Blackwater Sub-Water Shed

Pleasant Lake

Today, October 5,2010 we swam the Blackwater Sub-Water Shed! It was slightly overcast but that keept it from getting to hot until we were by the lake and then it got very chilly. Luckily we were not literally swimming the river but drove to different points along the river to see where it comes from and how the environment around the river can have an effect. When we first got to the river we talked about the ABCDE's of a system:

A- stands for abiotic, all the non-living things with in the System. In the case of the Blackwater this includes the rocks, sand, and water. The rocks were put here and shaped when the glacer came through 1,000's of years ago. The sand is rich in nutrients and can get washed away when the river is high.

B- is for Biotic or living things. This is possibly the biges part of the system. All living things in a system arre biotic. From big mammals like dear and bears to microscopic plankton living in the rivers. While there might be a big size  difference they are all equally important. Plantes are also an important part of the biotic group. They provide the oxogen that is required for the world as we know it to thrive.

Alan teaching class from in a River!!!!

C- Cycle. A system is just a big cycle with change and exchange. A system is always changing and not always in a good way. Some change like more pollotion and less nutrians are bad while other change like less pollotion and more nutrians can be good. Their is also a cycles of exchange in systems such as the exchange between people and trees for Oxogen and carbon dioxide.

Elliott looking for critters!

D-Diversity is good in a system and with out it a system can not function. If there weren't diverse forms of life then every thing would be all the same and needing all the same things and there would be no ways for the environment to suport life.

E- Energy is the staple that holds the system together. Everything is driven by energy from the flow of the river to changing of the leaves. Energy flowing trough the system is very important.

Once we had established the ABCDE's of a system we went down to our first spot on the river. We went about 100 yards past the Trestle Bridge and went down on a rocky little beach. It was are farthest down river stop. The water there was a dark browny red color that we learned was the origin of the rivers name, that and the fact that some of New Londons sewage was dumped in to the river a while back. While we stood on the rocky beach looking at the water, most of us avoiding steeping in it due to its 58 degree temperature, we learned what a water shed was.

The brave ones that got in the river.

A water shed is the system of where the water goes to from a certain point. The contour of the land is what causes the formation and division of water sheds. High hills and mountains create boundaries between the water sheds seeing as water can only flow one way down the sloopes. The water ends up in dips or valleys between major mountains. For example the water shed we examined today lays between Ragged Mountain and Mount Kearsarge creating a perfect Valley.

The Pine

Today we also talked about how environmental impacts effect water sheds. Everything that happens in our world from building a road to the fall of snow has an effect on the watershed. One of the biggest manmade impact on the water shed comes from run off. Everything we as humans put on the ground endes up in the water system. Some of the bigest causes of run off are roads and gas stations. When people accidentally drip gas on the ground it endes up being absorbed into the ground and ending up in the water. Roads witch are made with tar witch is made from petroleum are sanded or salted in the winter with all eventually endes up dissolving or washing off the road and then running off into the water shed.

Taking Notes

Our next stop up the river was off of Fox Farm Road on the way to New London from Andover. Here the river was a bit shallower so the photic zone, witch is the layer of water that the light penetrates, went all the way to the botom. This caused there to be more alge on the rocks at the bottom of the river. This part of the river is lined with pine trees whose needle cause a lower Ph in the water making it more acidic.

Finally we went up the the beging of the Blackwater Sub-Water Shed witch is Pleasant Lake in Elkins, NH. This was our final stop before heading back to school. Here we just took some water samples to measure temperature and Phosphates(see graf.)

Pleasant Lake

All in all it was a good day and nice to see where the commonly used Blackwater River comes from and how our actions effect its well being and the water shed it is a part of as a whole. Just yesterday I got to experience the beauty of the Blackwater when we paddled it in kayaking. The Blackwater can be beautiful just like any part of a watershed and we really need to work hard to preserve it.

Us Kayaking the Blackwater

Monica!

Graph of our Findings