Almost There...

     Yesterday was more or less uneventful. We returned to Kan Tang to complete the sample selection. Unfortunately, there were many ponds that I had identified on the satellite imagery that no longer existed. I felt validated, however, because it was clear that the ponds had previously existed, but that they had been filled in and replanted. Although we did not get as many samples for Kan Tang as for Palian, I am confident in the samples we did obtain.
     I am a little confused by some of the results from the water quality tests. My project intends to measure nitrogen dynamics in these ponds, and the ponds that appear to be operational/inhabited always give middle-range or high-range nitrogen readings, as one would expect. The tests from the other ponds that appear decommissioned or overgrown usually come back with zero readings across the board. I suppose that is also to be expected; when nature is allowed to take its course, phytoplankton and algae would take over the pond, sinking the excess nitrogen that had been released in the feeding of the shrimp and the shrimp excrement. Still, I am not sure what these numbers are telling me as far as further implications.

lolz, #lunch

     My working hypothesis is that the ponds that give zero readings should be thrown out, and that only the ponds with the middle-range and high-range nitrogen readings should be considered. Because the ponds with the zero readings have been allowed runaway growth and eutrophication, it would make sense that no dissolved nitrogen is present in the water. But at that point, the harmful effects of nitrogen loading have already taken place. The fully operational ponds, however, do not want phytoplankton and algae growth, so they are maintained to avoid such blooms, which leads to increased dissolved nitrogen. Those ponds are the nexus where nitrogen loading should be evaluated. Some further reading and discussing with my professor should elucidate these complex dynamics.
     Today we are up earlier than usual in order to try and hit all of the final Si Kao group ponds in one fell swoop. I am not optimistic about being able to reach all of them, however, because I remember that I had lower resolution satellite imagery for the area surrounding Si Kao, which should lead to more inaccuracies than usual. Hopefully, at least 20 of them will actually exist. In other news, yesterday's testing took so little time that I was able to enjoy the resort. Although we only had a couple hours of sun after the morning sample collection, I was able to bake in the sun for a little while and eat a nice lunch on the grassy area behind our room. Stay tuned!