Nitrogen Case Study EARTH activities Fall 2005

Summary from website This activity uses realtime data from the MBARI LOBO ocean observatory project to introduce students to marine chemistry, environmental science and oceanography. Using this multidisciplinary approach, students will investigate their own questions about how agriculture and coastal processes affect estuarine waterways.LOBO

Elkhorn Slough Nitrogen Case Study Estuaries are home to an wide variety of organisms and represent delicate ecosystems. The Elkhorn Slough is the site of numerous human activities, including agriculture, recreation, transportation, fishing and energy production. With so many user groups struggling to coexist in the slough with as little disruption of the natural environment as possible, several essential questions arise. Do these activities add additional nutrients to the slough? Are they changing the delicate balance of life in the slough? Is nutrient loading a problem in this watershed? Where do the nutrients that arrive in this watershed originate from? What can be done to alleviate problems that may occur? This online case study will help students examine these questions. AGAIN FROM WEBSITE

MAKE THIS BIGGER SO IT IS EASIER TO FIND WHERE TO BEGIN Great idea to have next page on rest of pages

ADDED an activity about graphing tides Print out one copy of the tide graph. What type of tide would you classify this? How can you back this up from the graph?

Go to: Data Visualization for the LOBO Moorings Click on L03 ISUS Data Visualization. You will see the following screen (go to next slide) Data Visualization for the LOBO Moorings L03 ISUS Data Visualization.

Print out a copy of your graph and then answer the following questions: What variable is on each axis? What is the title of the graph? What are the units? Which line represents nitrogen levels? Which line represents salinity levels? Explain the relationship between the two. With your group, develop a hypothesis to explain this relationship.

GO back to L03 ISUS Data Visualization.L03 ISUS Data Visualization. Change Data Span to 4.0 Print out your graph and answer the following questions: Is the relationship between nitrogen levels and salinity consistent over a longer period of time? Does this graph support or refute your earlier hypothesis? Keeping in mind the location of the LO3 mooring, what factor(s) might be contributing to the observed cycling patterns?

For 5 points towards the 15-pointer….. Go back to: Data Visualization for the LOBO Moorings And click on one of the other mooring locations. Run a graph covering the same time period as what you did above (2 days is fine). Print the graph out and hypothesize why the results look similar or different.

Pages from EARTH

Strengths and Weaknesses Intro is catchy Lots of background info Good connection for any watershed Great activity, really challenges students and teacher  Lots of background info  Technical data generates questions that are not easy to answer ( g/elkhorn_3.htm)  Data not always available (seemed hit and miss)  different land uses not easily apparent

Suggestions Time constraints is a problem, perhaps have a couple of mini-canned lessons to get a teacher started Could split it up to run first part on tides and the rest later Great conclusive activity, try to add bio component if becomes available (does biotic component change with changes in water chemistry? Links to any editorials that have run in the local papers that show the complexity of land use would be useful. Do any interest groups ever sound off? Simple map of the area that shows the main streets and other rivers/streams in the area. Background information on the formation of the slough and the freshwater situation around the slough (where does the freshwater come from)? Assessment?