~ Our wetlands provide us with diversity of animal species and protect and filter our water. In the efforts to learn more about them, we have been collecting data of the pH levels of the water and also the temperature to see how this is related to the critical zone. By learning more we are able to take action and protect our wetlands. We tested the temperature using a YSI prob( which is described in the video below).
(source: youtube.com)
~What is pH?
pH is defined as: A measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution, numerically equal to 7 for neutral solutions, increasing with increasing alkalinity and decreasing with increasing acidity. The pH scale commonly in use ranges from 0 to 14. ( dictionary.com)
Video explaining pH:
(Source: youtube)
Us testing pH levels at Wetland:
~What is Temperature?
Temperature is defined as:a measure of the warmth or coldness of an object or substance with reference to some standard value. The temperature of two systems is the same when the systems are in thermal equilibrium. ( Temperature is very important to test because if the water is too hot then some species may not survive in the conditions. For example: in Buck Creek where we tested first, it is know for the trout because the water is at a cooler temperature.)
Testing Temperature:
Overall Summation:
~ All these tests are very important in order to preserve and protect our wetlands.
Testing Temperature:
Overall Summation:
~ All these tests are very important in order to preserve and protect our wetlands.
Quick note- The YSI did not measure alkalinity, but conductivity. We used a Hach test kit to determine alkalinity in a watershed overlaying dolomite (CaMgCO3) alkalinity is most of the dissolved carbon and most of the anions, & would represent a fair amount of conductivity.
ReplyDeleteAlso YSI is a neat company not only for their products, but because YSI stands for Yellow Springs Instruments (and Yellow Springs is just down the road from Springfield).