A multi agency project funded by US EPA's STAR Program

Supportive Water Quality Sampling

We will collect water samples for laboratory analysis and perform a variety of field measurements to provide supporting data for the many indicators being developed.

Field water quality measures include depth-profiles of temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH and specific electrical conductivity (a measure of the total dissolved salts or ions). We will also be measuring water clarity using a standard secchi disk and using a turbidity tube (as used in many stream volunteer sampling programs).

Some water quality parameters have to be measured in the laboratory. These include nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, silica), organic carbon, color, alkalinity, turbidity, total suspended solids, chlorophyll and chlorophyll fluorescence.

Our intent is to evaluate both relatively inexpensive measurements that can be made "in the field" and the more expensive analyses typically used to characterize water quality.

Water Quality

Scientific Abstract

Measuring Water Clarity

Researchers:
Dr. John C. Kingston, Natural Resources Research Institute, Ely, MN, University of Minnesota, Duluth
Dr. Richard Axler, Natural Resources Research Institute, University of Minnesota, Duluth
Dr. Eugene F. Stoermer, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Dr. Jeffrey R. Johansen, Biology Department, John Carroll University, Ohio
Dr. Gerald V. Sgro, Biology Department, John Carroll University, Ohio

Cooperators:
Dr. Russell G. Kreis, Jr., US EPA, Mid-Continent Ecology Division, Grosse Ile, Michigan
Jo Thompson, US EPA, Mid-Continent Ecology Division, Duluth, Minnesota

For more about Water Quality go to:
NRRI's Water on the Web