The Effect Of Phosphorus On Health And Aquatic Life Essay

The Effects of Nitrogen and Phosphorus Enrichment on Water Samples from Encanto Lake and the Rio Salado River.

Even though, fertilizers are needed to supply essential nutrients to the growth of plants; an excess of them is one of the major issues contributing to pollution in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Fertilizers are mainly composed of two elements: nitrogen and phosphorus.(4) Throughout the years, millions of pounds of this nutrients are applied all around the Chesapeake Bay Watershed; everything not absorbed by the soil or taken up by plants eventually reaches the Chesapeake Bay through storm-water runoff. This nutrients end up creating algae blooms in the water, which reduce the amount of sunlight available to underwater grasses; not allowing plants to photosynthesize and produce the food they need to survive. Algae then decomposes creating dead zones killing fish and other species since oxygen is needed for any organism to live. (5)

To assess and analysis the long term trends and seasonal trends of Phosphorus in relation to the lakes system within the catchments.

Turbidity and nutrient levels occur within Australia’s river systems, generally coincide in Australia's river systems. A large proportion of the suspended sediment in Australian rivers results from vegetation removal, leading to gully and stream bank erosion and sheetwash. Phosphorus is overwhelmingly associated with such particulate loads (The National Land and Water Resources Audit, 2002).

Human activities such as the use of fertilizers in yard soil contribute to the accumulation of nutrients. When using fertilizers, the ground can only absorb so much. The use of excess fertilizers on crops allows for nitrogen to vaporize in the atmosphere through a process called volatilization (Olascoaga, 2010). Crop fertilizer also leaches nitrogen into groundwater, which eventually ends up in the ocean. When the ground is at its maximum absorbance, high concentration levels are obtained and carried through the waste system into rivers. Another factor is sewage from the increasing human population. Septic tanks are widely used unless a household is connected to wastewater treatment plants. Septic tanks purify waste by leaching the waste through soil. Storm water runoff is another source of nutrient for algal blooms. Rainfall picks up nutrients from yards and flushes these nutrients into

One of the things students tested in the creek was the chemical composition. We were testing for eutrophication and acid rain pollution. As was aforementioned, eutrophication is extra nutrients in the water. It comes from runoff from the land through the form of overfertilization and sewage treatment plants. The tests performed to test for eutrophication were nitrate and phosphate tests. The phosphate and nitrate tests were conducted by filling a cup with water and breaking the tip of an ampule so it would fill with water. The liquid in the ampule would change color based on the amount of phosphate or nitrate in the water. Phosphate is a salt or ester of phosphoric acid containing PO43− or a related anion or a group such as —OPO(OH)2 in fertilizers and sewage treatment plants. 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

What negative ecological effects might occur as a result of altering the phosphorus cycle? Include in your explanation how this effect could be measured. Potential impacts on things such as the algal community can be examined based on thermal preference as well as the nitrogen to phosphorus ratio. If there was additional phosphorous from the LSC, it would slightly decrease this ratio and may favor the growth of nitrogen-fixing blue-green algae.

Eutrophication is when there is too much nutrients in the water, as stated above. Eutrophication can come from farmers fertilizing their fields and some detergents. We tested for phosphates, salts or ester of phosphatidic acid. We also tested for nitrates, salts or ester of nitric acid. The more the phosphates and nitrates, the more eutrophication is present in the stream. We tested for dissolved oxygen, the amount of oxygen in the water, as well. We found found a very low level of phosphates with an average of 0.1 parts per million (ppm). We also found a very low level of nitrates with an average of 0.9 ppm. The dissolved oxygen level was 9.8 ppm. The higher the velocity of the water, the more dissolved oxygen it will contain. All of these measurements are very good and show that there is little or no eutrophication in the

The main problem is an abundance of phosphorus in freshwater bodies such as the Mississippi River. Phosphorus is a chemical found in many fertilizers as well as many cleaners and detergents, and is usually scarce naturally. The high levels of phosphorus is

Chambers is working to develop a proprietary blend of PHA and other chemicals that will be spun into the fibrous mat for testing in Crim Dell this coming summer. Once the mat is created, it will be placed at the groundwater inlet to the sedimentation basin, where nitrate-rich water discharges into Crim Dell. I will set up automated water samplers upstream and downstream of the PHA mat, which will collect water continuously at pre-set time intervals. These water samples will be collected each week for analysis at the Keck Lab for nitrate, ammonium, and dissolved phosphate using standard spectrophotometric methods. I expect to show that dissolved nitrogen and phosphorus are removed from the water column prior to discharge into Crim Dell, thereby improving water

Our plan is research the phosphorus levels in Lake Monroe and Griffy Lake and compare them in terms of area surrounding and the impacts it has on the City of Bloomington. Due to the proximity of agriculture around Lake Monroe and Griffy Lake, we want to research the effects of agricultural practices such as pesticides on water. Specially, we want to see if there are differences between the body of water we use as a drinking water source, Lake Monroe, and Griffy Lake. We think it will be beneficial to compare the chemical levels in both bodies of water and evaluate the differences.

Does Bleach Eliminate Bacteria? Abstract There are many methods used to destroy bacteria and this experiment tests the affects of Clorox bleach on bacteria. It will outline the methods used to determine if bleach could, or should be, used to decrease the amount of bacteria and whether or not this particular method is effective. The experiment will also test whether the levels of phosphorus and phosphatase in the soil are affected.

Nutrient limitations such as phosphorus (P), a prime abiotic stressor, can limit plant growth and other developmental processes. P deficiency has been shown to decrease the rate of photosynthesis, tiller production, leaf size, biomass, and the light saturation point (Halstead & Lynch, 1996; Yan et al., 2015). By contrast, it has been observed that M. vimineum tends to have a high soil phosphorus levels in comparison to other species in the shaded understory of forest. One study conducted by McGrath & Binkle (2009) investigated three forest sites where M. vimineum is abundant and found that in dense stands, phosphorus concentration was greater in M. vimineum litter than in other species litter. Taking into account that the response of M. vimineum to shade tolerance depends on the increased growth of tillers and leaf size, the capture of light from sunflecks, and increased rates of photosynthesis, all of which are heavily influenced by higher P availability, it’s reasonable to assume that the amount of available P dictates shade

Water pollution is a very real problem that countries all around the world are facing. This contamination typically comes from either domestic origin or industrial waste. Many measures have been taken in order to prevent water pollution but most methods are costly and inefficient. One of the most common types of chemical pollution in waters is phosphate contamination. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the Gulf of Mexico is a prime example of water that has extremely high levels of phosphate and it comes to no surprise that it has detrimental effects its environment. The effects of phosphate contamination

This report provides analysis and evaluation of a newly designed wastewater treatment facility for Sand Valley, Nevada. Analysis will include Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) along with total, volatile, and fixed suspended solids. Methods for analysis will include the Winkler Test for BOD and a Hatch test for the suspend solids.