AuthorMason Howell Archives
March 2021
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Ready to Go: Next Steps for Fall9/17/2020 The week following my last blog post brought the exact type of weather I needed, so I was able to solidify my SOP testing and do some final preparations (such as making some tweaks to my collection bucket).
This means that in the coming weeks I will launch into my actual testing. My plan is to get half done by the end of September, then the other half by the end of October. I have 8 locations and hope to get at least three tests per location. That may seem like a lot, but by hitting a few locations in a day I can get my September work done in a matter of a few days. Weather permitting (crossing my fingers for a sunny weekend) I hope to start my first round on Sunday.
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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.
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Designing the Experiment7/31/2020 While poor weather has unfortunately made it impossible to do any real field testing, I have made a lot of progress in the development of my experiment's parameters.
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Test Kits and First Steps7/19/2020 Earlier this month I picked up a few testing kits from Ms. Blanck at Severn. She had kits and supplies to test for phosphates, nitrates, O2, pH, and turbidity. Along with kits to test for coliform bacteria that I will purchase separately, this will form the list of pollutants that I'll test for.
Over the past few weeks, I have been familiarizing myself with the testing method for each pollutant. They're all relatively simple, and most can be done on the boat immediately after taking the sample. By next week, I hope to smooth out the experiment parameters so I can develop and test my SOP over August.
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Mentor Meeting Notes6/21/2020 Fellows Mentor Meeting Notes
June 12, 2020
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Leadership Lab6/7/2020 The leadership lab earlier this week well. It help to solidify the parameters of my project and set some goals. Having set up this website, I'll do a lot of research regarding common pollutants in the bay, possible factors that might affect concentration, and outline the logistics of testing. With that information, I can set up the experiment and begin taking samples.
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