Student Research Reports

View Research Report

This experiment is designed to see if the water from Marsh Creek and Rock Creek (by testing at an unnamed tributary), is somehow polluting the Monocacy River. Marsh Creek and Rock Creek are the main contributors to the Monocacy River. The question, “How does the DO, temperature, transparency, pH, salt, and nitrates levels upstream affect the levels downstream?”, was asked, with The hypothesis stating that if the levels of dissolved oxygen, temperature, transparency, pH, salt, and nitrates at the upstream creeks are different levels than that of the downstream levels, then it will show that the two creeks contribute negatively to the southern river. This is because the creeks and streams are heavily shade, buffered by forests, roads and agricultural sources. The roads cross over or beside the creeks and rivers cause salt and pollution on the roads to flow into the rivers. The agricultural sources cause nutrient enrichment, like nitrates and phosphates, to flow into the rivers. There would be an indication of a source of pollution/sediment, flowing into the Monocacy River from Marsh Creek or Rock Creek (through unnamed tributary), by having similar results at the locations. CHEMetsⓇ Kits, Water Quality meters, a transparency tube, and other safety equipment were used during the experiments. The procedures were created by following GLOBE and the kits/instrument instructions. The data seemed to support the hypothesis, on a broader scale. The conclusion stated that Marsh Creek and Rock Creek do have an impact on the Monocacy River, but both a positive (ex. Dissolved Oxygen, Salt) and negative (Nitrates, Salt) impact. Since the Monocacy River is a contributor to the Chesapeake Bay and the Bay is struggling to become more healthy, restoration efforts are being implemented to improve the quality of the Chesapeake Bay and everywhere. Keywords: Water Quality, Monocacy River, Marsh Creek, Rock Creek, Chesapeake Bay, Upstream-Downstream Effect.