scientific article rio piedras & guaralcanal stream vol3
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TRANSCRIPT
stances to a body of wa-
ter can damage its qual-
ity, which stops it from
being suitable for what it
was designated.
The concept of water
pollution depends on the
purpose to which the wa-
ter is designated.
Where does the water
you use come from? Do
you always have enough
water or is it limited at
the place where you live?
What factors affect the
amount and quality of the
water where you live?
The over enrichment
with nutrients and the
contamination with patho-
gens of the bodies of wa-
ter negatively affect
their use for public con-
sumption, for industry
and agriculture, and as
being habitat for wild life
(USEPA 2005).
The Clean Water Act
(CWA, for its acronym in
English) establishes that
water quality should be
evaluated and maintained
in accordance with estab-
lished (USEPA, 2002).
Excessive amount of
nutrients to bodies of
water reduce their water
quality, which can lead to
an eutrophic state.
We understand that
the addition of sub-
The multidisciplinary
project Water Cops PR
CL, will make students to
explore their own water-
shed and understand what
happens to the flow of
water over them. The
students will also visual-
ize the way in which hu-
man activities impact the
river’s hydrology and the
way in which the change
of land use can affect
plant and animal communi-
ties that live along it.
This project also in-
tends to develop technol-
ogy skills on students in
applications such as Log-
ger Pro and Vernier Soft-
ware LabQuest, MS Pub-
lisher 2007, ArcGIS Ex-
plorer , Adobe Premier
and Think-quest.org or
Blogger.
This project also has the
purpose of making stu-
dents create conscious-
ness about the environ-
ment they live in.
Introduction
Abstract
PR Water Cops CL
A P R I L 1 3 , 2 0 1 1
Introduction p. 1
Abstract p. 1
Purpose p. 2
Materials p. 2
Procedure p. 3
Results p. 4-5
Result Analysis p.
5-6
Conclusion p. 6
C L C W A T E R Q U A L I T Y . B L O G S P O T . C O M
V O L U M E # 2
Water Contamination
Contaminated urban river
Rio Piedras—Jardín Botánico
P A G E 2
Materials Water Cops CL project is a multi-application where students have the oppor-
tunity to perform research on water quality from several points of Rio Pie-
dras. The students will be using technologies such as: Vernier Technology to
take water quality measurements. It will be chosen an urban water body close
to the school and two sampling locations will be selected in this body of water.
There will be three trials for each sample using the different sensors of
Vernier LabQuest. Some of the measurements which will be performed are:
-Turbidity
-Conductivity
-Alkalinity
-pH
-Temperature
-Dissolved Oxygen
- Stream Flow
P R W A T E R C O P S C L N E W S
Purpose Students will investigate their own water-
shed to understand the flow of water in
them, how human activities can affect its
hydrology, and how the usage of land by
humans can also affect the hydrology wa-
tershed.
Students from elementary through high
school level will be involved in this project.
During the development of the students are
in-they involve sub-tasks and tasks to com-
plete the following products :
"In Science, Mathematics and Technology -
Scientific Article (Journal)-In English
(Spanish), and Technology - Video Docu-
mentary - Adobe Premier. Geography
and Technology - GeoMapping - ArcEx-
plorer, in English (Spanish), and Technol-
ogy - Blog Thinkquest.org Google Blog-
ger.
Vernier
Labquest Water Quality
kit
This measurements were took using :
Vernier Labquest Sensors
Water Cops collecting data
Vernier Labquest and Ion Selec-
tive Electrodes
Procedure Part I. Physical Assessment of Wa-
ter Quality
Description: As a component of
water quality research, the students
observe, measure and map the
physical characteristics of a stream
of water. Quantitatively, using
handheld computers scientific Lab
Quest Vernier sensors and current
flow, the students measure different
parameters (mentioned in the ma-
terials section). Qualitatively, stu-
dents use the skills of observation
to notice specific characteristics of
the river.
Objectives: Upon completion of the
project, students will be able to:
1. Define the terms of the water-
shed, erosion, and deposition.
2. Identify local watersheds by
name.
3. Use scientific tools to determine
physical water quality by collecting
data.
4. Build a watershed model-map
using the titles, legends and their
role.
5. Develop ways to maintain a
healthy water body based on physi-
cal, chemical and biological evalua-
tion.
Part II. Chemical Evaluation of Wa-
ter Quality
Description: As a component of
water quality research, the students
use handhelds LabQuest Vernier
scientific and current sensors for
measuring pH, dissolved oxygen,
temperature and turbidity. Students
develop a hypothesis, record data
obtained including measurements
and observations. So students may
do a scientific conclusion.
Objectives: Upon completion of the
project, students will be able to:
1.Define the terms of watersheds,
source of pollution including indi-
rect sources, pH, dissolved oxygen
and turbidity.
2. Identify different sources of con-
tamination.
3. Explain how pollutants travel
through the river basin and explain
how different chemical proportions
of a stream affect water quality.
4.Develop products with the ob-
tained results.
5. Use math while collecting data.
6. Apply the scientific method.
P A G E 3 C L C W A T E R Q U A L I T Y . B L O G S P O T . C O M
Part III. Biological Assessment
Description: As a component of
water quality research, the students
collect, identify and analyze data.
This information is analyzed to
draw conclusions given the local
creek water.
Objectives: At the end of the pro-
gram, students will be able to:
1. Define the terms watershed, ero-
sion, contamination and local water-
sheds.
2. Make graphs with the collected
data.
Water Cops analyzing water quality data
Water Cops collecting data with sensors Conference Corredor Ecológico Team Work
P A G E 4
Water Quality Sampling in the Rio Piedras
On Saturday, January 22,
2011, at 10:21 A.M. we,
The Green Team, went to
the Rio Piedras to collect
water samples. The water
state was normal and the
sky was clear with isolated
clouds. The latitude was
18.38837 and the longitude
was 66.05904.
The temperature of a
body of water influences
its overall quality. Water
temperatures outside the
“normal” range for a
stream or a river can cause
harm to the aquatic organ-
isms that live there like
stonefly larvae or mosqui-
toes. The average tempera-
ture of this river is 23.7 °
C.
The dissolved oxygen of
a body is the quantity of
oxygen that the water has.
The measurements took in
the two points of the Rio
Piedras have the minimum
quantity of DO for optimal
for optimal conditions for
the organisms. The average
DO of this river is 4.7 mg/L.
The pH is a measure of
acidity or alkalinity of a solu-
tion. The pH indicates the
concentration of hydronium
ion (H30 +) present in cer-
tain substances, in this case
water. According to our re-
search, the Rio Piedras has
an average pH of 7.68. This
pH is optimal for the survival
of all marine organisms. Water quality at this point of the Rio Piedras is generally acceptable for
domestic use and water.
Turbidity is a measure of water’s lack of clarity. Water with high turbidity is cloudy, while
water with low turbidity is clear. The cloudiness is produced by light reflecting off of particles in
water; therefore, the more particles in the water, the higher the turbidity.
Stream flow or discharge is the volume of water that moves through a specific point in a
stream during a given period of time. Stream flow is an important factor in the stream ecosys-tem and is responsible for many of the physical characteristics of a stream. Stream flow has two components. The first is flow velocity, and the second is the volume of water in the stream.
The average of the stream flow was 0.18 cfs. The conductivity of a substance defines as the ability or power of conducting heat, electricity.
Pure water is a good conductor of electricity. According to our results, the sample has medium
levels of conductivity. The normal conductivity level in a river or lake is of 5.5 μS/cm, however
our readings were of 381 μS/cm. The average of the conductivity was 381 μS/cm.
P R W A T E R C O P S C L N E W S
Vernier Labquest
Old Aqueduct - Jardín Botánico
Water Cops preparing
for the water quality
data collection of the
Rio Piedras
Water Quality Sampling in the Guaralcanal Stream
P A G E 5 C L C W A T E R Q U A L I T Y . B L O G S P O T . C O M
On Saturday, January 29, 2011
at 9:30 A.M. we, The Green
Team, went to the Guaralcanal
stream to collect water samples.
The water state was normal and
there were no clouds. The lati-
tude was 18.37715 and the longi-
tude was 66.04630.
The temperature of a body of
water influences its overall qual-
ity. Water temperatures outside
the “normal” range for a stream
or river can cause harm to the
aquatic organisms that live there
like stonefly larvae or mosqui-
toes. Our results can compare to
the temperatures of the rivers
in the US during the summer
time. The average water tem-
perature was 24.1°C.
The DO of a body is the quantity
of oxygen that has the water.
The measurements took in the
two points of the Rio Piedras
have the minimum quantity of
DO for optimal living condi-
tions for the organisms. The
DO is around the 4.7mg/L
which is the average in this
zone. The average of the DO
was 4.3 mg/L.
The conductivity is a substance
define as the ability or power to conducting heat and electric-ity.. Pure water is a good con-ductor of electricity. According
to our results, the samples has medium levels of conductivity. The normal conductivity in a
river or lake is of 5.5µs/cm, however our readings were of
521µs/cm.
Stream flow or discharge is the
volume of water that moves
through a specific point in a
stream during a given period of
time. Stream flow is an impor-
tant factor in the stream eco-
system and is responsible for
many of the physical character-
istics of a stream. Stream flow
has two components. The first
is flow velocity, and the second
is the volume of water in the
stream. The average of the
stream flow 0.20 cfs.
Turbidity is measure in
Nephelometric turbidity
Units, NTU. According to
the USGS, the turbidity of
surface water is usually be-
tween 1 NTU and 50 NTU.
Water is visibly turbid at
levels above 5 NTU. The
average turbidity in this
site of the Guaralcanal
stream is 25..3NTU.
Water quality sampling in Guaralcanal stream
Mr. Hernádez and Mr. Carrión using the Flow rate sensor
P A G E 6
P R W A T E R C O P S C L N E W S
According to the dynamic model created with the ArcGIS
Explorer can be seen clearly that the population density surround-
ing the sampling area is extremely high. Research tells us that most
of the parameters are expected and normal levels, but we have to
watch some of these which are the maximum allowed or are al-
ready at higher levels than expected.
With this model, students can create spatial analysis of data ac-
quired, organized and manipulated by them.
Discussion of the Results
Students sampled two areas of Rio Piedras river: Jardín Botánico and Guaralcanal
stream. In the first site of the stream the samples showed normal levels of measurement,
except turbidity and conductivity that are in the maximum level of the accepted range. In
the second site the samples showed a level of nitrate and ammonium above the maximum
level of range accepted. This second point is the most affected by pollution which the
NH4 and NO3 levels are strongly affected, reflecting a level far above the expected level.
The possible causes are the agricultural runoff, some kind of human pollution entering the
water, animal feedlots, runoff from fertilized fields, or treated municipal wastewater being
returned to streams.
Analysis of a Watershed in Puerto Rico a) climatic data including seasonal and station densi-
ties of both: extremes and averages.
b) road map
c) hydrographic maps
d) hydrological data (inventory of water, surface
runoff, river network);
e) lists of species for the fauna and flora, land and water, its distribution, life histories, economically important species, rare species and unique or that
are in danger of extinction;
f) population density
g) flood map
h) ecosystem
i) Soil maps (distribution, nutrients, toxic minerals);
j) Anthropological studies;
k) Sources of pollution past, present and future can
do so by searching or a tour of the area using
GPS.
l) location and description of existing environmental
problems, location of critical areas.
Possible dynamic models : a) Buffer zones map vs actual construction or aerial photos.
b) Population density vs. amount of available water re-
sources
c) Analysis of potential areas for reforestation preventing
contamination of the canal.
d) Map of places that could be designated as protected re-
serves or for the benefit of all.
e) Map of the hot spots and dividing by their effect(minimum, medium, severe) .
Water Cops working with the
Scientific Article
Graphing with Vernier Labquest
Ms. Evalexa Tomei helping the
Water Cops members
P A G E 7 C L C W A T E R Q U A L I T Y . B L O G S P O T . C O M
Contact us
clcwaterquality.blogspot.com
Edificio BBVA
Calle Amarillo
#206 San Juan
Puerto Rico
COMPUTER LEARNING
17 años apoyando la educación en
Puerto Rico
Phone: 787-764-2222
Fax: 787-764-9999
clcwaterquality.blogspot.com
www.clcpr.com
Colegio Mater Salvatoris