Mission Earth News

Water Quality Day! GME-UT Staff travel to Delta, Ohio to teach hundreds of elementary students GLOBE water analyses!


GME-UT staff traveled to Delta, Ohio on Friday May 13th, 2022 to help teach hundreds of 5th and 6th graders how to sample and analyze water from the Delta Reservoir using GLOBE hydrosphere protocols! Students also learned how to collect surface temperatures of different surfaces and compare that data. Dr. Kevin Czajkowski demonstrated how to do the analyses, and students split into groups with GME-UT members Sara Mierzwiak, Dr. Yitong Jiang, Olawale Oluwafemi ("Femi"), and Farrokh Namjooyan to collect and analyze their data. Students learned how to throw a bucket into the reservoir and retrieve water, and performed the following water quality analyses: temperature, pH, nitrate, and phosphate. Students also collected air temperature and surface temperature data, and noted the current weather conditions on their data sheets. 


From upper left: Dr. Yitong Jiang with the University of Toledo illustrates to students how to test for phosphate concentration in their water sample; Tents covered different work stations for student groups to rotate through - the GME-UT group was in one of the tents; Students analyzing their water sample for turbidity using a turbidity tube; Dr. Kevin Czajkowski, Principal Investigator of GLOBE Mission EARTH, illustrates how to collect surface temperature data using an Infrared Thermometer (IRT).