MAEKOK RIVER 

Our Projects 

Instructional videos for three common watercourse fieldwork techniques for schoolchildren.

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1. River Biotic Index

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The purpose of this activity is to conduct a basic measure of watercourse invertebrates that indicates the water quality of a certain point in the watercourse. After catching the specimens, students can identify the species and their according score in relation to an accompanying chart. The resultant combined score can provide a snapshot of the scale and quality of a watercourse. Each invertebrate has a score out of 10 which indicates the water quality. 

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2. River Discharge​

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The purpose of this activity is to conduct a basic measure of the surface outflow of a watercourse and outflow characteristics. By measuring the speed at which a tennis ball travels down a 10 metre stretch of the watercourse., in addition to the watercourses' cross sectional area we can then calculate discharge. This can indicate the gradient of the river and also the nature of the bedload as water travels faster over an unobstructed riverbed.

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3. River Bedload​

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The purpose of this activity is to conduct a basic measure of the make-up of a watercourses' riverbed. By determining the size and shape of bedload (rocks/sand/gravel and mud potentially found in the bed of a watercourse) it is possible to understand more about the weathering and erosion in the river basin. This illustrates how soil erosion is impacting upon the flow of the river and subsequent deposition of sand in local reservoirs. 

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