Results Fall Field Season 2001
The fall field season of the Patrick Marsh Discovery Club began on September 4, 2001 and ended on October 29, 2001. Please scroll down to see the graphs of the data we collected.
This a graph our the water temperatures in the pond and the lake at 3 and 9 inches. Notice that the pond temperature is much more variable than the lake temperature. Also, notice the small differences in the lake temperature at 3 and 9 inches. This data is plotted on the next graph against the air temperature. Notice how the water is warmer on top on hot days and colder on top cold days.
This is a plot of the nitrate levels in the pond over the fall season. The levels get higher over the fall because the water level is coming down and concentrating the nitrate.
Here is a plot of secci distances over the last years. Notice how the distance is higher in the spring than in the fall. This is because the water is clearer before the algae blooms of the summer.
Here is our most exciting discovery of the fall. We noticed that the dissolved oxygen varies with the air temperature. Dissolved oxygen is highest on warm days and lowest on cold cloudy days. This is because dissolved oxygen varies a lot during the day. Our lake as A LOT of algae, so the during the night the algae consume oxygen and the levels go down. During the day the levels climb depending on the amount of sunlight that the algae gets. In the following graph we combined the data from last year to so the trend even more.
The most disappointing part of the fall season was the lack of small mammal activity. The graph shows the total number of animals collected over the last three seasons.
This a graph our the water temperatures in the pond and the lake at 3 and 9 inches. Notice that the pond temperature is much more variable than the lake temperature. Also, notice the small differences in the lake temperature at 3 and 9 inches. This data is plotted on the next graph against the air temperature. Notice how the water is warmer on top on hot days and colder on top cold days.
This is a plot of the nitrate levels in the pond over the fall season. The levels get higher over the fall because the water level is coming down and concentrating the nitrate.
Here is a plot of secci distances over the last years. Notice how the distance is higher in the spring than in the fall. This is because the water is clearer before the algae blooms of the summer.
Here is our most exciting discovery of the fall. We noticed that the dissolved oxygen varies with the air temperature. Dissolved oxygen is highest on warm days and lowest on cold cloudy days. This is because dissolved oxygen varies a lot during the day. Our lake as A LOT of algae, so the during the night the algae consume oxygen and the levels go down. During the day the levels climb depending on the amount of sunlight that the algae gets. In the following graph we combined the data from last year to so the trend even more.
The most disappointing part of the fall season was the lack of small mammal activity. The graph shows the total number of animals collected over the last three seasons.