Hypothesis Analysis

 

1. Is it original research, and how so?

As of yet, we have not seen any Winogradsky experiments relating to light occlusion

2. What exactly is your hypothesis? Do you have a prediction?

The hypothesis is that light occlusion should have marked effects on the development of the hydrogen-sulfide/oxygen and aerobic/anaerobic gradients of the column. In particular, the top occlusion is expected to create a more abundant levels of hydrogen sulfur anearobes and sulfuric aerobes. The middle occlusion should disrupt the development of the sulfur based bacterias  and non-sulfur based (purple-s bacteria, green s bacteria, and purple non-S bacteria).

The bottom occlusion will most likely not effect the development of the other layers mainly because the bottom layer does not require sunlight to develop effectively, much like the bottom of the pond at Prospect Park, the source of our dirt and water.

3. Besides gaining some knowledge, can the data collected be used to some end practically?

I think there may be a practical application to light occlusions if the top layer occlusion manages to disrupt aerobic activity effectively. One can imagine if there is a desire to increase the sulfur content of a body of water (to spur sulfuric microbial activity and ecosystem development because where there is protein, is not far behind), one can imagine the reduction of light absorption at the top layer of a freshwater pond becoming a viable method for spurring desired microbial activity. Perhaps a protein source can be provided to such a body of water which would break down into a sulfur source, the light occluded, and a desired microbial environment could be created. This light deprivation to produce desired bacteria may be useful in bacteria based environmental remediation efforts.