Hydrology Update, December 31, 1996
Analysis of All Reported GLOBE Alkalinity Data

Dear Globe colleagues,

In this report I am addressing the questions: What schools are measuring alkalinity and what are the results so far? Alkalinity was added to the hydrology protocol as of September, 1996, and schools are just beginning to adopt this measurement. I have downloaded all reported alkalinity data from the GLOBE student data server as of 11:00 MST today, and plotted them on the following graphs. We are indeed pleased that already 14 schools have made measurements. Six of the schools have made regular measurements, i.e. reported at least monthly values, and 8 schools have reported only 1 value so far.

Here is a quick assessment of what has been reported so far, by school:

• Crescent Elk School, Crescent City, CA is reporting relatively low alkalinity values that exhibit quite a bit of variation with thme. These changes could be associated with rainfall, which lowers alkalinity. It will be interesting to put these together with other GLOBE hydrology and atmosphere data for the site in order to gain a more complete picture.
• Chemisches Institut Dr. Flad, Stuttgart, Germany has a very nice time series that captures even day-to-day changes in alkalinity. They see a slight increase in early November, but otherwise relatively steady values. These relatively high values are from a well-buffered surface water. Again, day-to-day changes could be associated with rainfall.
• Happy Valley High School, Elizabethton, TN started reporting alkalinity in November. Values are intermediate, between those for Crescent Elk School and Chemisches Institut, and are quite consistent with each other. We will be eager to see if alkalinity changes through the winter and into spring.
• Simsbury High School, Simsbury, CT is also reporting relatively low alkalinity values that exhibit some variation with time. In fact, I am surprised that the changes with time are so small, given the range reported. It will be interesting to see if values drop lower during rainfall or snowmelt.
• Okemos High School, Okemos, MI is reporting alkalinity values that show an interesting drop from nearly 300 mg/L down to about 70 mg/L. We will need to put this together with the other GLOBE hydrology and atmosphere data for the site in order to gain a more-complete picture of what happened.
• Tabor Academy, Marion, MA has just recently started reporting alkalinity. Their values are very low and show a steady deceline with time. I recommend that they double check their calculations, which if correct show a quite interesting pattern.
• Other schools reporting only one alkalinity value, in chronological order, are:
  • Loeken Ungdomsskole, Askim, Norway
  • Jane Addams Junior High School, Royal
  • Jarrow Montessori, Boulder, CO, US
  • Alexander Dawson School, Lafayette, CO, US
  • Clark County R-1 High School, Kahoka,
  • Vinalhaven High School, Vinalhaven Island, ME, US
  • Northeast High School, Arma, Kansas, US
  • Goethe-Schule, Wetzlar, Germany

I hope that this brief report has stimulated some questions. Feel free to send email to me (roger@hwr.arizona.edu) or to my assistant, Chris Gutmann (cgutmann@hwr.arizona.edu).

Sincerely,

Roger Bales
Professor of Hydrology & Water Resources
University of Arizona