Category: Earth and Environmental Science
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The Correlation between Endemic Poverty and Climate Change Impacts: How low income communities are affected by climate change
By Samantha Vaughan Faculty Mentor: Dr. Dawn Bowen Abstract Climate change is one of the great problems that today’s society faces, but for some people, the effects of climate change will be felt more strongly than for others. This paper investigates the link between socioeconomic status and climate change, especially how the effects of climate…
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Analysis of Metal Concentrations, Soil Health, and Socioeconomic Factors in a Fredericksburg, Virginia, Environmental Justice Soil Survey
By Audrey Turner, Natalie Anderson, Lily Hoffman Faculty Mentor: Dr. Melanie Szulczewski Abstract This project investigated correlations between soil quality and environmental justice factors in the city of Fredericksburg, Virginia. We began by using a two-stage cluster sampling method to determine soil sample sites. One census block was randomly selected within each of the twenty…
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Impacts of Water pH and Hardness on Potomac River and Mattawoman Creek Sediment-Water Metal Partitioning
By Summer Orledge Faculty Mentor: Dr. Tyler Frankel Abstract Anthropogenic activities such as industrial discharges, agricultural runoff, and munitions testing can often result in the enrichment of various metals beyond background levels. Many of these persistent contaminants pose neurotoxic, carcinogenic, or reproductive risks to aquatic wildlife and humans. While water chemistry is known to modulate…
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Monitoring the dissolution of large skeletal architecture fossil corals in the tropical Pacific
By Ainsley Lord Faculty Mentor: Dr. Pamela Grothe Abstract The tropical Pacific is a major driver for global climate variability through the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO), however, the magnitude of warming and freshening as well as changes in ENSO from anthropogenic climate change in the tropical Pacific is poorly understood due to limited instrumental…
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Analysis of Mapped Breccias in Oasis Valley, Nevada
By Carter Bussey Faculty Mentor: Prof. Sarah Morealli Abstract Oasis Valley, NV, is located within the Basin and Range Province of the United States, part of a zone of continental rifting. This region is distinguished by alternating mountain ranges and valleys that form as blocks of rock drop due to the crust stretching. Valleys formed…
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Spatio-Temporal and bioaccumulation analysis of trace metal concentrations within sediment and dagger blade grass shrimp in Chincoteague Bay, USA
By Katie Burbridge Faculty Mentor: Dr. Ben Kisila Abstract Aquatic environments endure continual threat by anthropogenic influence as global population and development increases. Industrial activities, agricultural expansion and urbanization exacerbates the transfer of sediments and associated contaminants, including trace metals, to aquatic ecosystems leading to potential bioaccumulation of toxic elements in both wildlife and human…
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Pilot Environmental Justice Project
By Lily Hoffman, Audrey Turner Faculty Mentor: Melanie Szulczewski Abstract Environmental injustice is when poor or marginalized communities are negatively impacted by hazardous waste, resource extraction, and land use that they don’t benefit from. Legacy pollution of heavy metals may exist in soils in a way that disproportionately affects areas with certain socioeconomic factors. Human…
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Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Northern Virginia Waterways in Relation to Urbanization
By David Nichols Faculty Mentor: Dr. Ben Kisila Abstract Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) are a class of carcinogenic, persistent organic pollutants that are primarily derived from the partial combustion coal and petroleum products such as coal-tar sealant or gasoline. Increasing population in Northern Virginia and the coinciding acceleration of urban and suburban development have increased…
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Validating the geochemistry of large skeletal architectural corals from the central tropical Pacific as reliable climate archives
By Jessica Oberlies Faculty Mentor: Dr. Pamela Grothe Abstract The central tropical Pacific is a key region in modulating global climate changes, yet the lack of continuous long-term instrumental climate records from this area inhibits the robust evaluation of future climate impacts. In particular, the sensitivity of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) to a…
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Spatial Analysis of Heavy Metal Enrichment in a Historic Appalachian Mining Stream
By Eric Torres Faculty Mentor: Dr. Ben Kisila Abstract This study examined the spatial distribution of heavy metals along the Levisa Fork and primary tributaries in Buchanan County, VA and Pike County, KY. Buchanan and Pike Counties have a long history of coal mining, a process known to release heavy metals into surrounding waterways. Exposure…
