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Earth and Environmental Science Seniors Conduct Research in Hawaii

Olivia DrakeMarch 23, 20204min
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Sixteen earth and environmental science majors from the Class of 2020 recently conducted field research in Hawaii as part of their Senior Field Research course.

The class, E&ES 498, is taught by Tim Ku, chair and associate professor of earth and environmental sciences, and Suzanne O’Connell, professor of earth and environmental sciences. The course is open to students who completed E&ES 497: Senior Seminar, and focuses on improving scientific research skills.

Past classes have conducted research in Death Valley, Calif., the main island of Puerto Rico, the Connecticut River Valley, and the Big Island of Hawaii. The field research took place on the Big Island of Hawaii on Jan. 5-12 and the course concluded with student group presentations on March 3 and 5 and written reports.

The trip was funded by the Lawrence H. Davis ’76 Fund.

The students and their project titles are below:

Emmy Hughes, Avery Kaplan, Haley Brumberger, and Shuo Wang worked on a project titled "Assessing Microplastic Accumulation and Distribution on Four Beaches in Hawaii.
Shuo Wang, Haley Brumberger, Emmy Hughes,and Avery Kaplan worked on a project titled “Assessing Microplastic Accumulation and Distribution on Four Beaches in Hawaii.”
Emily Litz, Jackie Duckett, Miles Brooks, Katie Toner, and Allegra Grant worked together on a project titled "Coffee Soils: Carbon Source or Sink?"
Emily Litz, Jackie Duckett, Katie Toner, Miles Brooks, and Allegra Grant worked together on a project titled “Coffee Soils: Carbon Source or Sink?”

Thermal Imagining of NELHA Facility for Efficiency Improvements
Ryan Keeth and Tristan Stetson completed a study titled “Thermal Imaging of the National Laboratory of Hawaii Authority (NELHA) Facility for Efficiency Improvements.”
sulfur
Annie Afranie, Sabrina Koetter, and Hannah Sonnenberg worked on a study titled “Sulfur Cycling on the Big Island: Tracing d34S in Lichens, Plants, and Soils.”
lava
Andrew Munro and Delaney Wood studied the “Lava Viscosity of the 2018 Lower Puna Eruption.”
shapeshifters
Yu Kai Tan and Andy Tan completed a project titled “Shapeshifters: On Nerites as a New Model for Gastropod Phenotypic Plasticity.” Pictured is Professor Suzanne O’Connell.

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