The Effect Of The Historic Flood Of 2015 On Mercury, Dissolved Oxygen, And Ph Levels Of The Gills Creek Watershed
School Name
Heathwood Hall Episcopal School
Grade Level
10th Grade
Presentation Topic
Environmental Science
Presentation Type
Non-Mentored
Abstract
The purpose of this project was to determine how pollutants in the Gills Creek Watershed changed after the historic 500 year flood in October of 2015 in Columbia, South Carolina. This experiment could show whether or not floods flush out toxins from the water, or bring them in by means of local surface runoff. The dependent variables tested in this experiment were the pH, dissolved oxygen, and mercury levels in the water of Gills Creek. There was no control group due to the unpredictability of the flood. Over a period of 50 days post flooding, 10 sampling days were chosen and 5 samples of each variable were taken from the Gills Creek watershed each sampling day. Hypothesis 1 was that if there was a major flood, the levels of pollutants in the water would go up. The second hypothesis was that if there was a major flood, the levels of pollutants in the water would go down. The null hypothesis was that if there was a major flood, the levels of pollutants in the water would not change over a course of 50 days. The results supported the null hypothesis with each variable remaining the almost constant over the course of the experiment. In conclusion, no changes in the pollutants tested could be found.
Recommended Citation
Johnson, Catie and Louthian, Landon, "The Effect Of The Historic Flood Of 2015 On Mercury, Dissolved Oxygen, And Ph Levels Of The Gills Creek Watershed" (2016). South Carolina Junior Academy of Science. 215.
https://scholarexchange.furman.edu/scjas/2016/all/215
Location
Owens 208
Start Date
4-16-2016 11:30 AM
The Effect Of The Historic Flood Of 2015 On Mercury, Dissolved Oxygen, And Ph Levels Of The Gills Creek Watershed
Owens 208
The purpose of this project was to determine how pollutants in the Gills Creek Watershed changed after the historic 500 year flood in October of 2015 in Columbia, South Carolina. This experiment could show whether or not floods flush out toxins from the water, or bring them in by means of local surface runoff. The dependent variables tested in this experiment were the pH, dissolved oxygen, and mercury levels in the water of Gills Creek. There was no control group due to the unpredictability of the flood. Over a period of 50 days post flooding, 10 sampling days were chosen and 5 samples of each variable were taken from the Gills Creek watershed each sampling day. Hypothesis 1 was that if there was a major flood, the levels of pollutants in the water would go up. The second hypothesis was that if there was a major flood, the levels of pollutants in the water would go down. The null hypothesis was that if there was a major flood, the levels of pollutants in the water would not change over a course of 50 days. The results supported the null hypothesis with each variable remaining the almost constant over the course of the experiment. In conclusion, no changes in the pollutants tested could be found.
