Callan C Sulby R Water Quality

7/23/2019 Callan C Sulby R Water Quality

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The aim of this study was to measure thewater quality of the Sulby River in the

north of the Isle of Man at 4 differentlocations. The water quality featuresmeasured were dissolved oxygen, turbidity,! and water temerature.


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The river is begins in the hills above the Sulby

reservoir, feeds the reservoir then continuesdown the valley and through Sulby village thenRamsey town until it reaches the harbour atRamsey and enters the sea. It is the longestriver in the Isle of Man and sulies the largest

amount of fresh drin"ing water to the Manxoulation.


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Test site 1Brandywell, river source

Test site 2Druidale, tributries meet

These next three slides are thecourse of the river.


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Test site 3Tholt-y-will


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Test site 4arey ford


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Turbidity:Turbidity is the measure of the relative clarity of water. Turbid water is caused bysuspended and colloidal matter such as clay, silt, organic and inorganic matter, and

microscopic organisms. Turbidwater may be the result of soil erosion, urban runoff, algae blooms, and bottomsediment disturbances which can be caused by boat traffic and abundant bottomfeeding fish. Turbidity should not be confused with colour, because darkly colouredwater can still be clear but not turbid.


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Water temperature:The air temperature is directly affected by the land temperature. Watertemperature is slower to react to changes than land temperature.Aquatic animals are sensitive to changes in water temperature and require acertain temperature range to survive and thrive. If the water temperature isoutside that range for along time, organisms can be stressed and die. However,ost aquatic organisms are cold!blooded. This means that the temperature of theirbodies match the temperature of their surroundings. Temperature also affects theamount of o"ygen water can hold. #old water holds more o"ygen than warm water,and all aquatic animals need o"ygen to survive. Temperature also affects the rateof photosynthesis by aquatic plants, and the sensitivity of organisms to to"icwaste, parasites and disease. Warm water discharged from factories, the removalof trees and vegetation that shade streams and urban runoff can causetemperature changes that threaten the balance of aquatic systems .


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Dissolved Oxygen:$issolved %"ygen is important to the health of aquatic ecosystems. Allaquatic animals need o"ygen to survive. &atural waters with consistentlyhigh dissolved o"ygen levels are most likely healthy and stable environments,and are capable of supporting a diversity of aquatic organisms. &atural andhuman!induce changes to the aquatic environment can affect the availability

of dissolved o"ygen. $issolved %"ygen ' (aturation is an importantmeasurement of water quality. #old water can hold more dissolved o"ygenthan warm water. High levels of bacteria or large amounts of rotten plantscan cause the ' saturation to decrease. This can cause large fluctuations indissolved o"ygen levels throughout the day, which can affect the ability ofplant and animals to thrive. #ertain water bodies, like swamps, naturally havelow levels of $% in the water. This is because decaying matter uses a lot ofo"ygen during decomposition ) or more accurately the micro!organisms thatbreak down the decaying matter use up much of the o"ygen in the process.uch of the o"ygen in water comes from plants during photosynthesis andalso from air as wind blows across the water*s surface. Where the river hasa lot of +white water* also has higher o"ygen content as the air bubbles mi"with water as it tumbles over the rapids and waterfalls


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pH:pH is a measurement of the acidic or basic quality of water. ost aquatic animalsprefer a range of .- to ./ they are adapted to a specific pH level and may die,stop reproducing, or move away if the pH of the water varies beyond this range.0ow pH can also allow to"ic compounds to become more available to aquatic plants

and animals. This can produce conditions that hurt aquatic life. pH can be affectedby wastewater discharges, drainage from mines, and the type of rock naturallyfound in the area.


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Turbidity:I would e"pect the turbidity to be high at site 1 because it is more of a swamp thana river with a lot of suspended matter such as peat. There was a lot of plant lifewhich would add to the amount of organic matter clouding the water.

2urther down the river at site 3 I would e"pect the turbidity to be low because thebottom of the river is stony and can be clearly seen. Also, there is littledisturbance in the way of traffic or animals.

At site 4 the water current is strong but very clear so I predict that this site willalso have low turbidity.

I e"pect that the turbidity will also be low at site 5 because the rocks and stonescan be clearly seen on the river bed.


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The Water Temperature:

I predict that the water temperature will be lower than the air temperaturewhich is 136157# at all the sites because it is a cold, autumnal and wet day.However, I think that the water temperature will be even colder on higher

ground at sites 1 and 3 and slightly warmer closer to sea level where the river ismore sheltered and the air temperature is warmer.


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The acidity:

I predict that the water acidity in general will be low because there are hardly any

factories or industry along the river banks. At the source of the river the aciditylevel will be very close to the pH of natural rain which is between - and , but atthe second site I e"pect the water will be very acidic because the river passes overpeat which has a high pH level. As the river leaves the peat area I predict that thepH levels will fall to the healthy level of 8, which is a level at which most plants andanimals thrive.


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Dissolved oxygen content :

I predict that in general there will be a lot of dissolved o"ygen in the riverbecause the water is very cold and there is no pollution because there is noindustry along the river banks. Also, although I saw very little animal life present

during the e"ercise from past e"perience I know the river has lots of fish livingthere.

At the source, site 1, I predict that there will be less dissolved o"ygen becausethere are a lot of rotting plants and the river bed is peaty. (ite 3 is where twotributaries meet and there is a lot of white water as it flows with a lot of energyso I e"pect there to be a high percentage of o"ygen saturation. (ite 4 also has alot of white water as the river falls over waterfalls and rocky areas and site 5 isclear and cold so I predict they will both have a lot of dissolved o"ygen.


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Water collection procedure9

:quipment9sampling ;ar

lidtimergloves

ethod9

1.


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To measure turbidity9

:quipment9

(ampling ;ar(ecchi disk iconTurbidity chart

ethod9

1.Adhere sticker on the inside bottom of the sampling ;ar, slightly of centre.3.2ill the ;ar to the turbidity line located on the outside label.4.Hold the Turbidity #hart on the top edge of the ;ar.5.0ooking down into the ;ar, compare the appearance of the secchi disk icon in the ;ar tothe chart.-.


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To measure water temperature:

Equipment=lovesThermometer(ampling ;ar

Method:1.Wear >rotective gloves.

3.>ut the water thermometer under the water for 1 minute.4.


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To measure dissolved oxygen:

Equipment :(ampling ;arThermometer

(mall test tube$issolved %"ygen #hartTimer

Method:

! ut a small test tube into the sampling ;ar, remove it making sure no air gets in.4.>ut the $issolved %"ygen tablets in to the test tube.5.(crew the cap on.-.i" the $issolved %"ygen tablets for 5 minutes..Wait - minutes for the colour to develop.8.#ompare the colour of the sample to the $issolved %"ygen colour chart .

.


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To measure pH:

Equipment

0arge test tubepH tabletspH colour test tube

Method:

1.2ill large test tube to the 1/ml mark.3.Add one pH tablet.4.i" until tablet has dissolved.5.#ompare the colour of the sample to the pH colour chart.-.


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$ate9 361/6/?Time of year9 autumn#urrent weather conditions9 windy with light rain#loud cover9 overcastAir temperature9 136157#

!arameter "ite 1 "ite 2 "ite 3 "ite 4Date "#$% "#$% "#$% "#$%

&ocation 'randywell Druidale Tholt(y(will )arey *ord

+ir Temp ",- .,- ",- .,-

Turbidity %/T0 %/T0 %/T0 %/T0

Water Temp %,c %,c ",c ",c

DissolvedOxygen (1agesaturation

21 21 2.1 2.1

pH # 3 4 2


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This is site 1, the source of the river and as we can see on this photothe river is swampy with a peat bed, a slow water flow and thickvegetation with little sunlight getting to water. The weather was

overcast, and raining and this point is high above see level.


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This is site 3 and as we can see it is the point at which two tributariesconverge. The river is very narrow and there is some white water. Thewater is very clear with lots of stones and vegetation around the river.The weather is still very cold.

Two tributaries meet


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This is site 4 where the river has widened with some white water and thestill water is very clear. There are a lot of leaves around about the river sothere is lots of shelter from trees. The water temperature has warmed

slightly.


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This is site 5 the river is very wide, shallow and slow moving, the river isquite sheltered. :ven though there is tree cover there are no leaves on thetrees and there is plenty of light getting through.There are ducks in thewater. The water temperature is the same as site 4.


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Turbidity:(ite 1 the data shows that the test disagrees with my hypotheses maybe becausethe rain water had only recently landed and didn*t have time to mi" with the soilground. (ite 3 data agrees with my hypotheses, showing that the water was clearbecause there was no disturbance by animals or factories. (ite 4 data agrees withmy hypotheses because the strong current and the stony bottom stopped anydisturbances in the river bottom. (ite 5 data agrees with my hypotheses becauseagain there is a stony bottom stopping disturbances.


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Water Temperature:The water temperature at the first two sites agrees with my hypotheses becauseit was a cold wet day and the first two sites were up on a bleak hill top. 2urtherdown at the last two sites the data agrees with my hypotheses because the sites

were much more sheltered.


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The +cidity:At the source the data agrees with my hypotheses because the rain water has hadlittle time to mi" with the peat so the water still had the same acidity levels asrain. The second site agrees with my data collected because the river passes over

peat which has a high acidity level. The lower course sites, from the data Icollected agrees with my hypotheses because there is no more peat land and nofactories so the acidity level drops along the lower course of the river.


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Dissolved Oxygen:At site 1 the data I collected disagrees with my hypotheses probably because thewater was very cold. (ite 3 data agrees with my hypotheses because the weatherwas cold and there was some white water. (ite 4 also agrees with my hypothesesbecause there were waterfalls mi"ing o"ygen into the water. (ite 5 hypothesesagrees with the data I collected because it was very similar to site 4 with coldweather


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This data collection e"ercise was very limited.

Callan C Sulby R Water Quality

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