Chemistry and Management through a Water Particle

This topic submitted by Melissa Hamann (hamannmm@muohio.edu) on 1/24/03. Additions were last made on Saturday, March 1, 2003. Section: Blaisdell/Wolfe

This project idea is interdisciplinary in nature and sounds like a lot of valuable information can be gained from such an experiment. Many of this week's articles discussed the micro- vs. macro. schools of though. Even though a few macros think that the hydrologic nature should be viewed in a global sense, most scientists have progressed towards a micro- vision of hydrologic units. Micro studies, such as the one Sarah has mentioned, allows scientests to definitively connect multivariant aspects of an aquatic system.

William L. Graf states "the connection between science and socially defined goals is exceptionally important to avoid unreasonable expectations, because culturally defined objectives may be incompatible with environmental reality" (14). A woman that could be interviewed for this project could be questioned about the overall uses of the river over the years and changes in the way the river is viewed. With this information, one is one step closer to developing a management system of the river.

Using principles outlined in the "Streamwater chemistry" chapter, it would be advantagous for this study to also measure multiple chemical components of Four Mile Creek. To add to the perspective of the journey of the water particle, you would write a story discussing all the things (ions, dissolved compounds, insoluble particles, etc) the water "bumped into." Two tests that David Allen favors are the buffer capacity of the carbonate compounds and Total Dissolved Solids. Both of these tests could be easily incorporated into the context of the study which Sarah has already outlined.

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