Abstract
We report on the outline of the Gunma environmental expedition project supported by Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST). Since there is a large number of hot springs in Gunma, we made elementary schoolchildren and their parents investigate the analysis of the hot springs in this project. The sources of Minakami, Shima, Ikaho, and Isobe hot springs were previously prepared and the participants examined the analysis of them. The pH, total hardness, iron content, boron content, chloride content, and COD (chemical oxygen demand) were investigated. The results of the analysis were discussed with the participants. Next day, we went to the Kusatsu hot spring with all the participants, and observed and investigated the origin of the Kusatsu hot spring. According to the analysis, it is found that the origin of the Kusatsu hot spring has extremely high acidity. Since it is very strong acid, we showed that it can melt metals such as iron and magnesium.
