Transcript 2007PPT-1.0 - Iotastraphy.net

Evaluating the water-collecting
properties of various substrates in a
low cost dew condenser for plant
growth in simulated arid climate
conditions
Aurel Lazar
Spring Valley High School
Deserts and Desertification
• Natural process that creates deserts
• Expansion of desert biomes
• Deserts:
• Receive small amounts of precipitation
• Typically dry
• Extreme diurnal temperature variation
• Desertification only recently
identified as worldwide phenomenon
caused by the exponential increase
in population
What is desertification?
• The sporadic and completely random
spread of a desert
• A land degradation process that
involves a continuum of change,
from slight to very severe
degradation of the plant and soil
resource, and is due to man's
activities (Dregne, 1986)
• Mistakenly assumed to be an instant
change to a sandy wasteland
Image taken by Serge Duchemin
Image from Public Domain, taken by Mike Chapman
Causes of Desertification
• Usually natural, but recently, all
major desertification is caused by
humans (Dregne, 1986)
• Global Warming
• Land abuse after droughts (Watson)
• Overgrazing
• Salinization of land after irrigation
• Cultivation of Marginal Land (Collins)
• Removal of Vegetative Cover
• Burning of Rainforests
Effects
• 12 Million Hectares of land rendered
deserts each year (Collins)
• Degradation of Topsoils
• Water run-off
• Severe Floods in starting regions
• Livestock death
• Encroaching Sand Dunes
• Dust Storms
Image
Image produced by UNESCO
Vegetable Cover
• Roots strengthen soil
• Leaves soften fall of rain, reducing
splash erosion
• Less water run-off
• Inhibits Salinization
• Sustains water moisture
• Necessary tool in countering
desertification
Obtaining Water
• Most people are unaware of the vast
quantity of water available in
airborne atmospheric rivers (Nelson,
2003)
• Fog Fences – Must be on mountains
• Desalinization Plants – Produce
pollution (Alekseev et al., 1998)
• Zibold Airwell – Large and bulky pile
of rocks (Kogan et al., 2003)
• Dew Collectors (Musseli et al., 2002)
Wire Condensate
• Arid deserts have extremely high
temperature ranges
• 50°c in day
• 0°c at night
• Radiative Cooling of objects at night
• Formation of dew (temperature
difference must be extreme)
• Creation of Wire Farms
Conceptual Wire Farm
Materials
• Copper Wires
• Aluminum Wires
• Steel Wires
• Fiberglass Rods
• Plastic Wires
• Glass tubing
• Environmental
Chamber
• Test Tubes
• Pliers
• Pipettes
• Hooks
• Electric Wire
• Batteries
• Plastic Tubing
• Resistor
Methodology
Obtainment of supplies
Set-up of Experiment A & B
Chamber set to run for
48 hours
Water quantified
Set-up of Experiment C
4 Electric Pulses sent through,
water then quantified
Experimental Design Diagrams
Experiment A
IV: Wire Material
Copper
Fiberglass
Aluminum
Plastic
Steel
Glass
6 Trials
6 Trials
6 Trials
6 Trials
6 Trials
6 Trials
Experiment B
IV: Wire Thickness (Diameter)
DV:
C:
3 mm
6mm
10mm
6 Trials
6 Trials
6 Trials
Water yield (μm)
Humidity
Regulated Temperature
Testing area
Wire Volume
Hypotheses
• Experiment A:
• As specific heat of the objects and
density increases, so will water yield.
• Experiment B
• As diameter increases, so will water
yield.
Current Progress
• Research is currently being
conducted at the USC Earth and
Water Science building
• Construction of electric pulse system
complete
Acknowledgements
• Dr. Tammi Richardson at USC for
aiding in the obtainment of an
environmental chamber
• My parents and teachers for their
continuous support and
encouragement
Literature Cited
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Alekseev, V.V. and Berezkin, M.J. (1998). Fresh water from
atmospheric vapour for arid regions. Renewable Energy Bulletin,
3, pp. 36–38
Collins, J (2001, February 12). Desertification. Retrieved from
VWC Enviro Facts Web site:
http://www.botany.uwc.ac.za/Envfacts/facts/desertification.htm
Dregne, H. E. (1986). Desertification of arid lands. In Physics of
desertification, ed. F. El-Baz and M. H. A. Hassan. Dordrecht, The
Netherlands: Martinus, Nijhoff.
Kogan, B. et al. (2003). The moisture from the air as water
resource in arid region: hopes, doubts and facts. Journal of Arid
Environments, 53, pp. 231–240.
Muselli et al. (2002). Dew water collector for potable water in
Ajaccio (Corsica Island, France). Atmospheric Research, 64, pp.
297–312
Nelson, Robert A. (2003). Air wells: Methods for recovery of
atmospheric humidity. Retrieved from Rex Research Web site:
http://www.rexresearch.com/airwells/airwells.htm
Watson, K (1997). Desertification. Retrieved from Deserts:
Geology and Resources Web site:
http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/deserts/
Evaluating the water-collecting
properties of various substrates in a
low cost dew condenser for plant
growth in simulated arid climate
conditions
Aurel Lazar
Spring Valley High School