Flaws The area in which the data was collected varied going by each result. The historical data (May 2012 to Sep 2015) was all measured from different parts of the creek. This means that the results may not be accurate to each other, or to the overall results. For example, in May 2013 the percentage of dissolved oxygen was very low at 29% saturation. The reason for this is the exceptionally high flow rate and cloud cover. This indicates that the day in which the data was collected the water was flowing incredibly fast (possible flooding) and there way almost entire cloud covering. Both of which negatively affect the dissolved oxygen content. Other inconsistencies include light and ammonium as there is no historical data to compare it to.
Discussion …show more content…
This is a very small amount of nitrate and is justifiable due to the nitrification and oxidation processes. The parameters state that a healthy level of nitrates that should be found in freshwater is less than 1mg/L. As previously shown, the resulting nitrate level is 1.1735mg/L. Therefore showing that the nitrate level is slightly higher than recommended but is still healthy in terms of the biological health of the creek. This could be considered a the outlier of the group in terms of the recommendations as it is the only factor which does not positively correspond with the parameters and recommended data levels for freshwater creeks. This is because of two reasons. One is nitrification, which was previously stated and explained. The other is because of commercial fertilizers used by local farms. These fertilizers contain ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3), which is carried through the land and dispersed into the water, and as ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) and water ( ) are both polar molecules, the ammonium nitrate dissolves into the water. When ammonium nitrate is bonded to dissolved oxygen ( ), the oxidation process converts the compounds into dissolved nitrates ( ). This means that the fertilizers in the local sugar cane farms are negatively effecting the nitrate levels in the water. The prior three tests over the previous two years have resulted in 0mg/L of nitrates occurring in the water. From a chemical standpoint, this means that the water quality is outstanding. However from a creek and biological quality standpoint, it is not healthy as plants consume nitrogen, and reproduce
Discussion …show more content…
This is a very small amount of nitrate and is justifiable due to the nitrification and oxidation processes. The parameters state that a healthy level of nitrates that should be found in freshwater is less than 1mg/L. As previously shown, the resulting nitrate level is 1.1735mg/L. Therefore showing that the nitrate level is slightly higher than recommended but is still healthy in terms of the biological health of the creek. This could be considered a the outlier of the group in terms of the recommendations as it is the only factor which does not positively correspond with the parameters and recommended data levels for freshwater creeks. This is because of two reasons. One is nitrification, which was previously stated and explained. The other is because of commercial fertilizers used by local farms. These fertilizers contain ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3), which is carried through the land and dispersed into the water, and as ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) and water ( ) are both polar molecules, the ammonium nitrate dissolves into the water. When ammonium nitrate is bonded to dissolved oxygen ( ), the oxidation process converts the compounds into dissolved nitrates ( ). This means that the fertilizers in the local sugar cane farms are negatively effecting the nitrate levels in the water. The prior three tests over the previous two years have resulted in 0mg/L of nitrates occurring in the water. From a chemical standpoint, this means that the water quality is outstanding. However from a creek and biological quality standpoint, it is not healthy as plants consume nitrogen, and reproduce