Sediment | ecodetectives

Sedimental Journey

When it rains a lot, the ground gets saturated with water. It cannot soak up any more water, so it runs off the surface, carrying dirt with it. This is erosion. The dirt deposited in the water is called sediment. Some erosion of sediments into streams and lakes is always taking place in nature, but too much erosion can cause problems in the water. Juan Tuno has noticed a lot of dirt in the water in some parts of the Gray Area. Read his statement about the sediments.

Juan Tuno - Sediment Statement

Some of these rivers look too dirty to me. I'm not sure if too

much dirt in the water might harm fish, but it seems like it

would. I do know that logging, cutting down trees for lumber,

can cause erosion. When trees are cut down, they don't hold

down the soil anymore and the soil gets washed into streams,

especially if workers log close to streams. To me, clear-cut

logging is the worst, because that means they cut down every

tree in an area.

Anton Alogue works as a logger cutting down forests in the Gray Area. He works for the logging operations owned by Tuno Enterprises. Read his statement.

Conduct tests to see if any bodies of water in the Gray Area have too much sediment. Record the results in your Data Sheet (available on the acid rain page)

After completing the tests, review Juan Tuno's research notes and the sediment files below to help you gain more knowledge about how sediments can get into the water and how they impact the fish.

Anton Alogue - Sediment Statement

You know, you guys all buy things made out of wood and paper, but

you blame us for everything. We cut down trees because people need

wood and paper. If you didn't buy the stuff, we wouldn't cut down the

trees. We replant the forests afterwards, and we don't kill fish!

Sediment Files.