Physical & Chemical Parameters of the Turnbow Pond

Cody Clark

Dylan Weir

Jeffery Johnson

Turnbow PondGroundwater Fed– Multiple seeps on uphill side– Stream running along south edge

Expanded a couple years ago– Most macrophytes removed– Very turbid after refill

Aeration system

Group A • Dissolved Oxygen• Temperature• Total Phosphorus• Conductiviy• pH• Bathymetry• Irradiance• Chlorophyll ɑ

YSI 556 Multiprobe

Measures• Dissolved Oxygen• Temperature• Conductivity• pH

Dissolved O² & Temp

Conductivity & pH

Total Phosphorus

Kemmerer Sampler

Bathymetry• Equipment

• Boat, depth finder with GPS system, and a handheld GPS.

• Process• Depth finder attached to boat maps the pond

floor• GPS collects data points as the boat moves

around the pond• Handheld GPS walked around high water mark

Bathymetry

• Methods– Paddle around pond in a grid pattern– Establish minimum and maximum depths

for sample protocols– Walk the edge of the entire pond where the

visible high water mark resides

Bathymetry• Data Analysis

– ArcGIS software organizes data points and renders a 3-D image of the pond shape and depth throughout

– Minimum, maximum and average depths are calculated

– Water volume is calculated from 3-D rendering and GPS points.

Bathymetry

• Results– All data points collected

BathymetryResults• Volume = 6297.2 M³• Area = 4679 M²

How to Measure Irradiance• Photosynthetic Active Radiation (PAR)• Measures amount of light able to

penetrateto “X” depth

Irradiance Profile• Zero UV penetration >1m depth• This plus turbidity creates colder

temperatures

for trout.

What Is Chlorophyll a

• Chlorophyll is used by green plants and algae to absorb sunlight and carry out photosynthesis.

Why Were Chlorophyll Samples taken?

• By measuring chlorophyll, you are indirectly measuring the amount of photosynthesizing plants found in a sample.

• In this case Algae• To little, not enough to support biological

communities.• To much, indicates abnormally high nutrient levels • Can result in algal blooms

How was it Collected?

• Collected using a 2 liter Van-Dorn Sampler

• Samples were taken at 0.5, 1.5 and 2.5 meters

Turnbow Pond Chlorophyll a

• Turnbow pond is Eutrophic Like most ponds

• Highly productivity due to high nutrients,especially nitrogen and phosphorus.

What do These Levels Mean?

• Upper water layer has 24.15 µg/L• Most Eutrophic ponds range from 20 – 56

µg/L• A Clear high mountain lakes have 0-2.6 µg/L• Levels in pond may have been much higher

in summer

What can be done?

• Refrain from spreading fertilizers up hill of the pond

• Increase the number of Cladocera by decreasing pond pH