Fish Kills Lab Report
Introduction
Fish kills are common in natural water systems near mining operations. A major fish-kill took place in the Clark Fork in 1984. These fish kills are due to unnaturally high salinity, which is toxic to the indigenous fish species, caused by group IA and IIA metal ions in the water. As the mine’s waste seeps into the water supply, the salinity, and thus toxicity to the fish, increases as the various metals dissolve.
In this experiment a simulated water sample from Clark Fork, or portion of the Columbia River in Montana, will be analyzed to determine the presence and levels of IA and IIA metal ions as well as the concentrations of Cu 2+ and Fe 3+ ions (Na+, K+, Ca++, Ba++, Sr++, Cu++, and Fe+++). We will be using the techniques …show more content…
In order to record the Absorbance Spectrum you must use the MeasureNet Spectrophotometer that is provided for you at your station. To set up the Spectrophotometer, first press On/Off. Then press Main Menu, F5 Spectroscopy, and F2 Absorbance(in that order). Then press Setup and F1 to set up the parameters of the scan. Set the Y axis(Intensity) maximum at 2.0 and press Enter. Leave minimum at zero and press enter once again. Leave X axis(wavelength) parameters at the default position. Then press Display and the spectrophotometer will be ready to record.
4. Now you will prepare the cuvettes for the experiment. Pour each solution (all 5 dilutions, the .1M solutions of [FeSCN]2+ and [CuSCN]+, and the river water sample) into its own cuvette until each is 3/4 full. Fill an extra cuvette with water.
5. Place the light block into the sample compartment and press Zero. The screen will tell you when this process is over by saying Ready to Scan. Remove light block and put the cuvette with plain water into the sample compartment.
6. The station is now ready to read the samples. Take one of the cuvettes and insert it into the sample compartment. Press Sample. The Spectrum will show up on the screen. Remove cuvette when the spectrum is finished. Now press File Options and F3 to save the Spectrum. Enter a three digit code and press enter. Press Display to ready workstation for another reading. And clean up equipment for further
Fish kills are common in natural water systems near mining operations. A major fish-kill took place in the Clark Fork in 1984. These fish kills are due to unnaturally high salinity, which is toxic to the indigenous fish species, caused by group IA and IIA metal ions in the water. As the mine’s waste seeps into the water supply, the salinity, and thus toxicity to the fish, increases as the various metals dissolve.
In this experiment a simulated water sample from Clark Fork, or portion of the Columbia River in Montana, will be analyzed to determine the presence and levels of IA and IIA metal ions as well as the concentrations of Cu 2+ and Fe 3+ ions (Na+, K+, Ca++, Ba++, Sr++, Cu++, and Fe+++). We will be using the techniques …show more content…
In order to record the Absorbance Spectrum you must use the MeasureNet Spectrophotometer that is provided for you at your station. To set up the Spectrophotometer, first press On/Off. Then press Main Menu, F5 Spectroscopy, and F2 Absorbance(in that order). Then press Setup and F1 to set up the parameters of the scan. Set the Y axis(Intensity) maximum at 2.0 and press Enter. Leave minimum at zero and press enter once again. Leave X axis(wavelength) parameters at the default position. Then press Display and the spectrophotometer will be ready to record.
4. Now you will prepare the cuvettes for the experiment. Pour each solution (all 5 dilutions, the .1M solutions of [FeSCN]2+ and [CuSCN]+, and the river water sample) into its own cuvette until each is 3/4 full. Fill an extra cuvette with water.
5. Place the light block into the sample compartment and press Zero. The screen will tell you when this process is over by saying Ready to Scan. Remove light block and put the cuvette with plain water into the sample compartment.
6. The station is now ready to read the samples. Take one of the cuvettes and insert it into the sample compartment. Press Sample. The Spectrum will show up on the screen. Remove cuvette when the spectrum is finished. Now press File Options and F3 to save the Spectrum. Enter a three digit code and press enter. Press Display to ready workstation for another reading. And clean up equipment for further