The wetlands at Broward College may look like a minor detail but in truth this area is an important part of the environment. Wetlands are a portion of land, filled with water either covered or surrounded by soil (EPA). According to the Environmental Protection Agency there are non-tidal and tidal wetlands. Tidal wetlands are wetlands with mixtures of salt and freshwater, located along various coasts. Non-tidal wetlands compared to the wetlands we sampled, are fresh water wetlands surrounded by land .
The areas we tested were stations two, eight and fourteen; out of the three stations fourteen is the oldest. Station fourteen is the eldest area therefore it has different characteristics than the newer stations because throughout the years it …show more content…
For example the weather plays an important role. If the temperature is high during the day odds are rainfall will occurs in the next twenty-four hours. When rain falls it will rush the water contaminated with nitrates and phosphates (commonly found in fertilizers) into the wetland. Only low levels of nitrates and phosphates belong in healthy water quality. A higher level of nitrates not only causes eutrophication but also can make people ill if ingested . A healthy range for nitrates is no more than 1 mg/L. Like nitrates, a small amount of phosphates (0.1 mg/L) is necessary for living organism and water. In the wetlands the only type of phosphate concentrate recorded were inorganic forms typically found in fertilizer . When these two acids exceed the satisfactory range then pH levels decrease. A diminution of pH is never healthy for the water quality; the lower the pH the less likely organism such as fish will survive. One way to correct pH levels is by using a buffer system to neutralize the acid. Alkalinity can measure how much acid the water can buffer when bases are present . For example, Station 2 and 8 have a layer of bedrock containing calcium carbonate (a base used to neutralize acids) so if nitrates and phosphates mix into the water the particles in the rock can defuse acids. Once counteracted the pH returns back to a healthy level ranging from 6.5-8.0. After going over what are …show more content…
These actions take place at the surface of the water. Redox reactions are when an exchange of electrons transpires in a chemical reaction . Photosynthesis is a redox reaction because oxygen is oxidized as electrons flow to an oxidizing agent. A trend was observed in correlation with redox and probe depth. In 2014 redox data, the values stayed in the 300mV range and for probe depth the values were in the 3-5 meter range. In Spring 2004, redox levels were 400-500 mV range, probe depth was in the 1-4 meter levels. The relationship with redox and probe depth shows the lower the probe is placed the values for redox will also be low. The reasoning is towards the bottom floor of the wetlands less photosynthesis is taking place because there is less sunlight. If one wanted to get an accurate sample of the water they would deposit the probe towards the middle of the system. The closer the probe is to the surface the more inaccurate the sample would be due to the amount of DO located at the
The areas we tested were stations two, eight and fourteen; out of the three stations fourteen is the oldest. Station fourteen is the eldest area therefore it has different characteristics than the newer stations because throughout the years it …show more content…
For example the weather plays an important role. If the temperature is high during the day odds are rainfall will occurs in the next twenty-four hours. When rain falls it will rush the water contaminated with nitrates and phosphates (commonly found in fertilizers) into the wetland. Only low levels of nitrates and phosphates belong in healthy water quality. A higher level of nitrates not only causes eutrophication but also can make people ill if ingested . A healthy range for nitrates is no more than 1 mg/L. Like nitrates, a small amount of phosphates (0.1 mg/L) is necessary for living organism and water. In the wetlands the only type of phosphate concentrate recorded were inorganic forms typically found in fertilizer . When these two acids exceed the satisfactory range then pH levels decrease. A diminution of pH is never healthy for the water quality; the lower the pH the less likely organism such as fish will survive. One way to correct pH levels is by using a buffer system to neutralize the acid. Alkalinity can measure how much acid the water can buffer when bases are present . For example, Station 2 and 8 have a layer of bedrock containing calcium carbonate (a base used to neutralize acids) so if nitrates and phosphates mix into the water the particles in the rock can defuse acids. Once counteracted the pH returns back to a healthy level ranging from 6.5-8.0. After going over what are …show more content…
These actions take place at the surface of the water. Redox reactions are when an exchange of electrons transpires in a chemical reaction . Photosynthesis is a redox reaction because oxygen is oxidized as electrons flow to an oxidizing agent. A trend was observed in correlation with redox and probe depth. In 2014 redox data, the values stayed in the 300mV range and for probe depth the values were in the 3-5 meter range. In Spring 2004, redox levels were 400-500 mV range, probe depth was in the 1-4 meter levels. The relationship with redox and probe depth shows the lower the probe is placed the values for redox will also be low. The reasoning is towards the bottom floor of the wetlands less photosynthesis is taking place because there is less sunlight. If one wanted to get an accurate sample of the water they would deposit the probe towards the middle of the system. The closer the probe is to the surface the more inaccurate the sample would be due to the amount of DO located at the