The Effects of Tributary Health on Lake Heritage 12th Grade - 2020 SRS - 2020 SRS

Project Title:The Effects of Tributary Health on Lake Heritage
School Name(s): St. Francis Xavier Catholic School
Teacher Name(s): Amy Woods
Student Name(s): Lily Shriner
Contributors: Mrs. Gadow, Lake Heritage Residents, Mrs. Bird, Mr. Hallinan, Emily Thorpe, and Cassie Fenn
Grade Level:Secondary School (grades 9-12, ages 14-18)
Project Description:The Effects of Tributary Health on Lake Heritage
Abstract: This experiment focused on the question, “How is Lake Heritage affected by the water quality in its tributaries?” The hypothesis states that the Plum Run tributary will contribute more nutrient pollution and sediment load to Lake Heritage than the unnamed tributary because Plum Run is surrounded by farmland and housing developments, both of which will contribute nutrients and sediment to the lake through runoff due to fertilizer use and erosion by pastureland. The independent variable is location. The dependent variables are nitrates in parts per million, pH in logarithmic units, water temperature in Celsius, dissolved oxygen in parts per million, phosphates in ppm, and water transparency in centimeters. The controls for this experiment are the times of observation, the study sites, the testing equipment, and the GLOBE protocols. The experiment was conducted using CHEMets dissolved oxygen, phosphates, and nitrates kits, a Hanna Instruments pH meter, an alcohol filled thermometer, and a transparency tube according to GLOBE protocols. Water was collected at each site and the water quality tests were completed according to the instructions and protocols. The data partially supported the hypothesis. Plum Run did display higher nitrates levels, lower transparency, and high phosphate levels throughout the eight weeks of data collection. However, the contribution of the tributary to Lake Heritage was not entirely consistent. On most occasions, the data did seem to be more influenced by Plum Run or equally influenced by both tributaries. All of the parameters followed two trends: the lake data was closer to one tributary or the other or the lake data was in between the levels of the tributaries. On some occasions, neither of these trends applied, which could be due to precipitation events. If this experiment were to be continued, more data would be collected to create a more detailed picture of the trends in the data. This project is important to the real world because a comprehensive plan for the remediation of Lake Heritage can be composed using the findings of this project. This plan could also be used as a model for larger watersheds, such as the Chesapeake Bay, which has a similar problem.Keywords: nitrates, dissolved oxygen, pH, water temperature, phosphates, water transparency, sediment load, nutrients, and tributary
Protocols: Dissolved Oxygen, Nitrates, Water Temperature, Water Transparency, pH
Language(s):English
Presentation Video: View Video
Presentation Poster: View Document
Report Page:Link

Hi Lily!

My name is Allison and I am a PhD student at the University of New Hampshire. I am part of the Water Quality Analysis Lab and I research carbon and nitrogen cycling in lakes and streams. I am particularly interested in water quality issues related to agricultural runoff so I was excited to see that you chose a topic related to this!

Your research project and video presentation were awesome! You spoke very clearly and the organization of the presentation was great. One recommendation for future presentations would be to use bullet points on your slides instead of paragraphs as it was a lot to read while you were talking. 

I liked that you touched on future management of the lake and recommended practices to reduce the level of nitrate concentrations. It’s always important to think about how our research can influence management decisions! Great work!

Hi Lily,
My name is Ruth Varner and I am a professor in Earth Science at UNH.

I really enjoyed seeing your presentation - you spoke clearly and concisely about your research. I think your hypothesis was also clear and well written.

One question I have is if yo could make measurements all year round how do you think your results would be different?

Excellent job!
Ruth

Hi Lily,

My name is Lara Gengarelly and I am an ecologist and science educator at the University of New Hampshire.

Your study was well-organized and addressed an important ecological question. I really like the way you emphasized the importance of studies such as yours contributing to the management of fresh water systems. You also included detailed background information and descriptions of each of the variables you measured along with appropriate citations.

I am pleased to hear that you will continue this study. How will you improve your research design the next time you conduct this? What were some possible limitations of your design?

You clearly verbalized the main points of your study design and results. In the future your accompanying presentation visuals would be easier to view if you used bullet points instead of full paragraphs of text.

I enjoyed your presentation and thank you for sharing at the GLOBE SRS!