Using this design:












Hydraulic conductivity will be tested using variations of sediments in different proportions. (if feasible, and time permitting)

The following proportions will be tested and the results compared:

95% - sand    5% - clay
90% - sand  10% - clay
80% - sand  20% - clay
75% - sand  25% - clay

Along the Mississippi River the sediment varies in different areas. This experiment will test a few variations and retro-fit the sediment make-up to regions along the river.

Links and diagrams

http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/hydrogeo/lab_100.html

http://www.uic.edu/classes/cemm/cemmlab/Experiment%2010-Permeability.pdf

http://www.waterlog.info/pdf/chap12.pdf

http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/soils/ref/?cid=nrcs142p2_053573

http://digital.csic.es/bitstream/10261/103768/1/MC_2014_65_315_E028.pdf

http://www.cv.nctu.edu.tw/chinese/teacher/Ppt-pdf/AGTwk6HydraulicCon.pdf

http://people.hofstra.edu/j_b_bennington/121notes/pdfs/Porosity_Perm_Darcy.pdf

http://www.usbr.gov/pmts/geology/geolman2/Chapter17.pdf

Additional Resources - nutrient and sediment loading Mississippi River

More resources:

http://www.watersheds.org/places/extension/mississippi.htm

Ground water atlas of the US.  http://pubs.usgs.gov/ha/ha730/ch_f/F-text1.html

Estimation of Nutrient and Sediment Loading in the Mississippi River and Great Lakes Basins with Regional SPARROW Models

http://wi.water.usgs.gov/rna/9km30/

Soil Survey Link and Mississippi River maps

Web Soil Survey Link -

http://websoilsurvey.sc.egov.usda.gov/App/HomePage.htm

1) Use Area of Interest tab

2) Click the Soil Map tab

3) Click the Soil Data Explorer

4) Use the Shopping Cart tab (free)

Now click START WSS (Green button at top)

Zoom in on somewhere meaningful to you (your house, school, favorite vacation spot, etc)

Make that your area of interest  by outlining it with the AOI buttons and then follow the four steps to get your soil report.

Possible Locations along the Mississippi:

Minneapolis, MN

LaCrosse, WI

Davenport, IA

St. Louis, MO

Memphis, TN

Helena, AR

Vicksberg, MS

Vacherie, LA

 

(Rough) Plan

• Research sediment make-up of various locations along the Mississippi river
• Identify variances in sediment composition 
• Use said variances to acquire data on hydraulic conductivity in laboratory setting
• Replicate sediment make-up for each chosen location and test using simple in lab model 

       

      Ag runoff increases the nitrogen and phosphorous levels in the river. This increased nutrient ratio eventually reaches the Gulf of Mexico thus creating a hypoxic zone, or dead zone. Sediment serves as a natural filter which can help keep water nutrients balanced by removing excess nitrogen and/or phosphorous. Testing the hydraulic conductivity of different sediment make-ups could allow for identifying which types of sediment may be more efficient filters. Assuming that time spent flowing through the sediment correlates with increased filtration, the sediment variation with the most efficient filtration would result in a longer time period while still allowing the water to move through freely.

     Samples from local areas may be collected (weather permitting) for testing and ratios of sediment layers based on the chosen research locations will be recreated to the approximate specifications found using (possibly) a variety of local and acquired materials.

     It is possible that extra time spent in the sediment layers may not improve the filtration, however, research and simple water testing may allow for further insight. (I have a small tester that will detect various minerals at a basic level however, the precision is not ideal). Previous studies and DNR resources may show certain sediment capabilities.

Possible sediments include: clay, sand (of various coarseness), pebbles, and several mixtures of each.    

Initial model attempt

Initial hydraulic conductivity model attempt was moderately unsuccessful.
Materials : clear, glass fish tank (41 cm x 25 cm x 29 cm), adhesive bathroom caulking (22 cm x 4 strips), flexible plastic sheeting (25 cm x 22 cm) to serve as barrier

The barrier was placed near the 20.5 cm, water and sand were added to test the ability of the apparatus to maintain separate head levels. There was evidence of seeping water behind the caulking so no data was collected.

Possible adjustments would focus on the adhesive, using a stronger silicon and possibly installing a track to allow for varying the barrier height level.
Various materials and ideas were discussed and will be revisited as time permits.

The next phase however, will include research and laboratory work to gather data for analysis. An experimental outline, materials and methods are forthcoming.  

References

http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=elementary+education+model+of+hydraulic+conductivity&hl=en&as_sdt=0&as_vis=1&oi=scholart&sa=X&ei=zNm3VMiMBYeiyAS2pIGwBg&ved=0CB0QgQMwAA

http://www.iowadnr.gov/Environment/GeologyMapping.aspx

http://www.sws.uiuc.edu/wss/

http://www.iihr.uiowa.edu/igs/useful-links/

http://www.dnr.illinois.gov/WaterResources/Pages/ResMan.aspx

http://pubs.usgs.gov/wri/wri014210/text/07_hydraulic.htm

http://pubs.usgs.gov/wri/wri014210/text/06_data.htm

materials for an elementary class to build there own model:

http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_ideas/Geo_p045.shtml#materials

kids experiments: http://www.juliantrubin.com/fairprojects/earthsciences/water_geology.html

Examples - sand tank and groundwater models/testing (with pics)

 

Sand tank model - http://www.gwconsortium.org/sand-talk-model.php


 http://www.eserc.stonybrook.edu/Sayville/LIGeolConf/home.html#conductivity


http://groundwater.unl.edu/standard.shtml

Below are groundwater testing kits. Not the true direction of the project, just ideas and extra examples of what is out there.


groundwater test kit - https://en.eijkelkamp.com/products/field-measurement-equipment/hydraulic-conductivity-test-kit-model-hooghoudt.html


http://www.decagon.com/products/soils/benchtop-instruments/ums-hyprop/




http://www.in-situ.com/rentals/water-quality/handheld-systems