Hypothesis

1. Dangerous Mercury Attacks Soil vs. Sediment Curtis Lessard, Miranda Johnson, Teresa Ennis, and Alexis Fitzgerald Woodstock Union High School Results These two graphs show the averages, ranges, and medians of mercury in soil and sediment. *Larger range of data for soil than sediment. *Lower soil average. *Soil has a lower median than sediment. Conclusions The objective of the poster was to answer the question, if there was more mercury in soil or sediment. The hypothesis stated, “If levels of mercury are tested in soil and sediment then more mercury will be found in sediment because mercury gets into water by wet and dry deposition, then the mercury sinks down to the sediment where methylation creates methylmercury. Our hypothesis was supported because the graph shows a higher average for sediment. Sediment had an average of 81.5 ppb and soil had an average of 43.0 ppb.  Even though the lowest amount of mercury in sediment is 18.4 ppb, and the highest amount is 87.0 ppb, while the lowest amount of mercury in soil is 10.8 ppb, and the highest amount is 182.1 ppb there is an outlier in soil which makes the data look higher than it is.  In addition, the median for soil is much lower than sediment which shows that soil has less mercury. A source of error in this experiment was that we didn’t have enough data to show an accurate representation of the amount of mercury in the sediment.  In addition, the data came from different schools and in different years; when you go from location to location, the amounts of mercury can change. Data came from two different years and three different sites in the same town. Mercury levels can be affected by burning fossil fuels, wind patterns, and precipitation patterns.  Also, the students that are collecting the data should have worn gloves or  proper equipment.  It could have changed the data if the students did not use proper equipment. My recommendations for future studies are that they should collect samples from all the same school and the same year. Also, it would be good to have more data so we can see a bigger picture and be the most accurate we can be. Overall, our prediction was supported by evidence showing that sediment has more mercury than soil.   Hypothesis If levels of mercury are tested in soil and sediment then more mercury will be found in sediment because mercury gets into the water by wet and dry deposition, then the mercury sinks down to the sediment, where methylation creates methylmercury. Introduction Mercury has an affect on everything. Between soil on land, and sediment in water, sediment contains more mercury from being in the contaminated water.  Mercury has a huge effect on organisms. When mercury from power plants goes into the air, the mercury falls from the clouds when it rains, and lands in water, on the ground, and pollutes everything. Mercury affects how quickly organisms move, and makes them less tolerant to diseases, or harmful things. Mercury affects many different systems throughout the organism's body. (Mercury and health) Mercury is released into the atmosphere from coal burning and other fossil fuels. Mercury settles on land or water through dry deposition. Mercury can also settle on land or water through wet deposition which is rain or snow. Then the mercury from those wet and dry depositions often gets into bodies of water through runoff. Mercury collects in the sediment underwater where there are anaeorbic conditions (“Washington: Mercury cycling in agricultural and managed wetlands of California”). In the sediment under water a process called methylation occurs when bacteria converts mercury into methylmercury. This form of mercury is easy for organisms to take in (Mercury In The Environment). Mercury stays in the sediment for about a quarter of a century. (Chemistry Explained) Mercury is found in soils and hot springs naturally (Mercury in the Environment). Other ways mercury collects in soil is by exposure to wind and water because they can both contain mercury. Human causes are another way mercury collects in soil, one of the ways is agricultural fertilizers. These contain mercury that then seep into the ground.( Lenntech B.V) Mercury can be harmful but useful. We use mercury in many more ways than you may think. Metallic mercury is used in light bulbs and thermometers. (Lenntech B.V)Mercury vapor is also used in street lights and advertising signs (Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility). Materials and methods Our ninth grade class was asked to research a question about mercury. Our soil and sediment samples were collected by students from the Scarborough School in Maine. The students collected the data in 2009-2011 from three different sites, Millbrook, Nonesuch and Highland Rd. and the data was analyzed by the University of Maine. We then took the data and sent it to Jennifer Stainton to put the data in a box and whiskers plot. We analyzed the data and made a conclusion and results. Sediment: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sediment_sand.JPG Soil: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Soil.jpg Literature cited "Chemistry Explained." Mercury, Chemical Element. N.p., 2013. Web. 04 Dec. 2013. Mercury and Health." WHO. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2013. "Mercury Toxicity in Plants." - The Botanical Review. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2013. "Washington: Mercury cycling in agricultural and managed wetlands of California: experimental evidence of vegetation-driven changes in sediment biogeochemistry and methylmercury production." US Official News 29 July 2013. Infotrac Newsstand. Web. 5 Dec. 2013. "Mercury in the Environment." Mercury in the Environment. USGS, n.d. Web. 04 Dec. 2013. "Mercury in the Environment." Mercury in the Environment. N.p., 19 Feb. 2009. Web. 22 Nov. 2013. "Mercury - Hg." Mercury (Hg). Lenntech B.V, n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2013. "The Element Mercury." It's Elemental -. Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2013. Acknowledgments We thank The University of Maine and Dartmouth College for analysis of our samples. We thank Woodstock Union High school for the support and the teachers for all their help. We thank students in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine for collecting our data.