Harris+and+Eddie

=__Dissolved Oxygen In McFadden's Pond__  =

Does Dissolved Oxygen affect McFadden's Pond?

 * Eddie and Harris **

=__**Abstract       **__=

We (Eddie and Harris) decided to do our watershed project on the Dissolved Oxygen (DO) in McFadden's Pond in Flat Rock Brook located in Englewood, New Jersey. First, we did some research on dissolved oxygen before we actually ended up going to Flat Rock Brook so that we could have a better understanding on what we were actually going to do (to find out what we learned, read the Background paragraph). By finding the DO in the three areas of McFadden's Pond that we designated, we were able to find out how the water temperature and altitude of the specific site correlates with the DO of the water.

=__Background __=  Dissolved oxygen (DO) analysis measures the amount of gaseous oxygen (O2) dissolved in an aqueous solution. Oxygen gets into water by diffusion from the surrounding air, by rapid movement, and as a waste product of photosynthesis. There are many environmental impacts. The dissolved gas concentrations in water should not exceed 110 percent. If the dissolved oxygen concentration exceeds this level, there can be harmful effects to the life in the water. Fish that live in water that may contain excessive dissolved gases may suffer from "gas bubble disease"; however, this is a very rare occurrence. Gas bubble disease is when the gases supersaturate in the water due to pumping under pressure and/or cold water heating up. The bubbles block the flow of blood through blood vessels causing death. External bubbles can also appear on the fins of the fish. Aquatic invertebrates are also affected by gas bubble disease but at levels higher than those lethal to fish. Adequate dissolved oxygen is necessary for good water quality. Oxygen is necessary to all forms of life. Natural stream purification processes require adequate oxygen levels in order to provide for aerobic life forms. As dissolved oxygen levels in water drop below 5.0 mg/l, aquatic life is put under stress. The lower the concentration, the greater the stress. Oxygen levels that remain below 1-2 mg/l for a few hours can result in large fish kills. A high percentage of dissolved oxygen is conducive to supporting aquatic flora and fauna, such as algae, plants, fish, mollusks, and invertebrates. A low percentage or depleted of dissolved oxygen indicates a negative impact on a body of water, which results in an abundance of worms and fly larvae. Dissolved oxygen levels change and vary according to the time of day, the weather and the temperature.

 =<span style="COLOR: rgb(239,1,20)"><span style="DISPLAY: block; COLOR: rgb(1,25,9); TEXT-ALIGN: center">Factors Affecting Dissolved Oxygen (DO) = Source # 4 <span style="COLOR: rgb(239,1,20)"> 1) **__Volume and velocity of water flowing in the water body__**

In slow, stagnant waters, oxygen only enters the top layer of water, and deeper water is often low in DO concentration due to the decomposition of organic matter by bacteria that live on or near the bottom of the reservoir.

Dams slow water down, and therefore can affect the DO concentration of water downstream. If water is released from the top of the reservoir, it can be warmer because the dam has slowed the water, giving it more time to warm up and lose oxygen. If dams release water from the bottom of a reservoir, this water will be cooler, but may be low in DO due to decomposition of organic matter by bacteria. <span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,128)"> 2) **__Climate/Season__**

The colder the water, the more oxygen can be dissolved in the water. Therefore, DO concentrations at one location are usually higher in the winter than in the summer.

During dry seasons, water levels decrease and the flow rate of a river slows down. As the water moves slower, it mixes less with the air, and the DO concentration decreases. During rainy seasons, oxygen concentrations tend to be higher because the rain interacts with oxygen in the air as it falls.

More sunlight and warmer temperatures also bring increased activity levels in plant and animal life; depending on what organisms are present, this may increase or decrease the DO concentration.

3) **__The type and number of organisms in the body of water__**

During photosynthesis, plants release oxygen into the water. During respiration, plants remove oxygen from the water. Bacteria and fungi use oxygen as they decompose dead organic matter in the stream. The type of organisms present (plant, bacteria, fungi) affect the DO concentration in a water body. If many plants are present, the water can be supersaturated with DO during the day, as photosynthesis occurs. Concentrations of oxygen can decrease significantly during the night, due to respiration. DO concentrations are usually highest in the late afternoon, because photosynthesis has been occurring all day. 4) **__Altitude__**

Oxygen is more easily dissolved into water at low altitudes than at high altitudes, because of higher atmospheric pressure.

5) **__A__****__mount of //nutrients// in the water__**

Nutrients are food for algae, and water with high amounts of nutrients can produce algae in large quantities. When these algae die, bacteria decompose them, and use up oxygen. DO concentrations can drop too low for fish to breathe, leading to fish kills. However, nutrients can also lead to increased plant growth. This can lead to high DO concentrations during the day as photosynthesis occurs, and low DO concentrations during the night when photosynthesis stops and plants and animals use the oxygen during respiration.

6) __**Organic Wastes**__

Organic wastes are the remains of any living or once-living organism. Organic wastes that can enter a body of water include leaves, grass clippings, dead plants or animals, animal droppings, and sewage. Organic waste is decomposed by bacteria; these bacteria remove dissolved oxygen from the water when they breathe. If more food (organic waste) is available for the bacteria, more bacteria will grow and use oxygen, and the DO concentration will drop. <span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,128)">

=__<span style="DISPLAY: block; COLOR: rgb(1,25,9); TEXT-ALIGN: center">Importance __=

Knowing the dissolved oxygen (DO) in McFadden's pond (and any other pond as a matter of fact) is very important because it indicates to us how harmful that body of water can truly be. Through testing and research, Harris and I learned that if the concentration of the DO in the water is too high (exceeding 110 percent), there could be harmful effects to the life in the water. For example, a fish living in water exceeding a concentration of 110 % will most likely suffer from "gas bubble disease". Water is not only negatively affected by a very high DO concentration, but also by a very low concentration. If the concentration of the DO in the water is too low, one will see an abundance of worms and fly larvae in and around the water. This is why maintaining DO concentration in bodies of water such as McFadden's pond is very important, as we need to preserve our surrounding water and make sure to maintain the DO concentration or else the life in these bodies of water will die off.

=__<span style="COLOR: rgb(0,33,255)"><span style="DISPLAY: block; COLOR: rgb(1,25,9); TEXT-ALIGN: center">Materials __=

=<span style="COLOR: rgb(0,33,255)"><span style="COLOR: rgb(239,1,20)"> = =<span style="COLOR: rgb(0,33,255)"><span style="COLOR: rgb(239,1,20)"> = __**Dissolved Oxygen Meter (YSI 550A)**__ **--** This helped us figure out the percentage of the dissolved oxygen and helped us find out the water temperature in degrees Celsius __**Distilled Water**__ -- This helped us clean the probe of the DO meter. It also helped us in limiting the experimental errors that we could have possibly encountered
 * __GPS (Magellan explorist 400 GPS)__** -- This helped us find the altitude of each of the three spots in McFadden's Pond
 * __Camera__** -- This allowed us take pictures of each of the spots where we tested the DO concentrations
 * __Notebook__** -- This is where we wrote down the data of each of the three spots that we tested

=<span style="DISPLAY: block; COLOR: rgb(1,25,9); TEXT-ALIGN: center">Methods <span style="COLOR: rgb(239,1,20)"> =

__**What we did**__

1) Go to spot one at the mouth of the pond 2) Measure the altitude 3) Measure the water temperature 4) Find the DO 5) Record data 6) Go to spot two near the center of the pond 7) Repeat steps 2-6 8) Go to spot three at the end of the pond 9) Repeat steps 2-6

__**Measurement procedure** **for Dissolved Oxygen Meter**__

1) Insert the probe into the sample to be measured. 2) Continuously stir or move the probe through the sample at a rate of ½ foot per second (16cm per second) 3) Allow temperature and dissolved oxygen readings to stabilize 4) Observe/Record readings 5) If possible, rinse the probe with clean water after each use

__**Calibration in % saturation** **for Dissolved Oxygen Meter**__

Insert the probe into the calibration chamber with the moist sponge Power instrument on and allow readings to stabilize Press and release both the up arrow and down arrow keys at the same time Press the mode key until % is displayed for oxygen units. Press Enter Increase or decrease the value until the altitude of your location appears in hundreds of feet (1 foot = 0.3048). Press Enter. Wait for the current DO reading on the main display to stabilize. Press Enter Increase or decrease the salinity value until the approximate salinity (0 to 70 ppt) of the water you are measuring appears. Press Enter. The instrument will return to normal operation and is ready for use

=__<span style="DISPLAY: block; COLOR: rgb(1,25,9); TEXT-ALIGN: center">Pictures of our 3 sites in McFadden's Pond __=

=<span style="COLOR: rgb(239,1,20)"> = =<span style="COLOR: rgb(239,1,20)"> =
 * Site 1**- Mouth of the pond
 * Site 2-** Middle of the pond
 * Site 3-** End of the pond

=<span style="COLOR: rgb(6,49,249)"> = =__**<span style="DISPLAY: block; COLOR: rgb(1,25,9); TEXT-ALIGN: center">Eddie and Harris testing the dissolved oxygen in the 3 sites **__=



<span style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana,Helvetica"> [|www.flatrockbrook.org/features/trails.html]<span style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana,Helvetica">
 * Map Of Flat Rock

We entered through the entrance at Jones Road. Then we crossed the bridge to the Picnic Playground Area and took the Red Trail all the way up to McFadden's Pond which was where we test the DO.

=__<span style="DISPLAY: block; COLOR: rgb(1,25,9); TEXT-ALIGN: center">Results __=

__**Day 1**__

__Site 1__ 80 meters altitude 79% DO (dissolved oxygen) at 14 degrees Celsius

__Site 2__ 74 meters altitude 76% DO (dissolved oxygen) at 15.4 degrees Celsius

__Site 3__ 75 meters altitude 77% DO (dissolved oxygen) at 16.7 degrees Celsius

For Day 1, the dissolved oxygen percentages of all three sites were relatively close to each other. We saw an increase in temperatures of 1.4 from site 1 to site 2, and 1.3 from site 2 to site 3. The dissolved oxygen in all three sites of McFadden's pond are not considered a threat to the life in the water.

__**Day 2**__

__Site 1__ 80 meters altitude 85% at 17.1 degrees Celsius

__Site 2__ 74 meters altitude 81% at 19 degrees Celsius

__Site 3__ 75 meters altitude 83% at 18.6 degrees Celsius



For Day 2, the dissolved oxygen percentages of all three sites were relatively close to each other. We saw an increase in temperatures of 2.9 from site 1 to site 2, and a decrease of 0.4 from site 2 to site 3. The dissolved oxygen in all three sites of McFadden's pond are not considered a threat to the life in the water.

__**Day 3**__

__Site 1__ 80 meters altitude 88% DO (dissolved oxygen) at 18.7 degrees Celsius

__Site 2__ 74 meters altitude 80% DO (dissolved oxygen) at 21.5 degrees Celsius

__Site 3__ 75 meters altitude 82% DO (dissolved Oxygen) at 20.4 degrees Celsius

For Day 3, the dissolved oxygen percentages of all three sites were not as close to each other as the other two times that we went. We saw an increase in temperatures of 2.8 from site 1 to site 2, and a decrease of 0.9 from site 2 to site 3. The dissolved oxygen in all three sites of McFadden's pond are not considered a threat to the life in the water.

What separates the data that we gathered on our first day from the data that we gathered on the other two days was the weather outside. It had just finished raining when Harris and I decided to go to Flat Rock Brook. On the other two days, the weather was very humid and it was above 80 degrees outside.

=__<span style="DISPLAY: block; COLOR: rgb(1,25,9); TEXT-ALIGN: center">Discussion __=



==

As Harris and I looked at all of the data that we gathered, we took note that the dissolved oxygen concentration in all of the sites never reached 110%, or even near that. That signified that the water was not harmful to the organisms living in the water and that the water quality in the three sites of McFadden's pond that we chose were good. What we learned was how the dissolved oxygen level can vary during seasons and even time of day, but in the end, the water in McFadden's pond will continue to stay around the same range (70-90).

Dissolved Oxygen isn't just affected by temperature, but also altitude. That is why we took the altitude of all three sites (Site 1: 80 meters, Site 2: 74 meters, Site 3: 75 meters). We noticed that in this specific instance (where we tested the DO in McFadden's pond), the altitude didn't make a tremendous difference but it still made a difference. When looking at the graphs, you can notice that the dissolved oxygen concentration of site 1 is never grouped close to site 2 or site 3. This is most likely due to the difference in altitude (as oxygen is more easily dissolved into water at low altitudes than at high altitudes) because site 1 always had the highest DO concentration.

This led us to believe that as our background suggests, there are several factors that can change the dissolved oxygen concentration in water. In this case, the altitude and temperature did just that.

=__<span style="DISPLAY: block; COLOR: rgb(1,25,9); TEXT-ALIGN: center">Conclusion __=

From all of the information that Harris and I gathered, we can conclude that McFadden's pond is safe from any harmful effects that dissolved oxygen can cause to the water. All of our three sites were at an average dissolved oxygen concentration (no where near the 110% that can really cause damage to water). We noticed that because site 1 was located in a higher altitude, the dissolved oxygen concentration was always higher than the other two sites (which had very similar altitudes). While McFadden's pond is safe from harmful effects as of now, there are factors that can make it harmful such as a drastic change in temperature, very low or very high altitude or even the velocity of how the water is flowing). These are factors that we can't truly control, but in the end these certain factors haven't truly affected McFadden's Pond negatively.

=__<span style="DISPLAY: block; COLOR: rgb(1,25,9); TEXT-ALIGN: center">Possible Sources of Experimental Error __=

We could have experienced several experimental errors throughout our work. Although we made sure that we cleaned the probe with the distilled water each time, there may have been one time when we forgot to clean the probe after finishing one of our sites. That could have led to a small experimental error. There were times where the DO meter would not stay still on one percentage, so we could have made experimental errors in not waiting for the DO meter to stay still (we waited 30 seconds before we wrote the % given). Although this wouldn't be classified as an experimental error, if we could go back in time and measure the DO of McFadden's pond in different seasons, we would do that. We would have most likely seen higher DO percentages had we measured the DO during the winter.

=__<span style="DISPLAY: block; COLOR: rgb(1,25,9); TEXT-ALIGN: center">References __=

Source #1 http://www.state.ky.us/nrepc/water/wcpdo.htm Source #2 http://www.bonniesplants.com/sick_injured_fish/gas_bubble.htm Source #3 http://flatrockbrook.org/features/trails.html Source #4 http://bcn.boulder.co.us/basin/data/BACT/info/DO.html Source #5 http://www.transceiverservices.com/html/htmlnew/magellanprod.htm