CHAPTER-II

MATERIAL AND METHODS

MATERIAL AND METHODS

17

TOPOGRAPHY, GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH

Andhra Pradesh lies between 12°41' and 22°N latitude and 77° and 84°40'E longitude,

and is bordered by Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Orissa in the north, the Bay of Bengal in

the East, Tamil Nadu to the south and Karnataka to the west. State lies in the Godavari Delta

in north-east of the state.

Andhra Pradesh abbreviated A.P., is a state situated on the south-eastern coast

of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population.

Geography and climate

Andhra Pradesh Climate is generally hot and humid. The major role in determining

the climate of the state is played by South- West Monsoons. But the winters in Andhra

Pradesh are pleasant. This is the time when the state attracts most of its tourists.

Summers in Andhra Pradesh last from the month of March to June. During these

months the moisture level is quite high. In the coastal plain the summer temperatures are

generally higher than the rest of the state. In summer temperature generally ranges between

20°C and 40°C At certain places the temperature as high as 45 degrees on a summer day.

July to September is the season for tropical rains in Andhra Pradesh. The state

receives heavy rainfall during these months. About one third of the total rainfall in Andhra

Pradesh is brought by the North- East Monsoons. Sometime around the month of October

winter arrives in the state. October, November, December, January and February are the

winter months in Andhra Pradesh. Since the state has a reasonably long coastal belt the

winters are not much cold. The range of winter temperature is generally 13°C to 30°C. Since

the Andhra Pradesh Climate is not much favorable during the major part of the year, So

October to February is the best time to visit the state.

The annual rainfall varies from 512.8 mm in the central region to 1025.6 mm towards

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18

the coast the rains are mainly due to South West monsoon which begins in the month of

June. Generally, three seasons can be distinguished.

1. Monsoon, which prevails between June and October, Experienced heavy spells of

rains with intermittent clear days.

2. Winter, spreading between October and February is cool and almost dry.

3. Summer is experienced between March and June and is hot and dry. The

atmospheric temperature during this period may raise up to 45°C.

Altitude; 545 m (1788 ft).

The average temperature in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India is 25.9 °C (79

°F).

The range of average monthly temperatures is 12 °C.

The warmest average max/ high temperature is 40 °C (104 °F) in May.

The coolest average min/ low temperature is 15 °C (59 °F) in

December.

Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh receives on average 764 mm (30.1 in) of

precipitation annually or 64 mm (2.5 in) each month.

On balance there are 81 days annually on which greater than 0.1 mm

(0.004 in) of precipitation (rain, sleet, snow or hail) occurs or 7 days on an

average month.

The month with the driest weather is January when on balance 2 mm

(0.1 in) of rain, sleet, hail or snow falls across <1 days.

The month with the wettest weather is July when on balance 165 mm

(6.5 in) of rain, sleet, hail or snow falls across 19 days.

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19

Mean relative humidity for an average year is recorded as 47.3% and

on a monthly basis it ranges from 27% in March to 70% in September.

Hours of sunshine range between 3.6 hours per day in July and 10.2

hours per day in February.

On balance there are 2877 sunshine hours annually and approximately

7.9 sunlight hours for each day.

On balance there are 0 days annually with measurable frost and in

January there are on average 0 days with frost

Divisions

Andhra Pradesh has 23 districts. Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the

southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies 650 square kilometers (250 sq mi) on the

banks of the Musi River. Its population is 6.8 million, and its metropolitan area increases that

number to 7.75 million people, making it India's fourth most populous city and sixth most

populous urban agglomeration.

Mir Alam Tank

Mir Alam Tank is a lake in Hyderabad, India, located adjacent to Nehru Zoological

Park on the Hyderabad-Bangalore Highway. It has provided drinking water to Hyderabad

people for 125 years before the Osman Sagar and Himayat Sagar were built.

Mir Alam Tank is located at the latitude and longitude coordinates of 17.34 and 78.43.

Mir Alam Lake was constructed as a source of protected water supply in 1806. The lake has a

of 14.89 Km2

and is fed by a stream 10 Km in length.

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Mir Alam laid the foundation for the tank on July 20, 1804, as a plaque still lying in a

corner shows. It was completed in about two years on June 8, 1806. the present investigation

was under taken to elucidate certain aspects of ecology of algae and physico-chemical

parameters of water of Mir Alam lake, with reference to water quality and pollution.

SAMPLING STATIONS

Four sampling stations were selected from the Mir Alam lake and are characterized as

follows:

STATION I

Station I is situated where the southern the Mir Alam lake in opposite Pratap negar

school. Clear water flows into the lake, throughout the year; except in the rainy season.

During rainy season water inflow is largely associated with mud and sand.

STATION II

Station II is located 100 meter after station I, is provided for the discharge of water to

Zoo Park. At this station water is clear and it is used for washing by the people. This station

gets polluted due to different activities of the people.

STATION III

Station III is located 100 meter after station II. At this station water is polluted

because excess water reaching this site by activities of the people.

STATION IV

Station IV is situated East Mir Alam lake. this station is very important because

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21

excess water reaching this site overflowing during rainy season. At this station water is

polluted.

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STATION - I

STATION - II

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STATION -III

STATION - IV

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COLLECTION OF WATER SAMPLES AND THEIR ANALYSIS

Water samples from the surface were collected at all the sampling stations in

polythene containers at monthly intervals for a period of 18 months from November 2011 to

April 2013. Water samples were collected in separate standard glass bottles (BOD bottles)

for the estimation of dissolved oxygen with necessary precautions. All the samples were

carried to the laboratory in an ice-box. The samples were analyzed on the same day in the

laboratory for different physico-chemical parameters following the standard methods. The

following factors had been estimated:

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1

.

Temperature

2

.

pH

3

.

Carbonates (C032_)

4

.

Bicarbonates (HCO3)

5

.

Chlorides (Cl)

6

.

Biochemical Oxygen Demand(BOD)

6

.

Dissolved Oxygen (D.O)

7

.

Oxidizable organic Matter (O.M)

8

.

Total Hardness (T.H)

9

.

Calcium (Ca2+

)

1

0.

Magnesium (Mg2+

)

1

1.

Sulphates (SO4)

1

2.

Phosphates (PO4)

1

3.

Silicates (SiO44-

)

1

4.

Nitrites (NO2)

15. Nitrates (NO3)

16. Sodium (Na)

17. Potassium (K+)

18. Total solids (T.S)

19. Suspended solids (S.S)

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TEMPERATURE

The temperature of water was recorded at sampling site itself with the help of

centigrade thermometer.

pH

pH was recorded with the help of a digital pH meter.

CARBONATES (WILCOX AND HATCHER, 1950)

50 ml of the sample was titrated against N/20 H2SO4 using phenolphthalein as an

indicator.

BICARBONATES (WILCOX AND HATCHER, 1950)

50 ml of the sample was titrated against N/20 H2SO4 using Methyl Orange as an

indicator.

CHLORIDES (WILCOX AND HATCHER, 1950)

5% potassium chromate is added to 50 ml of water sample and then titrated against

N/20 AgNO3 till the yellow colour turned to brick red.

DISSOLVED OXYGEN (APHA, 1995)

300 ml of water sample was collected in a narrow mouthed reagent bottle (BOD

Bottle) taking all the necessary precautions. To this 2 ml of MnS04 followed by 2 ml of

Winkler's reagent were added in the field itself to fix oxygen. After returning to the lab, 2 ml

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of conc. H2SO4 was added to dissolve the precipitate. From this 100 ml was pipette out and

titrated against N/80 Na2S203 using 1% starch as an indicator.

OXIDIZABLE ORGANIC MATTER (TAYLOR, 1949)

To 50 ml of sample, sufficient KMnO4 and 1:4 H2SO4 were added and incubated at

40°C for about 4 hours. Then the samples were cooled to room temperature. 2 ml of 5%

Potassium Iodide solution was added and then titrated against N/80 Na2S203 using 1% starch

as an indicator.

TOTAL HARDNESS: (APHA, 1995)

2 ml of Ammonia solution was added to 50 ml of water sample. It was then titrated

against N/50 EDTA solution using Erichrome black T as an indicator.

CALCIUM (APHA, 1995)

To 50 ml of water sample 2 ml of 8% sodium hydroxide was added and then Titrated

against N/50 EDTA solution using Ammonium purputrate (Muroxide) as an indicator.

MAGNESIUM: (APHA, 1995)

Magnesium was calculated by deducing the value of calcium hardness from the total

hardness.

SULPHATES (APHA, 1995)

To 50 ml sample, 5 ml of conditioning reagent solution and a spoonful of Barium

chloride crystals were added after stirring it at a constant speed for one minute, its turbidity

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was recorded on spectrophotometer at 420 nm, the sulphate concentration in the sample was

estimated by comparing the turbidity reading with a standard curve.

PHOSPHATES: (APHA, 1995)

To 50 ml of water sample, 1 ml of Ammonium molybdate solution and 3 drops of

stannous chloride are added. A blue colour will appear. It is kept aside for 10 minutes (Not

more than 15 minutes) and measured with the help of a spectrophotometer at 690 nm. The

concentration of phosphates is calculated from the standard graph.

SILICATES (APHA, 1995)

2 ml of 10% Ammonium molybdate and 1 ml of 1:4 H2SO4 were added to 30 ml of

water sample. The yellow colour developed in the sample was measured with

spectrophotometer at 410 nm.

NITRITES (APHA, 1995)

To 50 ml of water sample 1 ml each of sulphonic acid, Alfa-naphthalamine

Hydrochloride solution and Sodium acetate were added in sequence. The absorbency of the

solution was recorded on spectrophotometer at 520 nm using distilled water as blank. Nitrite

content of the sample was deduced by comparing absorbency with the standard curve.

NITRATES (APHA, 1995)

50 ml sample was evaporated to dryness and extracted with phenol disulphonic acid.

After adding ammonium hydroxide the sample turned yellow and this was made to 50 ml

simultaneously standards were prepared by using potassium nitrate (kno3) as standard and the

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colour was compared in nessler’s cylinders.

SODIUM AND POTASSIUM

Sodium and potassium were estimated with the help of Atomic Absorption

Spectrophotometer (perkin- Elmert, 2380) and the percent sodium was calculated by using

the following formula:

𝐍𝐚×𝟏𝟎𝟎

𝐍𝐚+𝐊+𝐂𝐚+𝐌𝐠 (Saxena et al., 1979)

TOTAL SOLIDS (APHA, 1995)

50 ml of sample was evaporated in a weighed silica basin on a steam bath and then

dried to constant weight in an oven at 105 oc. The increase in weight over that of the empty

dish represents the total solids.

SUSPENDED SOLIDS (APHA, 1995)

Suspended solids were calculated by deducting the value of dissolved solids

from total solids.

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PLANKTONIC ALGAE

(Collection of Algae and Frequency Measurement)

One liter of surface water samples were collected from four different stations of the

lake and were kept in the sedimentation column after adding 2-3 ml of 4% formaldehyde

solution. The samples were kept undisturbed for about one month for complete settling of the

organisms. The samples were concentrated to 100 ml. Finally, the concentrated material was

used for frequency measurements and identification of species.

For frequency measurement of different species of algae at each station, the drop

method of Pearsal et al., (1948) was followed. Ten drops of the concentrated sample was

carefully pipette out and mounted on 10 slides. From each drop 12 high power microscope

field (15x45) situated at even distance from each other were counted. Thus from each

concentrate 120 high power microscope fields were counted to record species composition.

The number of various organisms was calculated per milliliter. For this purpose, the

microscope was standardized to find out the area of the field.

ALGAL MICRO PHOTOGRAPHS

Microphotograph of each specimen was taken using American optical binocular

research microscope fitted with Cat com digital image camera. The organisms were identified

by following different monographs. Philipose (1967), Prescott (1968), Suxena &

Venkateswarlu (1966)).