2024 Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) Symposium
Location
John Deere Auditorium, Curris Business Building, University of Nothern Iowa
Presentation Type
Poster Presentation (UNI Access Only)
Document Type
poster
Abstract
Northeastern Iowa is home to Iowa’s longest cave system, Coldwater Cave. The stream originates on the surface flowing towards the Upper Iowa River with the spring in Coldwater Cave acting as a subterranean tributary. Water samples have been taken from both water systems to better our understanding of the story told by Coldwater Cave. The streams are subject to agricultural runoff, active cattle usage, cold water trout fishing, and monthly caver excursions within Coldwater Cave. Five sample sites from the surface, three before and two after the streams reunite, are being analyzed to calculate the Water Quality Index (WQI) of the watershed. Thirteen sample sites have been chosen within Coldwater Cave to calculate the saturation index of the water. The saturation index allows us to understand whether the ground waters and tributary streams are actively dissolving pre-existing carbonates or if the waters are actively depositing fresh carbonates within the cave.
Start Date
26-7-2024 11:00 AM
End Date
26-7-2024 1:30 PM
Event Host
Summer Undergraduate Research Program, University of Northern Iowa
Faculty Advisor
Mohammad Iqbal
Department
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences
Department
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Copyright
©2024 Zachary Harper, Mohammad Iqbal, Joshua Sebree
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Harper, Zachary; Iqbal, Mohammad; and Sebree, Joshua, "Water Quality Index of Coldwater Creek and Analysis of it's Subterranean Branch in Coldwater Cave" (2024). Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) Symposium. 19.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/surp/2024/all/19
Water Quality Index of Coldwater Creek and Analysis of it's Subterranean Branch in Coldwater Cave
John Deere Auditorium, Curris Business Building, University of Nothern Iowa
Northeastern Iowa is home to Iowa’s longest cave system, Coldwater Cave. The stream originates on the surface flowing towards the Upper Iowa River with the spring in Coldwater Cave acting as a subterranean tributary. Water samples have been taken from both water systems to better our understanding of the story told by Coldwater Cave. The streams are subject to agricultural runoff, active cattle usage, cold water trout fishing, and monthly caver excursions within Coldwater Cave. Five sample sites from the surface, three before and two after the streams reunite, are being analyzed to calculate the Water Quality Index (WQI) of the watershed. Thirteen sample sites have been chosen within Coldwater Cave to calculate the saturation index of the water. The saturation index allows us to understand whether the ground waters and tributary streams are actively dissolving pre-existing carbonates or if the waters are actively depositing fresh carbonates within the cave.
