Dissolved+Oxygen+Nima+and+Kunal

by Kunal and Nima
 * __Dissolved Oxygen in Quarry Pond__**

"Flat Rock Brook Nature Center is a 150-acre preserve and education center situated on the western slope of the Palisades in Englewood, New Jersey. The Center was established in 1973 by citizens who were deeply committed to land conservation and environmental education."




 * First Site:**


 * Second Site:**
 * [[image:IMG_2560.JPG]]

Third Site:**

How does the Dissolved Oxygen change in different areas of the pond, and why is there change in the different areas of the pond? Are there abiotic factors, and biotic factors that contribute to this change?
 * Question**

For our watershed project, we decided to research how plants and animals can change dissolved oxygen levels. Through our research, we learned what conditions can change dissolved oxygen levels in a body of water as seen in our background information. From the information we learned, we figured out good times of the year to test, and under what conditions. We took tests from different sites along Quarry Pond, and compared the collected data with each site. We also compared it to how much plant and animal life were in those areas using pictures we took of each site from every time we went. From the tests we took, we came to the conclusion that dissolved oxygen is dependent on any life in and around the body of water, but also dependent on other factors as well as discussed in our background information and conclusion.
 * Abstract**

The value of the dissolved oxygen will be effected by the animal and plant life in that area of water.
 * Statement**

Dissolved Oxygen is the concentration of Oxygen (O2) in water and it is a regulator for chemical processes and biological activity. Almost all forms of aquatic life need Dissolved Oxygen.
 * Background**

Dissolved Oxygen is extremely important for both aquatic plant life and aquatic organisms. Each living thing in the water requires or needs a certain level of Dissolved Oxygen to live. Organisms in the water can have different necessities therefore different areas of a body of water can change in Dissolved Oxygen as well as different bodies of water all together.

Dissolved Oxygen can change in many ways. The main way Dissolved Oxygen changes is through aeration. This is the process where oxygen from the atmosphere is filtered into the water through many different ways. Some of these ways include rain, fish, and plants. Dissolved Oxygen can change through rain because it creates ripples which allows more aeration to occur between the body of water and the atmosphere and at the same time it increases the surface area of the body of water, therefore increasing the amount of oxygen in the water. The second way Dissolved Oxygen can change is through aerobic and anaerobic respiration. Aerobic respiration is when there is a lot of Oxygen or too much oxygen. Anaerobic respiration is when there is no oxygen or very little oxygen in the body of water. Anaerobic respiration occurs when the organisms and life in the water does not require Dissolved Oxygen or not a large amount of Dissolved Oxygen. Aerobic respiration occurs when there are many organisms and life that require Dissolved Oxygen. These two factors can change Dissolved Oxygen because if there is too much Aerobic Respiration due to have too much life in the water, the whole body of water can die out and the Dissolved Oxygen levels will drop turning that area into an anaerobic environment. Temperature can also play a big role in Dissolved Oxygen change. The higher the temperature the less Dissolved Oxygen in the body of water because it is harder for oxygen to get into the water. The colder the water the higher levels of Dissolved Oxygen because it is easier for the Oxygen to penetrate the water and get inside. http://ysimeter.com/products/0.6E6C
 * Materials**

-Dissolved Oxygen Tester (YSI550A) -Magellan explorer 400 GPS -Vernier LabPro + pH Tester probe -A bottle of distilled water -Digital Camera (Canon PowerShot SD870 IS Digital ELPH)


 * Methods/Procedure**

1. We first went to Quarry pond. 2. We marked out three different sites on the Quarry Pond using pictures, and at each site we took the coordinates using the Magellan explorer 400 GPS. (This was the second way of marking each site) 4. We calibrated the Dissolved Oxygen tester, as shown below, before doing each test. 5. We dipped the Dissolved Oxygen testing probe into the water about 2 or 3 inches, and waited for the readings to stabilize. 6. We would then wrote down the % of Dissolved Oxygen in the water under each site in our table. 7. We would then make observations of the plant life/organisms at each site and write those down to.

1. Insert the probe into the calibration chamber with the moist sponge (Use Distilled Water to moisten the sponge). 2. Power instrument on and allow readings to stabilize. 3. Press and release both the up arrow and down arrow keys at the same time. 4. Press the mode key until % is displayed for oxygen units. Press Enter -->. 5. Increase or decrease the value until the altitude of your location appears in hundreds of feet. Press Enter. 6. Wait for the current Dissolved Oxygen reading on the main display to stabilize. Press Enter 7. Increase or decrease the salinity value until the approximate salinity (0 to 70 ppt) of the water you are measuring appears. Press Enter. 8. The instrument will return to normal operation and is ready for use. 9. Dip the probe into the water, about 2 or 3 inches, and wait for the readings to stabilize.
 * //Dissolved Oxygen Test//**

40° 52.395 N 73° 58.017 W || Site 2 40° 53.394 N 73° 58.063 W || Site 3 40° 52.387 N 73° 58.086 W || Temperature – 17.6 ° C || 43% Dissolved Oxygen Temperature- 18° C || 19.8% Dissolved Oxygen Temperature – 17.3° C || Temperature – 14.3 ° C || 60.6% Dissolved Oxygen Temperature – 15.6 ° C || 31.3% Dissolved Oxygen Temperature – 14.9° C || Temperature – 19.6 ° C || 52% Dissolved Oxygen Temperature – 19.8 ° C || 21.3% Dissolved Oxygen Temperature – 18.9 ° C || (All data was recieved at 4:30-5pm on each given occasion at 58.3 m altitude for accurate readings)
 * Data**
 * || Site 1
 * Day 1(Fall) || 72% Dissolved Oxygen
 * Day 2(Winter) || 85% Dissolved Oxygen
 * Day 3(Spring) || 65.6% Dissolved Oxygen






 * [[image:Site_3.JPG]]



Observations** //Site 1// - In this site we had the most amount of plant and animal life by far, as you can see in our pictures above, there were many tadpoles in this area. We believe that the Dissolved Oxygen readings for this area were high every time for many reasons. There was much plant life in the water because it had access to sun and at the same time there was much diversity of animal life. From tadpoles, to small fish, to frogs, and even turtles, this area had the most life in general. //Site 2// - Although this area did have much plant and animal life, it did not have as much as site 2. There some fish and some tadpoles in this area but not an abundance. We believe that the Dissolved Oxygen Readings were medium for this reason. //Site 3// - This area was very interesting. There were many dead leaves in the water, and no plants or organisms in the water. The area was covered in trees and had barely any sunlight at any time of day. We believe that the readings were low for this area because the leaves falling from the trees above would use up the oxygen and soon die out.

As seen in our table of our data above, it is quite obvious the trend that is set for the Dissolved Oxygen. All three areas were pretty much the same relative to each other at each time they were tested. It seems that our research is correct because the levels of Dissolved Oxygen went up during the colder seasons and went down during the warmer seasons. For example our second day of data collection (during the late winter) we recieved the highest amount of Dissolved Oxygen readings. This was so because the water and the air were cold therefore making it easier for aerobic respiration between the water and the air.
 * Discussion**

Our hypothesis and thoughts were true in the way that each area's surroundings had much to do with it's Dissolved Oxygen reading. In Site 1, every reading is usually high and we were right because of the diversity of life and access to sunlight, the readings were constantly high. In Site 2, every reading is at a medium percentage, our hypothesis was right because of the average amount of plant and organism life we saw. In Site 3, every reading was very low, this was so because of the dead plants draining the oxygen in this area along with no diversity of organism life, let alone any life at all.

We can come to the conclusion that Dissolved Oxygen can change due to many factors. But at the same time Dissolved Oxygen will stay relatively the same to the areas around it throughout the year as we saw in our data. We realized how much of an impact animal/plant life can have on Dissolved Oxygen and how the cycle can change from different areas in even just a pond such as Quarry Pond.
 * Conclusion**

Some experimental errors may have come from the miss use of the probe. Also, there might have been the chance of taking the probe out before the readings on the dissolved oxygen tester had stabilized. We might not have cleaned the probe fully with the distilled water, which may have left unidentified things from a previous site, while testing a new site. We might not have put the probe into the water deep enough, leading to a miss reading.
 * Experimental Error**

http://ysimeter.com/products/0.6E6C http://www.flatrockbrook.org/features/trails.html http://www.ourlake.org/html/dissolved_oxygen.html http://www.onlineconversion.com/forum/forum_1109759419.htm http://www.state.ky.us/nrepc/water/wcpdo.htm [|http://www.indiana.edu/~bradwood/eagles/dot.htm] Water Quality with CBL- Test 5: Dissolved Oxygen Lab -Ranger Mark
 * References**