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Nitrogen Content in Lake Munson

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The purpose of our experiment is to examine the presence of ... As levels near 2.0 mg/L, even ammonia-tolerant fish like carp begin to die. Ammonia Results ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Nitrogen Content in Lake Munson


1
Nitrogen Content in Lake Munson
  • An IB Group 4 Study

2
Group Members
  • Daniel Gold
  • Ben Cunningham
  • Amol Shah
  • Nick Wilde
  • Aravind Reddy
  • Zach Tyree
  • Bijal Patel
  • Maddie Pepper
  • Erika Rix

3
Our Experiment
  • The purpose of our experiment is to examine the
    presence of various forms of nitrogen in Lake
    Munson, before and after a rainfall. Additionally
    we will analyze the effects that the presence of
    these nitrogen ions has on the surrounding plant
    life, animal life, and ecosystem.

4
Background Information
5
Lake Munson
  • Lake Munson receives stormwater runoff from 57
    of Tallahassee's urban area
  • In 1954, residents decided not to eat the fish
    from Lake Munson as the lake was then receiving
    effluent from the Tallahassee Sewage Treatment
    Plant .
  • In 1982 FDEP classified Lake Munson as
    hypereutrophic and ranked it as the seventh most
    degraded lake in the state of Florida.
  • A hypereutrophic lake is very nutrient-rich and
    is characterized by frequent and severe nuisance
    algal blooms and low transparency

6
Nitrogen
  • Fuels plant growth, elevates the trophic status
    of the lake, and is an indicator of anaerobic
    decay.
  • On average, Lake Munson receives 274 lbs of
    Nitrogen per day.
  • The presence of Nitrogen is characterized most
    markedly by nitrate(NO3), nitrite(NO2), and
    Ammonia(NH3)

7
Nitrogen Cycle
8
Nitrate
  • Major ingredient of farm fertilizer
  • When it rains, nitrate washes from farmland into
    nearby waterways.
  • Nitrates also get into waterways from lawn
    fertilizer run-off, leaking septic tanks and
    cesspools, manure from farm livestock, animal
    wastes (including fish and birds), and discharges
    from car exhausts.

9
Effects of Nitrate
  • Nitrates stimulate the growth of plankton and
    water weeds that provide food for fish. This may
    increase the fish population. However, if algae
    grow too wildly, oxygen levels will be reduced
    and fish will die.
  • The U.S. Public Health Service has established 10
    mg/L of nitrate-nitrogen as the maximum
    contamination level allowed in public drinking
    water.

10
Nitrate Results
  • The recommended amount of nitrate in drinking
    water is 10mg/L
  • The average amount of nitrate found prior to
    rainfall was 0 ppm.
  • After rain the amount was .29 ppm for test 1, .23
    ppm for test 2, and .25 ppm for test 3
  • According to these results the amount of nitrate
    increases after rainfall.

11
Ammonia
  • In nature, ammonia is formed by the action of
    bacteria on proteins and urea.
  • Also created by the decomposition of organic
    materials such as animals and plants by bacteria
    and fungi.
  • Produced by all animals as part of normal
    metabolism. Such is the toxicity, that most
    animals immediately convert it to a less harmful
    substance, usually urea, and excrete it in urine.

12
Effects of Ammonia
  • Ammonia is toxic to fish and aquatic organisms,
    even in very low concentrations
  • When levels reach 0.06 mg/L, fish can suffer gill
    damage.
  • When levels reach 0.2 mg/L, sensitive fish like
    trout and salmon begin to die.
  • As levels near 2.0 mg/L, even ammonia-tolerant
    fish like carp begin to die.

13
Ammonia Results
  • The testing method used yielded inconclusive
    results.
  • The levels of ammonia ions were beyond the scope
    of the testing equipment.

14
Nitrite
  • Nitrites are relatively short-lived because
    theyre quickly converted to nitrates by
    bacteria.
  • Created from ammonia by nitrifying bacteria found
    in soil and aquatic systems.
  • High nitrite concentrations in ponds occur more
    frequently in the fall and spring when
    temperatures are fluctuating resulting in the
    breakdown of the nitrogen cycle due to decreased
    plankton and/or bacterial activity

15
Effects of Nitrite
  • Nitrites produce brown blood disease in fish,
    even though they dont exist for very long in the
    environment.
  • Though the presence of nitrite is fleeting, the
    ion is very poisonous in all types of animal
    life.
  • If nitrite enters an organisms blood stream, it
    will react with the hemoglobin found therein and
    will decrease the level of oxygen delivered by
    the bloodstream.

16
Nitrite Results
  • The amount of nitrite was negligible.
  • According to our research the scarce amount of
    nitrite found is due to the rapid conversion to
    nitrate by nitrifying bacteria.
  • The ion exists only for a short time and the
    procedure used was not sufficient to calculate
    the presence of the ion.

17
Conclusion
The Group 4 Project was a great way to use the
scientific method on a local habitat to discover
more about it beyond the obvious. The trip to
Lake Munson was a valuable experience with
friends to utilize our chemistry knowledge. Even
though our results were not complete, they
indubitably helped lead the group to better
understand that Lake Munson was not
pollutant-free. Our overall knowledge regarding
the importance of the lake and the habitat, and
its current and past conditions, has greatly
increased due to our Group 4 experiment.
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