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Faculty Research
Graduate Student Research
For more information on the research you see here, please see our FY 2008 Annual Report.
Faculty Research
Volatilization of PCBs from the Tappan Zee region of the Hudson River
Assistant Professor Lisa A. Rodenburg and Dr. Robert Miskewitz
Department of Environmental Sciences
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
In this research, the micrometeorological technique was applied for the first time to
investigate the air-water exchange fluxes of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). A field
campaign was conducted in July of 2008 in the Tappan Zee region of the Hudson River. This
section of the River is known to be heavily contaminated with PCBs, leading to large
volatilization fluxes. By measuring the concentrations of PCBs at two heights above the water
surface as well as in the dissolved phase, fluxes and air/water exchange mass transfer
coefficients (vaw) were determined for individual PCB congeners. The average gas–phase ΣPCB
concentration was 0.7 ng m-3, elevated over regional background by about a factor of 2.
Dissolved-phase PCB concentrations ranged from 2 to 14 ng L-1, in good agreement with the
measurements of others. In 14 of 16 sampling events, PCB concentrations were higher in the
lower air sample, indicating positive fluxes (net volatilization) of PCBs from the water column.
Vertical ΣPCB fluxes ranged from 0.2 to 12 μg m-2 d-1 and were highest on July 10th. Values of
vaw ranged from 0.05 to 2.27 m d-1. The relationships between vaw for PCB congeners and various
meteorological variables such as wind speed and air temperature were investigated. vaw and
sensible heat flux were inversely correlated, while vaw was mostly positively correlated with
latent heat flux. Both wind speed and friction velocity (u*) displayed positive relationships with
vaw. In addition, temperature usually displayed a positive correlation with vaw. Correlations
between vaw and Henry’s law constants for individual PCB congeners were found to be not
significant, in agreement with theoretical predictions.
Figure 1. The air sampling and micrometeorology equipment set up on the south end of the Piermont fishing pier.
Contact Information:
Assistant Professor Lisa Rodenburg
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Telephone: (732) 932-9800 x6218; Fax: (732) 932-8644
E-mail: rodenburg@envsci.rutgers.edu
Dr. Robert Miskewitz
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Telephone: (732) 932-9800 x6126
E-mail: rmiskewitz@aesop.rutgers.edu
Identifying the source of excess fine-grained sediments in New Jersey rivers using radionuclides
Dr. Joshua Galster1 and Dr. Kirk Barrett2
1Department of Earth and Environmental Studies
2Passaic River Institute
Montclair State University
Sediment is well known to be an important aquatic pollutant in New Jersey
and elsewhere. Sedimentation was listed as the number one cause of river and stream
impairment in the USEPA’s most recent “National Water Quality Inventory”
(USEPA, 2007). In New Jersey, the NJ Department of Environmental Protection
(NJDEP) has identified nearly 50 “assessment units” (mostly equivalent to
HUC14s) that are impaired by excessive suspended sediment concentrations,
encompassing 370 square miles and over 700 stream miles (NJDEP, 2006). Our objective is to assess how successful an established analytical method is
at identifying the source of the fine-grained sediment within streams in New
Jersey. Using radionuclides to “fingerprint” sediment coming from different subwatersheds
and from channel bank vs. surficial soil erosion within a drainage
basin is an established technique, and has been used in a variety of geologic
settings and in watersheds of various size (see page 73 of the FY2008 Annual Report for citations). We propose to
use the technique to distinguish between landscape and channel bank erosion in
two New Jersey watersheds with different land uses, and to eventually influence
land management practices (e.g., BMPs). Our hypothesis is that the fine-grained
sediment in urban/suburban fluvial systems originates mostly from stream bank
material produced from channel-widening erosion and will show relatively lower
radionuclide activities, whereas, in areas with significant row-crop agriculture,
substantial sediment originates from the landscape and will show relatively higher
activities.
References:
1. NJDEP (New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection). 2006. New
Jersey Integrated Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Report. New Jersey
Department of Environmental Protection, Water Monitoring and Standards,
Trenton, NJ, 590 pp.
2. USEPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency). 2007. National Water
Quality Inventory: Report to Congress, 2002 Reporting Cycle. United States
Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water, EPA 841-R-07-001,
Washington, DC.
Contact Information:
Dr. Joshua Galster
Montclair State University
Telephone: (973) 655-4123; Fax: (973) 655-6810
E-mail: galsterj@mail.montclair.edu
Dr. Kirk Barrett
Montclair State University
Telephone: (973) 655-7117; Fax: (973) 655-6810
E-mail: kirk.barrett@montclair.edu
Graduate Student Research
Process-based modeling of nitrogen removal dynamics in brownfield and intact remnant wetland systems
Monica Palta with Professor Joan Ehrenfeld
Department of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Nitrogen (N) removal is commonly cited as a rationale behind wetland restoration projects, since wetlands have demonstrated the ability to prevent movement of excess N from upland areas into streams through the microbial process of denitrification. As important as N removal is to ecosystem health, however, there are few locations with measurements adequate to quantify denitrification rates and how they vary at a range of spatial and temporal scales. Further, despite a broad understanding of the multiple environmental factors that control rates of denitrification, we have limited ability to integrate this knowledge to construct and validate robust and predictive numerical models of denitrification. Wetlands in urban settings pose a particular challenge in linking ecosystem services (like denitrification) with their environmental drivers, mainly because urban wetlands have been little studied, and each urban system has its own unique set of altered conditions. These issues are especially true of wetlands that develop on brownfield sites, on highly modified soil materials.
Though “hot spots” and “hot moments” have been identified by a number of comparative studies (where certain areas or time periods exhibit higher denitrification than others), none have undertaken the identification of periods or areas of high denitrification through quantitative modeling or spatial analysis of the process. I proposed to undertake process-based modeling to identify and predict the occurrence of “hot spots” and “hot moments” of denitrification in the urban wetland environment. My study objective was to collect the data needed to utilize a process-based model (DeNitrification-DeComposition, or DNDC (Li et al. 1992)) for an urban wetland site; this model was to be used to identify and predict hot spots and hot moments of denitrification within the site.
Reference:
Li, C., Frolking, S., and T.A. Frolking. 1992. A model of nitrous oxide evolution from soil
driven by rainfall events: 1. Model structure and sensitivity. Journal of Geophysical
Research, 97, 9759-9776.
Contact Information:
Monica Palta
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Telephone: (732) 932-1050; Fax: (732) 932-8746
E-mail: mpalta@eden.rutgers.edu
Professor Joan Ehrenfeld
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Telephone: (732) 932-1081; Fax: (732) 932-8746
E-mail: ehrenfel@rci.rutgers.edu
PBDEs and Other Brominated Compounds in a Bioreactor Landfill
Jennifer Loudon with Assistant Professor Donna Fennell
Department of Environmental Sciences
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) have been considered the next PCBs by many in the environmental field (La Guardia et al., 2007). Currently there is a growing amount of research looking at these compounds in wastewater treatment systems, but if we could identify and possibly enhance the natural debromination of these compounds to desirable end products while they are still in the landfill system, then that would take much of the burden off of the wastewater treatment plants. This could potentially decrease the concentrations of PBDEs and other brominated organic compounds finding their way into the rest of the ecosystem.
Research Objectives - Qualitatively determine the diversity of microbes in the Burlington County Resource
Recovery Center
landfill leachate and solids. Identify dehalogenators present. Through microcosms using
landfill waste, stimulate dehalogenation of halogenated organic compounds that may be
found in a landfill. Obtain toxicological information about the landfill using Danio rerio (zebrafish) as a model organism.
Contact Information:
Jennifer Loudon
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Telephone: (732) 932-9800 x6806; Fax: (732) 932-8644
E-mail: jloudon@aesop.rutgers.edu
Assistant Professor Donna Fennell
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Telephone: (732) 932-9800 x6204; Fax: (732) 932-8644
E-mail: fennell@envsci.rutgers.edu
Microbial Mobilization of Arsenic and Selenium Oxyanions in Subsurface Aquifers
Ines Rauschenbach1 with Professor Max Häggblom2
1Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics
2Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology
Rutgers, The State University of New York
Arsenic (As) and selenium (Se) toxicity, and their ever-increasing contamination of
groundwater and soil, has become a global concern threatening the lives of tens of millions of people. Speciation of As and Se, which affects their toxicity and mobility in the environment, is greatly affected by both environmental conditions and activity of the microbial population that mediate the transformations. Our laboratory has recently isolated the anaerobic, selenate/selenite- and arsenate-respiring bacterium “Desulfurispirillum indicus” strain S5. Since both C. arsenatis and D. alkaliphilum are not capable of respiring selenate, S. indicus will be the first selenate respiring organism to be fully sequenced. Therefore, this organism can be used as a model organism to fully understand the respiration of selenium and arsenic and the key genes encoding reductases that are involved in this process.
Contact Information:
Ines Rauschenbach
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
E-mail: inesrau@eden.rutgers.edu
Professor Max Häggblom
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Telephone: (732) 932-9763 x326; Fax: (732) 932-8965
E-mail: haggblom@aesop.rutgers.edu
Micro Scale Solid Phase Extraction using Carbon Nanotubes for Rapid Detection of Organic Pollutants in Water Resources
Ornthida Sae-Khow with Professor Somenath Mitra
Department of Chemistry and Environmental Science
New Jersey Institute of Technology
Recent evidence has shown that the number of trace contaminants including pesticides
and pharmaceuticals is increasing in surface and other natural waters all across the nation. The major challenge in monitoring these contaminants is that their concentrations are quite low, often in the low ppb or ppt levels. While they can be detected by conventional methods such as HPLC, LC/MS and others, their low concentrations require extensive sample pretreatment that makes the overall process time-consuming and expensive.The objective of this research is to explore the development of microscale solid phase extraction (μ-SPE) for the extraction of a wide range of compounds including pesticides and drug metabolites in our water resources. The specific goals of this project are as follows:
• Implement μ-SPE in the needle of a syringe for easy sampling, enrichment and injection.
• Explore the possibility of using carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as novel, high performance sorbents for μ-SPE.
• Implement the CNTs in a packed as well as in an open tubular, self assembled format.
• Optimize μ-SPE to combine sampling and desorption.
Contact Information:
Ornthida Sae-Khow
New Jersey Institute of Technology
E-mail: os26@njit.edu
Professor Somenath Mitra
New Jersey Institute of Technology
Telephone: (973) 596-5611; Fax: (973) 596-3586
E-mail: somenath.mitra@njit.edu
Cranberry Farms' Habitat Function in the Wetland System of the New Jersey Pine Barrens
Ai Wen with Professor David Ehrenfeld
Department of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
The study aimed to determine the interaction between cranberry farms and the surrounding Pine Barrens wetland ecosystem from two perspectives. First, I investigated the factors that can potentially affect the early stage of secondary succession in abandoned wetland farms. I examined whether the seed bank in abandoned cranberry farms exhibits different species density and composition at different soil depth (i.e. soil accumulated before and after the farm was constructed). I also examined whether the seed bank density and composition varies in cranberry bogs with low and high water table levels. Further, in order to use my study to provide farm restoration information, I applied two common restoration treatments, flooding and ground cover removal, to soil acquired from cranberry bogs with different hydrological condition (low vs. high water table), different soil depth (bottom, middle and top soil layer) and different ground cover species (cranberry runner vs. Carex cover vs. redroot cover). With this application, I was able to depict whether the common wetland restoration methods can produce homogeneous effects across different post-abandonment habitat conditions. The second objective of the research was to improve the integrity of the wetland ecosystem by enhancing the wildlife habitat of cranberry farms. This project will reveal the important factors correlating to wildlife distribution within active and abandoned farms. This information will be important for habitat management in both abandoned and active cranberry farms.
Contact Information:
Ai Wen
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
E-mail: aiwen@eden.rutgers.edu
Professor David Ehrenfeld
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Telephone: (732) 932-9553; Fax: (732) 932-8746
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