Color Changes in Winogradsky Columns

      The column that had only paper started out mostly clear, then it started to turn orange, and as time passed the water started to turn dark orange.

      The water in the paper and yolk column also started out mostly clear, turned orange, and then it went more towards a grey color. It also started to grow some algae at the top.

      Like the water in the P column and the P+Y column, the water in the paper, yolk, and shell column started out mostly clear, but then it started to get blacker and darker as time went on. It also started to grow algae on the dirt layer.

      The water in the unenriched column started out dirtier than the other columns, and it got a lot darker as time went on. Either some sort of black plant was living in the column, or a lot of the organisms died, causing the water to darken.

      Going from left to right, the images in the pictures were taken on: Dec 20, 2012, Feb 18, 2013, April 10, 2013, and May 5, 2013.

Winogradsky Columns Final Day!

Hello! Today I will show you what has happened to the Winogradsky columns. I have extracted a few drops of water from the paper+yolk column, and here are my observations.

P+Y Column Observations

To view the water under my microscope, I used a hanging drop mount. You can see how to make one by reading my previous post "Hanging Drop Mount." 

Figure 2 Small cell with tail

Figure 1 Long
worm-like cell

 In the various water drops I saw some small cells (Fig. 2), long worm-like cells (Fig. 1), and micro-organisms that looked like worms (Fig. 3 & 4). I also saw a cell moving really fast. It could be a paramecium. There were many worm-like bacteria, and a few of the fast moving parameciums. There are also some videos of these organisms below the images.

Figure 4 Two worm like micro-organisms.
about 100µm long

Figure 3 Head of a micro-organism.
about 40µm long

Fast moving paramecium

"Zoo" of organisms. At the top of the image, there

 is a cell that seems to spin when it moves

Video of one of the micro-organisms

Two of the micro-organisms

If you look closely, you can see the long worm

 like cell undulate