Comparison of Cations in Three Lakes Green Lakes Basin, CO
Green Lakes Basin, CO Red rectangles = sampling locations Continental Divide Red rectangles = sampling locations Blue arrows = direction of stream flow
Methods Look at concentrations of Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, and K+ from 1982 to 2006. F-test – are the variances the same? T-test – are the means the same? χ2 test – are the distributions normal?
Calcium Site X2 calc. X2 crit. Reject? GL1 458.2459 429.6325 yes GL4 658.0936 GL5 1.70E+005 435.9879 Comparison t calc. t crit. Reject? f calc. f crit. GL1 v. GL4 59.3444 1.9624 yes 1.9473 1.1624 GL4 v. GL5 8.8542 2.1819 1.1649 GL5 v. GL1 64.1980 1.9630 4.2489 1.1821
Magnesium Site X2 calc. X2 crit. Reject? GL1 9.53E+003 429.6325 yes 658.0936 GL5 3.80E+003 435.9879 Comparison t calc. t crit. Reject? f calc. f crit. GL1 v. GL4 19.0031 1.9624 yes 3.9011 1.1624 GL4 v. GL5 12.0963 2.4267 1.1649 GL5 v. GL1 41.7364 1.9630 1.6076 1.1821
Sodium Site X2 calc. X2 crit. Reject? GL1 1.35E+007 429.6325 yes GL4 658.0936 GL5 1.01E+003 435.9879 Comparison t calc. t crit. Reject? f calc. f crit. GL1 v. GL4 47.2662 1.9624 yes 1.9963 1.1624 GL4 v. GL5 10.5802 3.1584 1.1649 GL5 v. GL1 17.7345 1.9630 1.5821 1.1821
Potassium Site X2 calc. X2 crit. Reject? GL1 1.03E+016 429.6325 yes 658.0936 GL5 1.33E+016 435.9879 Comparison t calc. t crit. Reject? f calc. f crit. GL1 v. GL4 10.1557 1.9624 yes 2.8265 1.1624 GL4 v. GL5 10.9637 2.0048 1.1649 GL5 v. GL1 25.8235 1.9630 1.4099 1.1821
Conclusions Green Lakes 1, 4, and 5 have different cation chemistries Variances and means are not the same None of the data are normally distributed GL4 has higher concentrations than GL5 Inputs from hillslopes and from GL5 GL1 is the most different of the three Ca2+ and Na+ concentrations are much higher Possibly a different rock type