Heath of a Water Cycle System
By Katherine and Melissa
What is a water system?
A water system is when small rivers flow into bigger rivers that flow into the ocean and the health of this system is important to water in it and to the organisms that use it.
Learning the Health of a Water Cycle System
The pH of a body of water identifies the acidic/baisic balance of the water. Normal pH in a healthy water system is about 6.5 to 8.5 however a lower or higher pH may unbalance the pH of the water.
Turbidty
Turbidty is a measure of concentration of particles suspened in water. High turbidty reduces light penetration and visibility in the water. It also can change the pH of the water
Temperature
Temperature can also affect dissloved oxygen levels (Dissloved Oxygen is the oxygen dissloved in water.). For example cold water holds more oxygen than warm water does. An increase in water temperature is called thermal pollution which causes a decrease in dissloved oxgyen levels.
Nitrates
Nitrates are natrually occuring compounds of nitrogen and oxygen. Small amounts of nitrates are normal but high nitrates in water can be horrible to organisms.