Student Abstracts: Environmental Science at BNL

Assessment of Wetland Areas Along the Peconic River Proposed for Remediation. LAURIE APPEL (Suffolk County Community College, Riverhead, NY 11901) KEVIN SHAW (Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973).
Assessment of Wetland Areas Along Peconic River Proposed For Remediation. Laurie Appel (Suffolk County Community College, Riverhead, New York, 11901) Gail Ricciotti (Suffolk County Community College, Selden, New York, 11784) John Kevin Shaw (Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York, 11973) Brookhaven National Laboratory is supporting the Department of Energy in the remediation process of contaminated sediment found in the upper reaches of the Peconic River associated with historic laboratory activities. A detailed assessment of the wetland areas along the Peconic River was conducted to provide a pre-remediation baseline of the existing vegetation. This assessment involved: 1) identifying dominant plant communities, 2) mapping the wetland habitats, and 3) identifying the specific plant species associated with these habitats. Eighteen dominant species identified in this study comprise four distinct communities: shrub/forested, upper marsh, lower marsh, and open water. The information gathered will be used to support wetland restoration planning and design.

Evaluation of the Biochemical Conversion and Microbial Desulphurization of Coals . FRANK CLEMENTI (Suffolk Community College, Riverhead, NY 11901) MOW LIIN (Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973).
Studies at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) are conducted using a variety of bacteria chosen from various geothermal biotopes. After bacterial inoculation of pulverized coal samples, pyrolysis gas chromatography/mass spectrometry analyses are applied. This practical technique simply shows that sulfur bonds have been broken within the complex organic structure of coal. Bacterial extrapolated sulfur then reduces to a homogenous mixture of soluble sulfate and mineral medium. This biochemical conversion drastically reduces the sulfur content while improving hydrocarbon quantity and coal gasification processes. Experimental results with detailed processes will be presented along with the extensive utilization of bacteria.

The Utilization and Evaluation of Different Techniques for the Calculation of the Odocoileus virginianus Population at Brookhaven National Laboratory. MEGAN DYER (Community College of Rhode Island, Warwick, RI 02886-1807) TIMOTHY GREEN (Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973).
Abstract The Utilization and Evaluation of Different Techniques for the Calculation of the Odocoileus virginianus Population at Brookhaven National Laboratory. MEGAN DYER (Community College of Rhode Island, Warwick, RI 02886) T. GREEN (Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973). At Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), there have been numerous problems with the white-tailed deer population including increased car/deer accidents, foraging on ornamentals, and spread of Lyme disease. BNL decided to take surveys of the deer populations in order to get a more accurate estimate of how overpopulated the deer actually were. They divided all of the roads on-site into three transects: green, blue, and yellow. The surveys were taken from a car using a Bushnell Yardage Pro Sport distance meter, and a pair of binoculars was used to tell the number of deer per cluster and to distinguish the bucks from the does. An NK Kestrel 3000 was also used at the beginning of each survey to take weather conditions like dew point, temperature and wind speed. Using four different techniques, the data was evaluated and compared in order to get an accurate population estimate. The numbers calculated were very different and varied from 537 to 1,866 deer total, the latter being believed to be more accurate. This data will be used in the future in order to design and implement a deer management plan at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

An Analysis of Surface Meteorological Observations and a Regional Weather Forecast Mode. JARED FOX (Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287) DR. RICHARD WAGENER (Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973).
The purpose of this project is to compare the observed Oklahoma Mesonet data with the forecasted RUC data for quality assurance purposes. Running a model to generate data is much less expensive than physically taking measurements. For this reason, it is often not feasible to collect the vast amounts of observed data that may be required for a project. Many of the ARM scientists rely upon the accuracy of the RUC model. If the model is in error, the effects could be far-reaching and may lead to incorrect results in academic and commercial projects. Due to the large size of the RUC data sets, a manageable subset was selected from a single day of data (June 28, 2002). The data was pared down by selecting only the data from the grid points that corresponded to Mesonet stations and the specific variables of interest (relative humidity, temperature, pressure, average wind speed, wind direction, and maximum wind gust speed). Analysis of the data through graphs showed that some of the RUC forecast variables were inaccurate, and that there was a correlation between certain variables that were related to each other, such as temperature and relative humidity. This showed that it is possible for errors in one variable in a model to introduce errors into other variables in that model.

Finding Relationships between Ambient Ozone Concentration Levels of Organic and NOx Emissions using a Trajectory Box Model, OZIPR. VANESSA NGUYEN (UCLA, UCLA, CA 90024) YIN-NAN LEE (Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973).
Mathematical, computer models are necessary to predict the effects of anthropogenic and biogenic emissions on the compositions of the atmosphere. These models help develop control strategies for reducing photochemical air pollution because they can estimate changes in air quality resulting from changes in emissions. One trajectory-type, air quality simulation model, Ozone Isopleth Plotting Program, Research Version (OZIPR), is tested to show how well this program can estimate the emissions of pollutants, especially the most universal problem ozone. The case studies are run in cities in which field tests have already been performed by the Atmospheric Sciences Division of Brookhaven National Laboratory. The initial conditions and input parameters for these simulations are then based on the conditions at these sites, and the output generated by OZIPR are compared qualitatively to the concentrations of emitted species obtained from the field tests to determine the accuracy of the program. At each city, one specific variable is changed to further examine the sensitivity of the OZIPR calculations. The OZIPR predictions of the five case studies turned out to be comparable to actual results. The expected changes in ozone and other air pollutants were approximated well, proving its value as an air quality model.

Using Computed Microtomography with Fluid Flow. BRIAN PHILLIPS (Jamestown Community College, Jamestown, NY 14701) KEITH JONES (Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973).
The X27A beam line at the National Synchrotron Light Source has studied many geologic samples. The new task is to look at samples from Hanford, Washington. Hanford is a nuclear waste storage facility that leaked contaminants into the soil. To aid in the efforts to find where the contaminants are, the soil samples are x-rayed by X27A. The data are manipulated to get 2D and 3D images. The images are used to study the porosity of the soil. Looking at the porosity will aid in determining how fluid flows through the soil. Many sets of data will be taken from different samples, and many techniques will be used to study the soil. The hope is to fully understand the technique used to visualize the data and be able to reproduce the results with other images.

Assessment of Wetlands Areas Along the Peconic River Proposed for Remediation . GAIL RICCIOTTI (Suffolk county community college, Selden, NY 11784) KEVIN SHAW (Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973).
Assessment of Wetland Areas Along Peconic River Proposed For Remediation. Laurie Appel (Suffolk County Community College, Riverhead, New York, 11901) Gail Ricciotti (Suffolk County Community College, Selden, New York, 11784) John Kevin Shaw (Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York, 11973) Brookhaven National Laboratory is supporting the Department of Energy in the remediation process of contaminated sediment found in the upper reaches of the Peconic River associated with historic laboratory activities. A detailed assessment of the wetland areas along the Peconic River was conducted to provide a pre-remediation baseline of the existing vegetation. This assessment involved: 1) identifying dominant plant communities, 2) mapping the wetland habitats, and 3) identifying the specific plant species associated with these habitats. Eighteen dominant species identified in this study comprise four distinct communities: shrub/forested, upper marsh, lower marsh, and open water. The information gathered will be used to support wetland restoration planning and design.

Patterns of Oak Recruitment in Selected BNL Woodland Communities. JAHAIRA RIVERA (Interamerican University, Rio Piedras, PR 00916) JOHN BLACK/ PETER KELLY (Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973).
Abstract The normal progression of forest development in the Long Island Pine Barrens of central Suffolk County begins with pitch pine. Over time, the pitch pines are out-competed and replaced by a hardwood forest composed of oak and hickory. However, a preliminary survey of woodlands at Brookhaven National Laboratory showed a virtual absence of hardwood seedlings and saplings. This survey was accomplished by establishing seven circular plots with a radius of 10 meters each to determine the effects of the shrub layer on oak recruitment. Two of the plots had a recent fire history. These plots had a greater number of oak seedlings and saplings than in the areas with no fire history. Prescribed burning is often used as a technique to manage for the perpetuation of pine barren communities. Our data, however, suggest that fire may accelerate, not retard, succession toward oak dominance. In conclusion, the shrub layer in an unburned woodland may prevent oak recruitment while fire reduces the shrub layer, thereby encouraging the establishment of oaks.

Seeing Hanford Site Soil With Computed Microtomography. KAREN RUSIN (Alfred State, Alfred, NY 14802) KEITH W. JONES (Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973).
Computed microtomography is a tool that allows non-intrusive, nondestructive viewing of the interior of opaque objects on the scale of microns. Computed microtomography was used to create digital three-dimensional images of soil samples from Hanford, Washington. It is hoped that this will lead to a better understanding of how fluids, such as the toxic wastes and heavy metals leaking from the holding tanks, interact with the soil of the Hanford site. Soil samples were held in containers while light from the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS) at Brookhaven National Laboratory was passed through them as they rotated through 180 degrees. The remaining light was passed through a scintillator and into a CCD (charge-coupled device) camera, which took digital snapshots and saved them to the hard drive of the computer that ran this process. A three dimensional image was created from this data after manipulation by many different software programs. These three dimensional images and the data they are based upon may be used by geologists and environmental scientists to derive better ways to predict the travel of toxic waste through the ground, and to aid in planning the recovery and removal of this waste from the Hanford Site.

Determine Feasibility to Replace Hydraulic Hoses, Install Steel-Braided Coils and Replace Hydraulic Oil with Vegetable-Based Oil to Reduce Environmental Spills and Write a Pollution Prevention Proposal.. REGINALD SAINT-JUSTE (Hudson County College, Jessey City, NJ 07305) PATRICIA (Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973).
ABSTRACT Plant Engineering has had numerous environmental spills as a result of failed hydraulic hose lines in the past several years. Even though the equipment undergoes preventative maintenance on prescribed intervals, a lot has to be done to improve, to reduce or eliminate the potential for a spill involving hydraulic pressurized lines. Plant Engineering (EP) is a division that works to provide premier facilities and services to the research community here at Brookhaven National Laboratory. They are one big team that takes care to incorporate environmental issues in their routine work like building construction, cutting grass, maintenance, and even custodial services. They also make sure that their tasks are properly done to the advantage of the entire lab. One of Brookhaven National Laboratory's programs is the Pollution Prevention program. This is why they brought me here this summer to investigate alternative lubricants and hydraulic steel-braided hose replacement for heavy equipment used by Plant Engineering. I interfaced with the various equipment manufacturers, reviewed technical specifications for the various pieces of equipment, identified environmental-friendly replacement oils and replacement hose sizes and documented the results. The main purpose of the project was to utilize the benefits of Brookhaven National Lab's Prevention Pollution Program implemented couple of years ago. If the Laboratory will get environmental benefits, the project will get funded. My job was to present the data on a Pollution Prevention Proposal form that showed the costs and benefits of using alternative lubricants and replacement hose fittings for heavy equipment.

The Fate of Metal-EDTA Complexes During Uptake by Tagetes. DAVID SINGER (Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305) MARK FUHRMANN (Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973).
Phytoremediation is the use of plants to remove toxins from soils. The addition of synthetic chelates, specifically Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) increases uptake of some metals. Little is known about the mechanism by which plants take up metal-EDTA complexes. In this study FT-IR spectroscopy was used to determine if metal-EDTA complexes are transported up plants as a complex, or broken apart. Each metal-EDTA complex has its own identifiable IR scan that can be fingerprinted in plants, and also the concentrations of these complexes can be determined. Tagetes was exposed to solutions of 100 mM Fe(II)-EDTA and Zn-EDTA, and 80 mM Pb-EDTA. The concentrations of metal-EDTA in the plant shoot liquid were determined to be 67mM, 82mM and 44mM for Fe(II), Zn and Pb respectively. By ICP, the metal concentrations were determined to be 91.17mM, 82.59mM and 35.08mM for Fe, Zn and Pb, respectively. Further, the concentrations of the metal-EDTA plant-exposed solutions were determined by ICP and were found to be the same both before and after uptake. These data, in conjunction with the shoot liquid data shows that the metal-EDTA complexes were transported from the solution through the roots and up into the plant as a complex, and not dissociated. We were not able to use FT-IR to observed metal-EDTA in the solid part of the plants, so it is unclear if the metal-EDTA complexes remain complexed there. Future work requires synchrotron based FT-IR spectroscopy to observe metal-EDTA complexes with the solid part of the plants, and also in small concentrations. However, we have clearly shown that metal-EDTA complexes are transported in plants as a complex, and not broken.

Comparison of X-ray Computed Microtomography, Confocal Microscopy, and Light Microscopy on Insects Encased in Amber. MARC SPENCER (SUNY Binghamton, Binghamton, NY 13902) KEITH W. JONES (Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973).
Through the use of computed microtomography, confocal microscopy, and light microscopy, insects that have become encased in amber can be studied without destroying the specimen. . Light microscopy, although esthetically pleasing, cannot provide such detail in a three dimensional format without possible damage to the sample. Computed microtomography and confocal microscopy offer non-invasive techniques that, after reconstruction of the data through computer programs, produce three-dimensional images of the insect which can reveal minute details of its anatomy. With this information, scientists such as entomologists, geologists, and paleontologists can infer statistics such as diet, evolution, and environmental characteristics of the insects and their surrounding biomes. Computed microtomography uses x-ray beams to perform scans on these samples at desired energy levels while confocal microscopy uses laser scans to obtain data. It is difficult to find the optimum energies to perform the x-ray scan on the amber because of its relatively low density and the fact that it and the insects share similar densities. The difficulties of confocal microscopy occur when trying to determine a wavelength that renders the amber 'invisible? and allows only the insect to fluoresce. Both processes require small samples at thicknesses around 3000 microns or less to provide the best resolution.

Correlating the Organic Composition of Corn to the Uptake of Lead from Soil. JYOTI TIBREWALA (MIT, Cambridge, MA 02139) LISA M. MILLER (Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973).
The natural tendency of plants to extract heavy metals from soil is of great interest to scientists because phytoremediation represents an environmentally friendly way to clean up contaminated soil. In this work, synchrotron-based x-ray and infrared spectroscopies were used to examine the organic components of the corn plant, as well as the localization of lead taken up by the plant, in an effort to determine why corn has an affinity for lead. Lignin was isolated from corn stems, and infrared spectroscopy was used to characterize the various plant components. Corn plants were grown in lead nitrate, and x-ray microscopy was used to determine the localization of lead in the stem and root. After 18 days of exposure to 2 mM lead, the corn plants had >12 times more lead in the roots and >5 times more lead in the stem than baseline. Infrared imaging was used to map the organic composition of the stem and root. Cellulose was found to be uniformly distributed throughout the roots and stems. Conversely, lignin was found to be concentrated near vascular bundles (xylem and phloem). From x-ray imaging, lead was found in high concentration throughout the root, including a 'hot spot? that may be a lead precipitate in the sample. In the stem, lead was found to be concentrated near the vascular bundles, co-localized with high lignin concentrations. This combination of x-ray and infrared microspectroscopies showed the correlation between lead and the organic plant components. Results from this research will be important for understanding why corn plants are efficient at extracting lead from the soil and may lead to the improvement in phytoremediation of contaminated soils.

Study of Natural Attenuation in New York/New Jersey. LIZABETH TROCHE (University Of Puerto Rico, Cayey, PR 00736) DR. KEITH JONES (Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973).
The NY/NJ Harbor contains a wide range of chemical contaminants. The origin of these contaminants is due to industrial and anthropogenic activities. Contaminated sediments affect the benthic organisms killing them and reducing the food available to larger animals. Natural attenuation uses naturally occurring processes to clean up sites, is non-invasive and allows the site to be put to productive use while being cleaned up, but requires carefully controlled conditions and monitoring of contaminant levels. SRB use sulfate as the oxidizing agent, the sulfate then is reduced to sulfide, which is a strong complex of heavy metals and creates a low redox habitat. The purpose of this experiment was to evaluate the rate of natural attenuation for organic compounds under different conditions of electron and donor acceptors favorable for SRB in NY/NJ Harbor Sediments. Several techniques were used to determine the attenuation of organic compounds and the immobilization of heavy metals. One is the FTIR-Spectra used to determine changes in organics composition.BIOMET technique used to test the bioavailability of the heavy metals and the toxicity of the sediment and MPN-test used to determine the presence of SBR. Although natural attenuation is a process that will take several months, even under the most favorable conditions, the initial results indicate the presence and activity of the endogenous SRB, a decrease in the organic contaminants, demonstrated by FTIR-spectra and the bioavailability of Zn was strongly reduced as compared to a reference sample. Therefore we conclude that natural attenuation of the harbor sediment can be a cost-efficient method for sediment conditioning.

Patterns of Oak Recruitment in Selected BNL Woodland Communities. BURGOS YULESKA (University of Puerto Rico , Cayey, PR 00736) JOHN BLACK/PETER KELLY (Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973).
The normal progression of forest development in the Long Island Pine Barrens of central Suffolk County begins with pitch pine. Over time, the pitch pines are out-competed and replaced by a hardwood forest composed of oak and hickory. However, a preliminary survey of woodlands at Brookhaven National Laboratory showed a virtual absence of hardwood seedlings and saplings. This survey was accomplished by establishing seven circular plots with a radius of 10 meters each to determine the effects of the shrub layer on oak recruitment. Two of the plots had a recent fire history. These plots had a greater number of oak seedlings and saplings than in the areas with no fire history. Prescribed burning is often used as a technique to manage for the perpetuation of pine barren communities. Our data, however, suggest that fire may accelerate, not retard, succession toward oak dominance. In conclusion, the shrub layer in an unburned woodland may prevent oak recruitment while fire reduces the shrub layer, thereby encouraging the establishment of oaks.