8 November 2020
Word count: 2234
Research Question: How does the biochemical oxygen demand change between the 3rd and 2nd
bridge along the Bosphorus as urbanization increases?
Context:
Biochemical oxygen demand represents the quantity of dissolved oxygen microorganisms
use, to metabolize organic matter in water (Curely). High levels of organic matter increase the
BOD, which reveals how polluted water is. As the BOD increases, and the amount of dissolved
oxygen available for organisms lowers, it results in a decrease of overall aquatic life.
A global environmental issue multiple countries face are the impacts of high levels of
BOD that harm aquatic life, biodiversity of aquatic ecosystems and endangered species.
According to the United Nations, water pollution is increasingly becoming a global issue which
ruins economic growth and the health of people, due to the rising demand of food resources with
high environmental footprints ("Water pollution"). In the context of the research question, the
increasing urbanization to the south of the Bosphorus with the simultaneous increase of
pollution, increases the organic matter in the water which results in a high BOD, and the change
in biochemical oxygen demand along the Bosphorus, will explicitly show the quality of water in
the five areas ranging in low to high polluted water.
The dissolved oxygen demand of the Bosphorus in Turkey has been monitored numerous
times over the years. A study was executed to evaluate wastewater treatment strategies in
Istanbul, and it concluded that in all the areas the experiment was carried out, it did not decrease
lower than the minimum dissolved oxygen value of 1mg/L (Okus, 235). In addition, it stated that
if discharges into the Marmara Sea are left untreated it will lead to a reduction of dissolved
oxygen concentrations (Okus, 238). This could lead to the environment being unfit for aquatic
organisms, severely impacting aquatic life as the strait is an essential route, multiple fish species
depend on to annually migrate to the Black Sea (Starr), as well as, for the preexisting fish
species. The environmental issue is therefore greatly connected to the research question and
important to the region, since finding the dissolved oxygen demand is a useful way for indicating
the severity of the polluted water due to the increasing urbanization which means an increase of
waste disposed into the water affecting the BOD, it will be a useful method for this investigation.
Word count: 2234
Research Question: How does the biochemical oxygen demand change between the 3rd and 2nd
bridge along the Bosphorus as urbanization increases?
Context:
Biochemical oxygen demand represents the quantity of dissolved oxygen microorganisms
use, to metabolize organic matter in water (Curely). High levels of organic matter increase the
BOD, which reveals how polluted water is. As the BOD increases, and the amount of dissolved
oxygen available for organisms lowers, it results in a decrease of overall aquatic life.
A global environmental issue multiple countries face are the impacts of high levels of
BOD that harm aquatic life, biodiversity of aquatic ecosystems and endangered species.
According to the United Nations, water pollution is increasingly becoming a global issue which
ruins economic growth and the health of people, due to the rising demand of food resources with
high environmental footprints ("Water pollution"). In the context of the research question, the
increasing urbanization to the south of the Bosphorus with the simultaneous increase of
pollution, increases the organic matter in the water which results in a high BOD, and the change
in biochemical oxygen demand along the Bosphorus, will explicitly show the quality of water in
the five areas ranging in low to high polluted water.
The dissolved oxygen demand of the Bosphorus in Turkey has been monitored numerous
times over the years. A study was executed to evaluate wastewater treatment strategies in
Istanbul, and it concluded that in all the areas the experiment was carried out, it did not decrease
lower than the minimum dissolved oxygen value of 1mg/L (Okus, 235). In addition, it stated that
if discharges into the Marmara Sea are left untreated it will lead to a reduction of dissolved
oxygen concentrations (Okus, 238). This could lead to the environment being unfit for aquatic
organisms, severely impacting aquatic life as the strait is an essential route, multiple fish species
depend on to annually migrate to the Black Sea (Starr), as well as, for the preexisting fish
species. The environmental issue is therefore greatly connected to the research question and
important to the region, since finding the dissolved oxygen demand is a useful way for indicating
the severity of the polluted water due to the increasing urbanization which means an increase of
waste disposed into the water affecting the BOD, it will be a useful method for this investigation.
