORIDE REAGENT #2 into the small hole in the titration tube cap and titrate the test sample drop by drop swirling after each drop. Swirl the titration tube after each drop added until the yellow color changes faintly, yet permanently to pink. You will go from yellow to cloudy yellow and suddenly to pink. Record the titrator reading in units of ppm. If the plunger reaches the 200 ppm mark before the pink color appears, then refill the titrator and continue the titration. Be sure to add the value of the 200 ppm originally used in your final answer.
(Science on Seneca Manual)
21) Handle waste and clean up- Put the contents of the titration tube into the waste container marked: Cl- Waste.
22) Test the hardness
23) Fill the titration tube to the 12.9 ml mark with the lake water sample to be tested from the large plastic LAKE SAMPLE water bottle.
24) Add five drops of HARDNESS REAGENT #5 (bottle 4483, contains sodium sulfide,sodium hydroxide, and sodium borate) to the sample in the titration tube. Cap the tube and swirl to mix.
25) Add one tablet of HARDNESS REAGENT #6 (bottle 4484, contains potassium chloride, and calmagite) to the titration tube, cap it, and swirl to mix until the tablet is completely dissolved. A magenta/red color will occur.
26) Fill the Direct Reading Titrator (0382) up to the 0 mark [looks like a syringe: marked 0-200 ppm] with HARDNESS REAGENT #7 (bottle 4487DR, contains magnesium chloride and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA)).
27) Insert the titrator containing HARDNESS REAGENT #7 into the small hole in the titration tube cap and titrate the test sample dropwise. Swirl the titrator tube after each drop is added until the color changes to royal blue. You will go from magenta to deep pink to purple to royal blue. Record the titrator reading in units of ppm (CaCO3). If the plunger reaches the 200 ppm mark before the pink color appears, then refill the titrator and continue the titration. Be sure to include the value of the 200 ppm originally used in your final record.
Question: How will the environment threats affect the different tests for pH, Dissolved Oxygen, Hardness,and Chloride ion?
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Thursday, October 22, 2015
Impact on Carbon Cycle
Ways I impact the Carbon Cycle:
-Breathing out carbon dioxide
- I drive around town
- I use electricity
- Exercising
- Supporting factory products
- Using lots of paper
- Using plastic products
- Charcoal
-Breathing out carbon dioxide
- I drive around town
- I use electricity
- Exercising
- Supporting factory products
- Using lots of paper
- Using plastic products
- Charcoal
Wednesday, October 14, 2015
Biome of Pandas
Pandas live in deciduous, coniferous, and bamboo forests. They also live in mountain ranges in central-western and south-western China. Essentially this biome can be found in places common to Syracuse, NY. There are four seasons and a warm growing season. The winters are cold but mild and the summers are warm but wet. In the biome, there are trees such as; broad leaved evergreens, bamboo, and maple trees. these trees adapt to the biome because the climate cools down and warms back up. Animals commonly found in this biome are; Red Pandas, Leopards, and Bears. These animals are able to adapt because Bears, Pandas, and Red Pandas eat plants within the deciduous and coniferous forests. Leopards prey on these animals in the forests. A major problem for this biome is deforestation. Much of the forests have been impacted by urbanization and is threatening ash trees within the environment. Urbanization has also imposed a threat to all plants in that area. A way to rectify this problem is by protecting the forests from human activity, by not allowing urbanization to occur in areas of this biome. Pandas consume other organisms in the environment for energy. They consume 26 to 84 pounds of bamboo a day. Pandas live in an environment rich with plants for them to consume. Plants such as; bamboo is a primary consumer. The Pandas then consume bamboo and are also a primary consumer of bamboo. Leopards are a secondary consumer and prey off of Pandas. Bengal Tigers are a tertiary consumer and prey on Leopards. Giant Pandas compete with other Bears and Red Pandas along with other animals in their environment. They compete for territory since China is so highly populated and there is very limited land for these animals. Since they compete for territory, they also compete for food in that territory.
Works sited:
"Giant Panda." EndangeredSpeciesBiomesProjects -. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2015.
"Giant Panda Bear." (Ailuropoda Melanoleuca). N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2015.
"Giant Panda." Facts. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2015.
"Giant Panda." WorldWildlife.org. World Wildlife Fund, n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2015.
Works sited:
"Giant Panda." EndangeredSpeciesBiomesProjects -. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2015.
"Giant Panda Bear." (Ailuropoda Melanoleuca). N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2015.
"Giant Panda." Facts. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2015.
"Giant Panda." WorldWildlife.org. World Wildlife Fund, n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2015.
Thursday, October 8, 2015
Furnace Brook Lab Report
Furnace Brook Lab Report
Introduction: Macro-invertebrates
are an important indicator of water quality and the health of an ecosystem.
Different groups of macro-invertebrates vary with pollution tolerances, which
cause them to be present or absent in the body of water, referenced in The Enviroscience Benthic Macroinvertebrates
Surveys. The aim of this lab was to observe the species of
macro-invertebrates and deduct from the pollution tolerances of the species
identified, the water quality of Furnace Brook. Also by analyzing the pH,
dissolved oxygen, and turbidity of the water, we will be able deduce the water
quality of the creek. Since macroinvertebrates need a high level of dissolved oxygen
to live, as mentioned in EPA’s chapter 4
macroinvertebrates and habitat, a presence of high dissolved oxygen can
indicate life and stability in the environment along with the water quality. In
this lab, the experiment will be conducted in two parts, calculating the flow
rate of the creek and sampling the macro-invertebrate population. A golf ball
will be dropped downstream 40 feet and timed several trials, to calculate the
average velocity of the creek. To sample the macro-invertebrate population, one
person from the group will move around and cause debris in the water, while
another person holds the screen downstream to collect macro-invertebrates.
Research Question: How can the water quality impact the chemical
compounds and the macro-invertebrate population of Furnace Brook?
Hypothesis: The pH of
the creek will be around 6 and there will be intolerant pollution macro-invertebrates
present in the creek. By observing the creek, there is life all around it and
in it, however there is also litter, inferring that the water quality will be
in between poor and good. Macro-invertebrates that are intolerant to pollution
found in the creek will indicate that the water quality isn’t poor, however
there will be a mixture of macro-invertebrates from varying pollutant groups
present in Furnace Brook.
Controlled Variable
|
Method to control the variable
|
Creek flow rate
|
Did not alter the flow rate
|
Distance
|
Standing 40ft from drop place of the golf ball and stop place.
|
Experimental Setup
: This lab was conducted at the creek,
Furnace Brook, located behind Corcoran High School and continues through Elmwood
Park. Materials that were used were a kick-net, plastic paint tray, meter
stick, tape measure, stop watch, golf ball, dissolved oxygen tablets, pH
tablets, two vials varying in size, a water thermometer, and a calculator.
|
|
|
http://www.mytopo.com/locations/index.cfm?fid=949602
Procedure:
1. Picked two sites to sample from, located the
longitude and latitude of those sites. Recorded the longitude and latitude
coordinates.
2. Observed the environment around the site that
was picked. Looking closely at the water appearance, stream bed composition,
algae cover along with the texture and amount, and what the environment is like
around the stream bank. Recorded these observations. This helps develop a
hypothesis.
3. The pH was tested by taking the smaller vial and
filling it up with the creek water. Once the water was collected, two pH
tablets were put into the vial. The vial was then turned up and down for four
minutes until the creek water turned a color. Once the water was a different
color, the reference sheet was used to determine the pH level of the creek
water. Recorded the pH level.
4. The dissolved oxygen was tested by taking the
larger vial and filling it up to 10mL. Afterward, putting one dissolved oxygen
tablet into the vial. Then turned it back and forth until the water changed
color. Referenced back to the same sheet for pH to determine the dissolved
oxygen level. Recorded the dissolved oxygen level.
5. Filled the cup, which held the materials for pH
and dissolved oxygen, with water and waited until the turbidity symbol at the
bottom changed. Referenced back to the sheet with the pH and dissolved oxygen
to determine the turbidity level. Recorded the turbidity level.
6. Took the water thermometer and placed it in the
water to get the temperature of the creek water. Recorded the temperature.
(Repeated steps 1-5 for both sites on both days the experiment was being done.)
7. Measured the width of the creek using the
measuring tape in feet. Recorded the width.
8. Took six equidistant depth measurements along
the width with the meter stick in inches. Recorded each of the six equidistant
depth measurements.
9. Made a conversion of the six equidistant depths
from inches to feet by dividing each measurement by 12.
10. Added all of the six depths in feet and divided
that number by 6 to find the average depth.
11. Calculated the area by multiplying the average
depth by the width.
12. Person 1 stood at a location within in the site
being sampled, while person 2 stood 40ft downstream from person 1. The 40ft
distance between the people was measured with the tape measure in feet.
13. Another group member dropped the golf ball from
where person 1 was standing.
14. The time it took from the golf ball to get from
person 1 to person 2 was timed using the stopwatch. Recorded the time.
15.
Person 2 picked up the golf ball and gave it to
the golf ball dropper to do another trial. (Repeated steps 6-11 for five trials
at both sites 1 and 2, to calculate the average float time of the golf ball.)116.
Calculated the average float time of the gold
ball by adding up all the times from the five trials and dividing by 5.
17. Calculated the stream velocity by dividing 40ft
by the average float time.
18. Calculated the stream discharge by multiplying
the area by the velocity.
19. Person 1
kicked up debris and moved some rocks.
20. Person 2 stood at a spot not too far away from person 1 downstream, holding the kick-net, to collect any macro-invertebrates that were moved out of hiding.
20. Person 2 stood at a spot not too far away from person 1 downstream, holding the kick-net, to collect any macro-invertebrates that were moved out of hiding.
21. Person 2 stood there for approximately a minute
and took the kick-net out of the water.
22. Gently removed the macro-invertebrates on the
kick-net with water, into the plastic paint tray.
23. Counted the number of each macro-invertebrate
species along with the type of macro-invertebrate seen and recorded it.
24. Put the macro-invertebrates back into the creek,
intact the same way they were when taken out.
Data: The data is collected twice from two
different sites. For site 1, the width of the stream at the first site is 15.0
ft. The second site has a stream width of 9.2ft. The depth of six equidistant
locations from both sites is listed in the charts. The conversions of the
depths in inches to feet are listed. Each measurement in inches is divided by
12 to convert to feet. The average stream depth for site one is 0.4217ft and
for site two it is 0.49ft. The area of the stream at site one is 6.326 sq ft
and for site two it is 4.508 sq ft. To calculate the area the average depth is
multiplied by the width. The average float time for site one is 134.6s, while
the average float time for the second site is 44s. The stream velocity for site
one is 0.29718 feet/second. The average stream velocity for site two is
0.90909feet/second. The stream velocity is calculated by dividing 40 by the
average float time. The stream discharge for site one is 1.88 cubic
feet/second. The stream discharge for site two is 4.098 cubic feet/second. The
stream discharge is calculated by multiplying the area by the velocity.
Site 1:
Trial
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
Depth (in)
|
2.7
|
2.7
|
2.5
|
2.0
|
4.5
|
16.0
|
Trial
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
Depth (ft)
|
0.225
|
0.225
|
0.2083
|
0.1670
|
0.325
|
1.333
|
Trial
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
Float time (s)
|
129
|
141
|
138
|
135
|
130
|
Site 2:
Trial
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
Depth (in)
|
5.5
|
3.8
|
4.5
|
1.5
|
9.0
|
11.0
|
Trial
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
Depth (ft)
|
0.458
|
0.317
|
0.375
|
0.125
|
0.750
|
0.917
|
Trial
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
Float time (s)
|
65
|
55
|
28
|
34
|
38
|
Site 1:
Day 1
|
Day 2
|
|
pH
|
7
|
7
|
Dissolved oxygen
|
4-6ppm
|
4ppm
|
Turbidity
|
0JTU
|
0JTU
|
Temperature
|
11°
|
10°
|
Site 2:
Day 1
|
Day 2
|
|
pH
|
7
|
7
|
Dissolved oxygen
|
4ppm
|
5ppm
|
Turbidity
|
0JTU
|
0JTU
|
Temperature
|
11°
|
8°
|
Results:
Discussion: The types of macro-invertebrates found in
stream A (site 1) has less species present, compared to stream B’s (site 2)
present species. Species such as Caddisfly larva and Scuds are present in
stream B but not present in stream A. However
there is a higher population of Midge larva in stream A than there is in stream
B. This may because stream A’s location was near a bridge, where many high
school students cross and pollute the area near the bridge. Whereas stream B’s
location is more reserved and hard to get to without going in the water. The presence
of more Midge larva in stream A reflects the pollution in the water in that
area, since Midge larva is fairly tolerant of pollution. However there still
was a presence of Stonefly nymphs in stream A, which are very intolerant of
pollution. This can indicate that stream A is more polluted than stream B, but
the pollution collectively is not high enough to where macro-invertebrates
intolerant of pollution are absent in the water. This reflects that the water
quality of Furnace Brook is good. Other species present in stream B, but not A
such as; Caddisfly larva and Scuds are very and moderately tolerant of
pollution. This also supports the conclusion that stream B is less polluted
than stream A. However, the EPA website in chapter
4 macroinvertebrates and habitat states, “The disadvantage of the biosurvey, on the other hand, is that
it cannot definitively tell us why certain types of creatures are present or
absent.” Even though Scuds and
Caddisfly larva was not found in stream A, there could be another reason as to
why those species weren’t present in the sample, other than more pollution. There
could’ve just not have been any of those species in that one sample, but if
there was more samples taken, maybe those species would’ve been present.
Evaluation: A weakness in this lab is that you can’t identify the exact reason why a certain species of macro-invertebrate is present or absent. A way to improve this weakness is by taking more surveys of the macro-invertebrate population throughout the creek. A limitation in the lab was that it was very difficult to have precise measurements because of working in the water. Another limitation was more trials could’ve been done to make more accurate averages. A source of error was in making judgement on six equidistant depth measurements from the width of the creek. To improve this lab and to infer a more accurate reason as to why certain macro-invertebrates are absent or present, is by executing more tests based on the chemicals in the water. A source of human error, is when making calculations, the numbers are rounded. Not being able to take exact measurements of the width or depth of the creek because of water. Making judgement on which color the pH test and dissolved oxygen, can be a source of human error because people in the group may see the color differently. A mistake my group may have made during the experiment is being off in our measurements, since it was hard to be precise in the water. For the first day the water temperature was colder than the thermometer, but we knew the water was colder than fourteen degrees, and estimated.
Conclusion: The data collected supports my hypothesis of macro-invertebrates that are intolerant of pollution, being present in the creek. Macro-invertebrates which are very intolerant of pollution are Stonefly Nymphs and Caddisfly Larva. Scuds are in the group of moderately intolerant of pollution, while Midge Larva is in the fairly tolerant of pollution group. All of the species of macro-invertebrates listed were present in Furnace Brook. Along with the hypothesis that the pH was 7, the actual pH level was 6. With a pH level of 7 and a dissolved oxygen level of around 4-6ppm, I can conclude Furnace Brook has good water quality. From both the pH results, dissolved oxygen results and the presence of intolerant pollutant macro-invertebrates, the water of Furnace Brook is not highly polluted. The dissolved oxygen level of 4-6ppm, allows organisms to live and makes Furnace Brook a stable environment. I can infer from this data, Furnace Brook is a healthy environment with small quantities of pollution, which reflects on the good water quality.
References – "Elmwood Park, Onondaga County, New York, Park [Syracuse West USGS Topographic Map] by MyTopo." Elmwood Park, Onondaga County, New York, Park [Syracuse West USGS Topographic Map] by MyTopo. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2015.
"Chapter 4 Macroinvertebrates and Habitat." Chapter
4 Macroinvertebrates and Habitat. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2015.
"Benthic Macroinvertebrates and Biological
Monitoring." Enviroscience. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2015.
"Search Hoosier Riverwatch Database." Hoosier
Riverwatch. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2015.
"Macroinvertebrates
as Indicators of Water Quality (Water Quality)." Water Quality (Penn State Extension). N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2015.
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