Research Plan for Seneca Lake

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?