Preliminary Fieldwork

Last Thursday, Dr. Z. and I conducted preliminary fieldwork for my Geochemistry study of the Ouleout Creek. We drove along the whole creek and made some initial observations. Dr. Z. also taught me how to use the multiprobe and how to collect water samples. We collected five samples total and collected data from the probe at four of the sites; the water velocity was too fast at one site to keep the probe safe and take an accurate reading. At each site we also recorded our geographic coordinates and elevation.

I really enjoyed going out into the field and collecting samples even though the weather was cold and rainy. We observed that the creek contains much reddish colored suspended sediment just above the Sydney reservoir and below it down to the mouth of the creek. We sampled in three locations above the reservoir; one sample came from the Ouleout Creek and two came from its main tributaries, the East Handsome and Treadwell Creek. The water was much clearer at these three sites. I will most likely research what could be causing the difference in sediment load and what effect the sediment load could be having on the water chemistry. We won't be going into the field again until the spring.

On Monday, I filtered my samples. I stored the filter paper in petri dishes. The filtered water from each site was separated into three smaller bottles. One bottle was simply refrigerated, one was frozen to preserve the anions, and the last was acidified and stored at room temperature to preserve the cations. The two samples taken below the reservoir took a very long time to filter. Other than the long wait for those samples, I really enjoyed filtering and preserving the samples, especially since the lab work was done independently for a personal research project. I was also proud of myself for realizing the first sample that took a while to filter was taking so much longer than the first two because it had much more sediment in it.

My next steps will be to start researching the geological background of the area. I will analyze my preliminary water samples after conducting some background research and constructing some hypotheses from that research. In the spring, I will develop a more complex sampling site map and hopefully start an investigation with a focused goal.

Daily Star Newspaper Story - Fellowship

Hartwick junior earns EPA fellowship
The local Oneonta Newspaper, the Daily Star posted a shortened version of the story of my fellowship today. This is very exciting! I will have to pick up a copy of the paper today so I can cut out the story and keep it. Again, I am very excited and grateful for this opportunity to work with the EPA!

Hartwick-Hartwick Student Receives Prestigious EPA Fellowship

Hartwick-Hartwick Student Receives Prestigious EPA Fellowship

The above link will bring you to the page on the Hartwick website that contains a news piece about me. The news piece discusses the EPA GRO Fellowship I have been awarded, what it entails, and accomplishments I have so far. The Fellowship is awarded to a maximum of 40 college juniors nationwide each year, provides support for academics and research and requires the student to perform research for their junior and senior year and to complete a summer fellowship with an EPA facility.

My research will be based around the geochemistry of a small creek that is part of the Susquehanna River Shed. My advisor, Dr. Zsuzsanna Balogh-Brunstad informed me yesterday that the U.S. Geological Survey has not done any studies in this creek so my research will be all original research! I am very excited and grateful for this amazing opportunity!