Niki UR How Safe is Our Water?

My project is about the movement of water nutrients through the Ponce Inlet water system from the Halifax River and The Indian River North. 

What is known: 

Total Nitrogen and Phosphorous are essential to healthy plant and animal growth, can cause algae blooms in overabundance 

Dissolved oxygen: essential for plant and animal growth, not enough causes eutrophication of habitat 

Total Suspended Solids: can include silt, decaying matter, or industrial waste

Salinity: Hypersaline: 38ppt

              Hyposaline: <30 ppt

   The Indian River North is the uppermost section of the Indian River Lagoon, spreading from the Ponce Inlet to Oak Hill. I will be focusing on the northernmost part, closest to the Inlet itself. 

The Halifax River runs from the Ponce Inlet to Ormond Beach, and is 25 miles long, again I will be focused on the  area closest to the Inlet, or the southernmost section. 

My scientific question may still need some work, but I want to experiment on and determine the water quality of the Halifax River, Indian River North and Ponce Inlet and see if these conditions are up to EPA standards.

Materials and Methods:

 YSI 85 Oxygen Conductivity Salinity Temperature (and pH)

HACH Calorimiter DR 890 (total nitrogen and phosphorus) 

HACH 2100 N TURBIDIMITER

HACH 2100 N Turbidimeter

HACH Calorimeter DR 890

 

YSI 85 Oxygen Conductivity Salinity Temperature

Halifax River: one sample at outgoing tide

Indian River North: one sample at outgoing tide

Ponce Inlet: one sample at outgoing tide, one sample at incoming tide

My data will be represented by a cluster bar graph, with all of the information from each site in its own cluster, with pH, salinity, DO, TN and TP to see an accurate comparison between waterbodies, another ID can be created for EPA standards. 

Perlman, Howard, and USGS. “Nitrogen and Water.” Nitrogen and Water: USGS Water Science School, 17 Jan. 17AD, water.usgs.gov/edu/nitrogen.html.

USF Water Institute, School of Geosciences, A, and A University of South Florida. “Tampa Bay Water Atlas.” Welcome to the Water Atlas, 2018, www.tampabay.wateratlas.usf.edu/.