Liu, Y., Ke-Ming, M., Jing-Zhu, Z., Bai, X., & Qing-Hai Guo. (2007). The relationships of urbanization to surface water quality in four lakes of hanyang, china. International Journal of Sustainable Development and World Ecology, 14(3), 317-327. Retrieved from http://0-search.proquest.com.books.redlands.edu/docview/198071001?accountid=14729

Researchers Yang Liu, Ma Ke-Ming, Zhao Jing-Zhu, Xue Bai, and Qing-Hai Guo all worked on a journal titled, “The relationships of urbanization to surface water quality in four lakes of Hanyang, China.”  They started to study this because of what converting rural land into urban land rapidly does to the environment.  The water quality is heavily polluted because of the change in land use.  There had not been much research on non-point source pollution.  There study area was Hanyang, Hubei Province, China.  This area is filled with rivers and lakes.  They preformed an observational study on the land use and how it correlated with the water quality in the area.  They collected the land use data by using high-resolution quickbird multispectral imagery.  The water quality was measured by Soil and Water Assessment Tool model which divided each lake into several pieces.  The water quality indicators that were selected were pH, conductivity, temperature, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, salinity, ammonia nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, chemical oxygen, and 49 heavy metals.  To analyze their data, they used numerous steps.  They compared the urbanization at all of the lakes.  To determine the land impacts on the lake water quality they used a Pearson’s correlation to reveal any relationships.  They concluded that land uses can be used as sources or sinks to non-point source pollution.  This was the most in-depth research on water quality ever done in China before.  The abundance of urbanization is causing a worse quality of water.  This research journal has made me realize how much work goes into water analysis.  If I was to do my research project, I am not sure if I would have the ability to test all of the elements that they did.  However, I would do the best that I could with what I could analyze.