Hello and welcome back! Last week I had established a procedure for soil collection and this week I was focused on collecting these samples and taking them for laboratory examination. I drove to the Medina River Natural Area in order to collect 6 samples, randomly selected yet representative of all the diverse soil types present. As I made my journey down to the river area, I was greeted by Abby, the Golden Retriever, and Carlos, her best friend, who were both seasoned river attendees. Carlos and Abby were able to help me collect my first sample and we had an engaging and eye-opening discussion on the importance of the river ecosystems, future plans, and how funny it would look when I walk out with bags of soil. After saying our goodbyes, I left the river and stored the samples until they were ready for examination. I brought the collected samples to the Science Research

Laboratories at UTSA where Dr. Laub was able to guide me through the steps for preparation of the samples before examination.

To start, we weighed 50g of each sample using a scale, and placed all 6 into their own glass beakers. After which we used a graduated cylinder to pour DI water to the 200mL mark for each beaker. These were then covered with aluminum dishes to mitigate the effects of evaporation and placed to rest on a shelf. This process was performed in order to measure pH, EC (Electrical Conductivity), and TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) which will be measured with a probe. Next, we took more of the collected samples and placed varying amounts into separate aluminum dishes. These were weighed and recorded, then placed into an oven at an average of 105° C  in order to dehydrate the samples and obtain an understanding of percent moisture. I hope you keep following this journey with me and are as excited as I am for the results!