The Ocean’s Quality Alexis D. and Logan H.

Water Quality  Water quality is the quality or condition of the water. It is so important because it shows how good or bad the condition of the water is in and it affects many things. For example plants and animals and other things that live in the ocean. These things are affected every day by things such as: Oxygen, pollution, and sunlight.

Wetlands  Wetlands are a very important part of the ecosystem. It is an area that is sometimes underwater. It has a great deal of moisture and helps support many different plants and animals. Wetlands water moves deeper into the ground so they help replenish underground water supplies.

Types of Marsh FFFFreshwater marshes are found in the shallow areas of the marsh. MMMMarsh is a treeless wetland ecosystem. MMMMany of the animals that live in marshes are muskrats, turtles, frogs, and birds. TTTThe plants that are in the marsh are grasses, reeds, bullrushes, and wildrice. TTTThe plants in the marsh vary depending on the depth of the water and the location of the marsh.

pH pH  pH measures the alkalinity of a substance.  This is important because if the pH is to low then the fish will die in a few hours. If the pH is to high then it is lethal to all the fish.  We tested for pH by taking a piece of pH paper and dipping the paper into the water and seeing what color the paper comes out to. There is a key to what color it is and you try to match it up to the closest color.

Turbidity Turbidity TTTTurbidity is the measure of the amount of suspended material in the water. TTTTurbidity is important indicator of the amount of suspended sediment in the water which can be good or bad for the animals. YYYYou test this by taking the secchi disk and lower it into the water until you cannot see it anymore. Then you place the close pin and put it where the water ends and measure.

Dissolved Oxygen Dissolved Oxygen DDDDissolved Oxygen is oxygen that dissolves into the water. IIIIt is important because plants and animals need to breathe oxygen. WWWWe test for dissolved oxygen with a chemical that turns blue if the oxygen is there. A good reading is between 6 and 7.

Sediment Size Sediment Size Sediment Size is a lot small grains, silt and clay. It is important because it comes from the decomposition of plant and animal matter. We tested for this by, taking a pinch of sediment and spreading it on a glass. Then we use a magnifying glass and look at the individual grains. After we compare the grains, we look at the grain size on the sediment chart.

Filter feeding animals  Filter feeding animals help the environment in many ways. They filter feed on things such as algae, grasses, and trash. Some filter feeding animals are oysters, mussels, and snails. Oysters are really good filter feeders. If we could plant enough of them and then dump them in the bay they could clean the bay in three days.

Temperature areas in the Ocean!  In the ocean there are three temperature zones. The top zone is the warmest zone, it is heated by the sun. It is the surface zone. The second zone is the Thermocline. It’s temperature drops with increase depth faster than the others do. The third zone is the deepest zone, it extends from the thermocline to the bottom of the ocean. It temperature can range from 1 degrees Celsius to 3 degrees Celsius. It is called the deep zone.

Climate CCCClimate affects the salinity or amount of salt in the water many different ways. For example water with hotter and drier climates tend to have a higher salinity. Water in cooler humid places have lower salinity. The salinity is affected by the rate of how fast water evaporates. When it evaporates, it leaves dissolved salts behind. That is a big reason that the salinity rates are different in different climates.

Pollution  Pollution in the water is getting worse and worse. Oil, animal waste, trash and other things are putting our sea animals in danger. It is blocking their sunlight and their oxygen in the water which is killing them off.