used with
permission by John Hacunda
What is
Limnology?
Limnology:
the science that deals with the physical, chemical, and
biological properties and features of fresh waters, especially
lakes and ponds
-from
Webster's New World Dictionary
Okay, you know
the dictionary definition, but what is it in simpler terms?
Limnology is the study of fresh water rivers and lakes. Water is
very important to humans-we can't live without it. But we also
need to understand our water. Limnologists do this by sudying
these three questions:
1. How
healthy are our water sources?
2. What
is happening to our water?
3. What
can we do to improve the quality of our water?
As you
can see, a lot of work is done just to make sure that people have
clean water to drink. But do you know what limnologists do when
they test the water? Now's the time to find out!
used
with permission from Dr. Kenneth L. Dickson
First the limnologist
takes chemical tests to find out what is in the water. These are
some tests that are taken:
~Phosphate
content
~Nitrate
content
~Salinity
~Turbidity
~pH
~Heavy
metal testing
Then these experiments
are done to find our more about the water:
~Temperature
~Water
flow
~Biodiversity
count
If these tests weren't
taken, you couldn't be sure that the water you drink is safe. Now
you know how much work is done to protect just like you!
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constructed by Melynda
Soma on March 6, 1998