Water Sampling on the Nenana River
Sam, an elementary student at Tri-Valley School in Healy, AK, made a series of water quality measurments on the Nenana River during the summer of 2008. He measured the water temperature and took a 250 ml water sample. From the water sample he determined the dissolved and suspended sediment load.
He measured the electrical conductivity of the water with Conductivity/TDS Meter. Electrical conductivity is the ability of a material to carry electrical current. Conductivity is a measure of the purity of water or the concentration of ionized chemicals in water.
To determine the sediment load, he first filtered the water sample. He then allowed the filter paper and the filtered sample to dry overnight. Once the sample was completely dried he weighed it and determined the mg per liter sediment load.
Sam was assisted by his brothers Halbe and Ben, his parents Dave and Diane and friends Richard and Erika.
Sam takes water samples from the Nenana River once a week at three different locations.
Sam uses a long handle with a bicycle water bottle holder taped to one end as his sampling device. This allows him to take samples from the saftey of the river bank instead of going into the water.
Here is Sam rinsing out the sampling bottle with river water before taking his water sample
Sam reaches as far out as possible to take his sample. He points the bottle upstream and keeps it parallel to the water surface and then rotates it 90° to "capture" a sample.
Once Sam has his water sample, he brings the bottle to the river bank where.......
....his field assistant Ben (who is six years old) puts the lid on the sampling bottle.
Here is a close-up view of the sampling bottle "cage". Notice that the cage is secured to the wooden handle with duct tape.
Project Details
Nenana River Project
Monitoring the freeze-thaw cycle of the Nenana River
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