Dead zones

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Deetya
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Joined: Thu Nov 04, 2021 6:00 am
Occupation: Student

Dead zones

Post by Deetya »

Hi, I'm doing a science fair project on dead zones. I was wondering if it was feasible to find a way to effectively bring dead zones "back to life". Right now I'm debating on whether to gear my project towards an engineering one, or a research one. Any help would be appreciated, thanks!
koneill18
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Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2020 8:22 am
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Re: Dead zones

Post by koneill18 »

Hello,

This is a really interesting project idea! It's definitely possible to come up with a hands on experiment to explore this question. The first step in planning your project is figuring out your strategy for how you want to try to address the dead zone problem.

We know that dead zones are formed when chemical nutrients from fertilizers contaminate the water and cause algal blooms that deplete underwater oxygen levels. So based on this information, there are a few different strategies for reversing dead zones that you could target with your project. For example, you could focus on trying to figure out how to reduce fertilizer run-off to prevent it from making it to the water in the first place. The other option would be to investigate how to reverse the dead zone directly by doing something like cleaning up the chemicals from the water or pumping more oxygen back into the water.

Once you've decided which direction you want to take the project, we can help you come up with a plan for how to do the experiment!
Deetya
Posts: 9
Joined: Thu Nov 04, 2021 6:00 am
Occupation: Student

Re: Dead zones

Post by Deetya »

Thank you so much for helping! I want to go more into pumping oxygen into the water for my project, I was thinking I could find a way for people to easily renew dead zones on a smaller scale, like maybe a feasible way to extract oxygen from the air and pump it into the water? I have no idea, would that be possible??
koneill18
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Posts: 188
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2020 8:22 am
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Re: Dead zones

Post by koneill18 »

Hello,

I think this is something scientists have tested before! The first step when planning a science project is to do background research on your topic so you know what's been done before and what still needs to be done or improved upon. Here are a few resources I found that might help you get started and spark some inspiration!

https://aslopubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.co ... 014.12.441

https://www.nature.com/articles/ismej2014172

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2 ... 153608.htm

Here's a link to a Science Buddies guide that explains how to find and access scientific research papers so you can do more of your own research.
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... fic-papers

If you decide you want to build your own oxygen pump, you might want to do some research on the oxygen pumps that are meant for aquariums. A fish tank would probably be a good system to use to test your idea on a smaller scale.

I hope this helps! Feel free to ask any more questions that you have.
Deetya
Posts: 9
Joined: Thu Nov 04, 2021 6:00 am
Occupation: Student

Re: Dead zones

Post by Deetya »

Sorry it took me so long to respond, but thank you so much for your help! I did a lot more research on my own, and I have come to the conclusion that to make a dead zone at home, I will need to create an algal bloom, and the dead zone should create underneath that bloom. Does that sound right?

And for the algal bloom, instructions are saying put some fertilizer and algal culture together in a cup and waiting for a couple weeks, do you think this should work for my project? Do you think the type or fertilizer would matter? Thanks so much

** Here's the link for the algal bloom
https://serc.carleton.edu/eslabs/fisheries/7_a.html
koneill18
Expert
Posts: 188
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2020 8:22 am
Occupation: Other Adult

Re: Dead zones

Post by koneill18 »

Hello,

Yes, making your own algal bloom at home is the best way to simulate a dead zone!

The procedure you linked should definitely work for your project. You can use any fertilizer that contains nitrate, ammonia, and phosphate. Using an algal culture would definitely work, but you could also potentially take water from a pond or river if you live somewhere that's not too cold. Here's the link to the Science Buddies project that explains how to grow algae from pond or river water.
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... #materials

I hope that helps!
Deetya
Posts: 9
Joined: Thu Nov 04, 2021 6:00 am
Occupation: Student

Re: Dead zones

Post by Deetya »

Thank you so much that did help! However, I've been trying to make my algal culture but it isn't working. I followed the instructions in the link you sent me but did it at a larger scale. I used ARTHROSPIRA PLATENSIS (SPIRULINA) algal culture and just normal store-bought liquid fertilizer, and it's not working. Do you have any ideas?
koneill18
Expert
Posts: 188
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2020 8:22 am
Occupation: Other Adult

Re: Dead zones

Post by koneill18 »

Hello!

The instructions in the link I sent you might not be specific to Spirulina. Did your Spirulina culture come with instructions on how to culture it? It might need certain nutrients like salt to make it grow. It's also possible that it'll only grow at a specific temperature. If you can't find any instructions on how to grow Spirulina, let me know and I'll try to help you find a good resource!
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