Hey! Sorry for not blogging yesterday, to be honest, I forgot! Anyways I talked with my AP Environmental Science teacher, and we decided I might join or get in contact with an organization in Utah who deals with testing for water, and I might join them and borrow their equipment and help them site a location. Then my AP Environmental Science teacher and I will put together a very cool project on it. However, I still need to get in contact with them and I will do it sometime this weekend. The purpose of this is to put it on my college application to look good and to benefit something to the community because I currently have no volunteer opportunities.
Friday, October 30, 2020
Wednesday, October 28, 2020
Journal Entry for 10/28/2020
Tuesday, October 27, 2020
Finding the designated amount of water for the experiment.
Yesterday I actually started my research project, I started by just using water that I collected from a park in Saratoga Springs. I ended up using 12 gallons and filled it up with water from the lake on Saturday, I then brought it home to experiment with. Yesterday (Monday) I poured the water through filters and I had a couple of problems.
1. the filter gets clogged really easily
a. the water is filtering down very slowly
b. some ideas to fix this problem is to maximize the area of the filter or use multiple filters for one test
2. someone has to hold the filter otherwise it will fall and get soaked.
3. pouring is a challenge (it is heavy and slow)
a. some ideas to fix this problem is to come up with a contraption that is able to hold the gallon
4. by the looks of it A LOT of water is needed to show the 0.5 g difference
5. there were bugs in the water, when I was filtering the water we saw a bunch of moving bugs. One that is disgusting, two it might change the accuracy of the data because bugs aren't algae
1. Go to the North end of Utah Lake (Saratoga Springs Park and Pavillion): 40.348860, -111.901880
2. Collect 12 gallons of water
3. Come home and pour different amounts of water into a beaker (or use the entire gallon) then use that and put it through the filter and let it dry
4. Out of these do multiple amounts of water to find out which one shows the 0.5 g change in mass and designate that as the amount of water needed for all samples that are collected
I actually have not found the designated amount yet, however, I know that it is A LOT of water because when I filtered an entire gallon of water there wasn't even a change in the mass of the filter's weight. So now I am planning on meeting with my AP Environmental Science teacher who is helping me with this project to see how we can solve this problem.
Monday, October 26, 2020
Steps for collecting Algae at Utah Lake
Steps for collecting samples.
1. Collect 1 gallon (might be more, have to test out) of sample water from each spot and correctly mark them.
2. At home, prepare a 12oz (might be more, have to test out) clear beaker for measuring.
3. For each sample, shake the jar first, and then pour some (designated amount) of sample water into the clear beaker, observe the water and take notes (e.g. color) and take photos.
4. Weigh a clean coffee filter and record the weight.
5. Dump the sample water from the beaker through a filter into a normal glass of water (shake first) pour until all of the water (designated amount) from the beaker is gone.
6. Let the coffee filter dry (put a cardboard box over to keep from blowing away)
7. Weigh the dried coffee filter with dried algae to find out how much the algae weights. Then record the numbers.
8. Enter all data into a google sheet.
Saturday, October 10, 2020
Info on Harmful Algal Blooms (HAB)
Harmful Algal Blooms (HAB's) have started spreading all over Utah Lake.
What is a HAB
- HAB or cyano bloom is the term for the explosive growth of certain species of photosynthetic cyanobacteria, these then releasee toxins into the water.
- Cyanobacteria are already a part of the natural algae community seen in lakes and ponds, however, when conditions are favorable towards them, large rapid growth will start occurring.
What causes these Blooms
- Blooms actually happen naturally in initial mountain lakes and impaired urban waterways.
- In certain conditions (usually warmer waters with higher portions or phosphorus and nitrogen) blooms will happen more often.
- Scientists have noticed as global temperatures are getting higher blooms are increasing at a very high rate.
- Nitrogen and Phosphorus are the common pollutants that come from sewage treatment plants, erosion, and urban and agricultural runoff.
How to try and prevent Blooms
- Proper land management and investing in new technologies to treat wastewater can reduce the likelihood of blooms.
- Reduce the amount of fertilizer used on your lawn.
- Use phosphorus-free fertilizer when possible.
- Fix leaking septic systems.
- Use phosphorus-free detergents in dishwashers.
- Keep yard debris such as leaves or grass clippings from washing into storm drains.
- Pick up your pet's waste.
Are they dangerous
- Certain species of cyanobacteria (including Dolichospermum, Aphanizomenon, Cylindrospermopsis, Microsystis, and Ocillatoria) can release toxins into the water which can be dangerous to both humans and their pets.
- Some of these neurotoxins can cause immediate sickness or death while others can lead to long-term kidney or liver damage.
How to identify a cyanobacteria
- Cyanobacteria blooms often look like spilled paint or powdery green colors in lakes.- They are actually easy to identify I will put pictures.
Note - all of these are just notes for me to keep my thoughts straight and serve as notes for my research.
All of this information can be found on this website: https://extension.usu.edu/waterquality/Learnaboutlakes/hab/index