AuthorMason Howell Archives
March 2021
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Rain Check8/31/2020 It seems as if I spoke too soon in my last blog post, as it began to rain the day after I took my first test samples. It then proceeded to rain every day following that, and will likely continue to do so until the end of the week.
The issue with rain is that the runoff it brings pollutes the water, carrying the exact chemicals I'm testing for into the waterways. If I were to take my second test samples less than 48 hours after rain, I would see unusually high results (therefore making the SOP test moot). So, unfortunately it seems as If i'll have to shelve my testing kits until later this week. Luckily, all the heavy lifting is done. Now its just a matter of waiting for a few sunny days.
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Final Stages of Summer Work8/28/2020 Though August has so far been disappointingly rainy, this past week of sun has given me the opportunity to get out on the water and finish two final steps of my summer work.
Critical to any successful experiment is a solid standard operating procedure. This is the set of repeatable steps you take in order to ensure that your control variables remain control variables. Over the past few months I've develop the SOP, but I still have to test it. Yesterday I went out and took some samples (Pictures below!), and in a few days (I have to let the effects of today's rain fade) I'll take another test, following the same procedure. If the results stay the same, I'll know my SOP is successful. I also have to scout out the locations I set out in my notes (see the last Blog). Though I'm fairly confident these spots will work, I'll have to check them out to ensure they are practical. |