The Varying Levels of Dissolved Oxygen in Pond Water due to the Presence of Nitrogen and Phosphorous

Abstract

The topic of our investigation is the level of oxygen present in ponds. The question we investigated was why there is less oxygen in some streams than in others. A prior work aimed to develop a mathematical model for nitrogen and phosphorous only, along with dissolved oxygen in ponds (Maillacheruvu, 2003), however, our experiment tested the effect of a nitrogen source, a phosphorous source and a mixed nitrogen-phosphorous source on dissolved oxygen. In our experiment we tested the effects of ammonia, dishwashing liquid and fertilizer on the presence of dissolved oxygen in pond samples. We used a spectrometer to measure the optical density of the water, a microscope to identify the cells present in our samples, and a dissolved oxygen probe to observe the change in oxygen levels in the samples. Our research will determine how different pollutants impact the levels of dissolved oxygen; this information will lead to a better understanding of how to improve water quality.