National Park College geology students recently participated in a project to estimate the total annual discharge from Gulpha Creek into Lake Catherine.
Students collected data at two locations along Gulpha Creek. They collected GPS location, water temperatures, width of stream, average depth of stream and average velocity.
They measured stream flow rates two ways. One method used a tennis ball and a 33-meter tape to calculate velocity and then compared the data to that collected using a flow rate sensor connected to a Vernier Lab Quest Mini with a computer. They measured stream width using a 33-meter tape and stream depth with a meter stick.
A rope was stretched across the stream and cloth pens were used to mark off 10 equal increments. At each increment, students collected both stream depth and velocity.
As part of the project, students were tasked with calculating the total discharge for Gulpha Creek that flows into Spencer Bay, which flows into Lake Catherine, and producing an estimate of the amount of water that Gulpha contributes annually to Lake Catherine.
The two groups averaged their data and found an estimated 1,628,137.2 cubic meters of water flowed down Gulpha Creek into Lake Catherine each year. By their calculations, Gulpha Creek contributes about 3.5 percent.
School on 11/16/2017