This segment of White Creek is located the farthest away from major urban development, and, thus, might be an overall healthier system as a result. There is an overall proliferation of many different of species (colonizers, stabilizers, and riparian woody) that occur and thrive in various spatial configurations (partially determined by proximity to stream, elevation, and characteristics of the underlying substrate). There appears to be a substantial (s worthy of note that a large, above-ground sewage line ran perpendicularly over the river towards a sewage treatment plant some distance away. There were no signs of leakage or other issues that might compromise or affect the surrounding hydrology of the site.
The erosion and sedimentation observed
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The topography could be described as gently rolling within the riparian buffer, with the stream bed being much flatter. The only significant urbanized area (meaning presence of structures, impervious surfaces, disturbed ecosystems structure/function) is the airport, which is located within a 0.5 mile from portions of White Creek. There are several unpaved roads near and directly adjacent to the creek that don’t impact the local environment to a large degree. The nearest paved road is located directly adjacent to the airport, but still a significant distance from the riparian zone of the …show more content…
Within the stream channel, there was an array of different types of small juvenile fish species; no amphibians or reptiles were observed, though the conditions for their existence seemed to be adequate. There was an abundance of macroinvertebrates throughout the site, which became more pronounced nearer the stream channel. There was also an adequate amount of bird species observed on the site. Overall, the natural and relatively undisturbed conditions of this section of White Creek provided an adequate habitat for general biotic
This is a map of the Conodoguinet Creek, where the 8-Orange team of East Pennsboro Middle School went yesterday to study the creek. The 8-Orange team, including myself was studying to see if the Conodoguinet Creek had any type of pollution. The reasons for us going down to the creek to test is the problems we have in Central, Pa. Some problems are the acid rain coming from the Power Plants down the road, and sometimes from Pittsburg, Pa also. Theres many more problems but these are the two main ones. We all split up into three groups which were, finding the velocity of the surface water, identifying the different critters there are in the creek, and testing the water for (phosphate, nitrate, and dissolved oxygen). It was incredible we all got different amounts of data.
The River Creedy’s gradient slope is 1.9% which indicates that the flow rate is at a medium rate. This river also has a high nutrient level as there are runoffs from farm land and with the flow rates not as fast as the Exe then the nutrients as staying within area rather than getting washed away. Dace are found in this area are slightly higher abundances then roach
By the end of this report you should have a better perception on the geological landscape of Silver Creek Wetland Complex, and further in-depth knowledge on what stewardship responsibilities fall on you and your relationship with the land you use.
Over the recent years the demand on the parklands have increased, becoming more central to the local community. As a result, this corridor of parkland needs to be maintained and appreciated as a natural area with safe recreational access, and the importance of the creek line should be recognised as both an environmental and recreational area, central to the City of Ryde.
Extensive amounts of litter were observed both in (figure 8) and around the creek, this aspect of human interaction clearly is degrative within this environment Increased flood risk due to surface impermeability this disrupts the water cycle and increases subsequent erosion
Either or both of those two things could have runoff from the land and drained into the creek. They are negative to the creek. Our results showed that the creek was containing little to no phosphate. The average number after 15 tests was just 0.3- zero being the best. Similarly, nitrate is a salt or ester, but it is made of nitric acid, containing the anion NO3. It is found in runoff from fertilized farms and treatment plants. The same process was used for testing nitrate levels. The average level out of eight tests was 0.8, which is a higher than phosphate but still relatively low. Both of those test results were very positive. It showed that the creek was low in eutrophication. Another chemical test is testing for dissolved oxygen. Dissolved oxygen is microscopic bubbles of oxygen (O2) that are in the water and there for aquatic organisms to breathe in, which is necessary for almost all organisms. The testing process was similar to that of nitrate and phosphate tests. After testing the water, we got an average level of 11.4. More dissolved oxygen allows for more gaseous bubbles for organisms to breathe in. Therefore, a higher number is better. Twelve is the highest level of dissolved oxygen possible. Thus, since 11.4 is very close to 12, the dissolved oxygen level was very good. Dissolved oxygen can be changed in a number of ways. First, stagnant, or not moving, water has a much lower level of dissolved oxygen. Also, hotter water has less dissolved water. Lastly, chemicals like phosphate and nitrate can cause the growth of algae (which will be discussed in more detail in paragraph three), taking away oxygen. Additionally, the students tested for acid rain pollution. The tests falling under the acid rain category would test for acidity or alkalinity in water. We took a pH test, which is a level expressing the
Each watershed varies depending on location. The Salem Creek watershed naturally consists of rocks, vegetation, water, clay and loam soils, slopes, and juvenile aquatic life. Conversely, there is naturally some stream bank and soil erosion. As for human features, the watershed consists of drainage pipes, sewage pipes, bridges, mounds of cement, and pollution sources. Most of the human features are generally in the highly urbanized areas of the watershed, which consists of northwestern portion of Winston-Salem, NC. There were also impervious surfaces bordering both sides of the watershed. On the stretch parallel to Old Salem Road, there was Old Salem Road on one side of the watershed, and housing and other buildings on the other. With the portion that is appears near South Main Street, there is a multiuse development and major road bordering it. There is also cement on the furthest side of the watershed and a sidewalk on the other that border the wide portion of the watershed that is located in the Salem Creek Greenway.
So we can conclude that the creek is not polluted based on this evidence. The creek creature are mostly from group 1 and 2. Also, the creek water contains little to no nitrates and phosphates. The creek also contains a high amount of dissolved oxygen (9.8ppm to be exact) Lastly, the creek limestone neutralize acid rain. The pH of the water is also a healthy 7. After all this evidence we can conclude that the creek is not
These aquatic insects start their lives in the waters of Pine Creek. Mayflies and caddis flies are plentiful at certain times of the year. Their presence signals that the waters here are pure and that the stream quality is excellent.
The macroinvertebrates graph (figure 2) represents the diversity of species inhabiting the Baldwin Swamp. In 2009 the Baldwin swamp was flourishing with a large diversity of species. A total of 33 macroinvertebrates, 8 species were recorded. At this time the baldwin swamp was healthy, abundant in life and the ecosystem and food webs were unaffected by the floods. Whereas 3 weeks after the floods swept through there were little to no range of species of macroinvertebrates. There were a recorded amount of 2 Damselfly Nymph and 1 waterboat man. A theory to why these two
The first tests were to determine the chemical composition of the creek. Two types of pollution problems were being tested. One is called eutrophication and is when the creek or any body of water has too many nutrients in the water. It is bad for the creek. The other type is acid rain, which is when the burning of fossil fuels causes rain that is acidic. That rain subsequently drains into the creek. We performed a phosphate test, which uses scientific tools to measure the level of phosphate in the water. A similar test we executed was a nitrate test. A healthy result on both of those tests would have been a low number. Additionally, we tested the creek for dissolved oxygen, which should have been a higher number rather than a low number. The creek was also tested using a pH scale, where the numbers range from zero to fourteen, seven being the best. Lastly, we tested the rocks found in the creek to see if they would work to neutralize acid. We did this by putting acid on the rocks and observing if they bubbled and sizzled or not. The next experiment was to find organisms in the creek. We found a variety of macroinvertebrates and classified them
The chemical characteristics observed and documented were pH, temperature, phosphate, nitrate, turbidity, and dissolved oxygen. Each of these chemical levels were documented and found differently. Most were found using a kit or a device. The numbers found, would tell us how polluted the stream was and how much nutrients were in the water. Each chemical has a scale for telling what a good level is and what a bad level is. If an excess amount of nutrients was found in the water, algae could be formed. When algae is formed it blocks sunlight from shining into the water, which creates dead zones. This is called eutrophication. A dead zone is an area where there is no life. This can cause major problems like population issues and more. If the algae continues to grow in the river, the whole body of water can die out, and people as well as other organisms are very dependent on the Susquehanna. While on the river though, there was an absence of algae, so sunlight is able to get through the water, which is very good.
Through our research we aimed to determine if there were any differences in water quality of both the north and south forks of Strawberry Creek. As time progresses and the environment changes it is important to keep track of how certain species are being impacted by these features, and how they cope with change. We hypothesized that due to the lack of pollution, the south fork will promote a greater diversity of macroinvertebrates. This was due to the fact that there was less runoff and trash that could be introduced to the water in the south fork, than there was in the north fork. We gathered data by analyzing the different organisms living in both forks. We collected a total of fifty vials composed of five organisms from each fork, and inspected them under microscopic view. After gathering data and identifying the different kinds of organisms living in the different forks we assessed whether the organisms from the samples could live in high or low resolution water. We also took a t-test to assess the probability of these differences being due to relevant factors or by chance. Our major findings suggest that organisms in the south fork showed a higher demand to living in cleaner water indicating that our hypothesis was correct.
Turner, R. Eugene, and Nancy N. Rabalais. "Linking Landscape And Water Quality In The Mississippi River Basin For 200 Years." Bioscience 53.6 (2003): 563. Academic Search Complete. Web. 2 May 2016.
The Neuse River has played a vital role throughout much of the history of North Carolina. In recent decades however the river has seen degradation of its health and ecology via massive amounts of point and non-point source pollution. The result has been numerous events of eutrophication, resulting in the ecological “dead zones” found throughout the river. Notable contributors of this pollution have been industrial plants and agriculture, most notably power plants and hog farms. As a result, federal and state agencies have enacted strict regulations and water quality standards and procedures to monitor the tributaries, estuarine areas, and main stem of the greater Neuse River watershed.