Observation 10/22

10/22/15

Change: 

• Added 10 mL of water
• Observation: The water 'ran' off the surface of soil. With research, our group discovered that, this was because of the high surface tension of water. Water in soils forms microscopic channel around/between the soil particles. The initial formation of these microscopic channels in dry soil must overcome the surface tension forces. Once the initial formation occurs, (wet soil) it is relatively easier to expand the channels to accommodate more water. 
• Connection: A real life example of this is the flooding that occurred in Austin this past Memorial Day. We had experienced very little rain previously; therefore, when it started raining a lot, the soil was not able to absorb the water thus resulting in a flood.
• New Wondering: Will the added water make a difference (possible plant growth) or will it just flood our aquatic level? 

Observations:

• Water Clarity - clearer than last week, but with some microscopic material floating around
• Daphnia – Show no movement (possibly all dead)
• Snails – Abandoned shell (Albert) is in the same spot and the snails are not showing active movement, unable to get found. 
• Evaporation and condensation in both levels (condensation is heavier in the bottom tier)
• Soil is still very dry
• Zero plant growth
• Elodea: New stems have grown (color is more green, seem healthy)
• Cotton strings are moist in aquatic level, but appear dry in terrarium level. The part of one string in the aquatic level is rotting.
• Water level slightly increased
•  9.3 cm
•  Gravel appears the same

The photo above way taken before we added 10 mL of
water. We observed that the water level has not changed 
drastically (decreased very slightly) from when we started. 
We infer that the water has evaporated (condensation present); 
however, the water string does not seem to be 
transferring the water to the soil. 

The photo above was taken before the 10 mL of water
was added. The soil appear to be very dry. When we added
water, we noticed that the water did not immediately
 absorb the water. The condensation shown in the bottle lets us
know that there is some water in the upper parts. We wonder if the
condensation is from the initial addition of water.