Sunday, November 16, 2014

11.14.14: Winogradsky Column: Getting Started!

On November 13, 2014, Chris Valadez and I drove down to the duck pond behind the the Kroger located in Kettering (right next to a combination Pizzahut and Taco Bell).
We went at about 5:30 pm and it was 28 degrees fahrenheit outside (AKA really cold).
I started to dig for mud, and I found a pencil. The mud was filthy and foul-smelling.

I set up my column the next day (Friday ) at about 10 am. Here is the set up:


The contents needed for the column setup are as follows, starting from left to right: 
  1. 2-liter bottle with pond/lake source water (far left)
  2. Mud in a gallon Ziploc bag (top middle) 
  3. Old pasta sauce container to act as the column container (bottom middle)
  4. Raw egg yolk (sulfur source) (top right)
  5. Shredder newspaper (carbon source and cellulose)  (bottom right).


I mixed the mud with source water until the mud became soft and pudding-like in consistency. Then, I added the shredder newspaper and an egg yolk. Then, I added the contents into the old pasta sauce jar and made sure to shake the mud down into the jar to get rid of air bubbles. I topped off the mud in the jar with source water until it reached the brim. Here is a photo of the column prior to adding the cellophane wrapper on top, but after the source water was filled to the brim:


This next picture features the FINISHED AND SEALED Winogradsky Column next to one of my favorite Anime characters:



Winogradsky Column Instructional and Explanatory SOURCES:

http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/j/e/jel5/biofilms/winogradsky.html
http://archive.bio.ed.ac.uk/jdeacon/microbes/winograd.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivRxB3w41I0

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