Project Description
As part of ongoing funded research on freshwater Si cycling, student projects will address the need for information on biogenic silicate (bSi) content of plant debris being carried by rivers into Lake Michigan. The research will also establish methodology for extracting bSi from nearshore sediment cores from Lake Michigan. The research will involve collection of plant debris and suspended material from Milwaukee river, for analysis of bSi and microscopic detection of plant silicaceous phytoliths which plants synthesize and incorporate into leaf tissues. A grass degradation experiment will be carried out in the lab, monitoring plant, dissolved and suspended Si pools during several weeks of grass degradation to examine mineralization of plant Si. To establish important methods for ongoing Si research and prepare preliminary data for future grant proposals, the project will also involve collecting cores of lake-shore sediments and testing lab analytical methods to extract bSi from sediments.
Tasks and Responsibilites
The student will collect river samples and filter for chemical and microscopy analysis to identify bSi content and possible phytoliths. Microscopy analysis may include staining and epifluorescence microscopy. The student will also set up, carry out and analyze the lab degradation experiment under controlled temperature and light conditions. This experiment will also involve collecting samples at regular time intervals, preserving and processing samples for analysis. The student will assist with collection of lake sediment cores, and process core material into slices for analysis of sediment Si pools. Laboratory analysis methods will include filtering water, drying, grinding, homogenizing leaf, suspended material and sediment samples, and running well-defined chemical assays for dissolved and biogenic Si quantification using high temperature chemical digestion and calorimetric reactions.