December 26, 2024

EagleEye

A Newsletter for UMW Faculty and Staff

Kisila and Students Publish Research

by

Ben Odhiambo Kisila, earth and environmental sciences, and his former UMW research students Elyse Clark ’13, Ph. D. candidate in the department of crop and environmental sciences at Virginia Tech and Matthew Ricker ’06, postdoctoral fellow in the school of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences at Auburn University, have their research paper, “Comparative analysis of metal concentrations and sediment accumulation rates in two Virginian reservoirs, USA: Lakes Moomaw and Pelham,” published in the February issue of the peer-reviewed journal Water, Air, and Soil Pollution.

The research results shows comparable levels of trace metals loadings in the more human stressed Lake Pehlam system and the more pristine Lake Moomaw probably because of the relative importance of atmospheric deposition in the mountainous forested watersheds. The steep slopes coupled with the highly erodible colluvial soils and the prevalence of shoreline erosion also exacerbates both sediment and trace metal fluxes in Lake Moomaw.

 

Ben Odhiambo Kisila and Leanna Giancarlo Publish Paper

by

Ben Odhiambo Kisila, associate professor of Earth and Environmental Science, and Leanna Giancarlo, associate professor of Chemistry, have had their collaborative study, “Sediment trace metals and PCB input history in Lake Anna, Virginia, USA,” published in the July issue of the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Earth Sciences.  This research, involving undergraduate students Gayle Armentrout, Virginia Brown and Chelsea Wegner, constitutes a four-year investigation to construct a historical record of Lake Anna, extending through Louisa, Orange, and Spotsylvania Counties in Northern Virginia, by analysis of sediment cores, from seven locations within the lake and three from nearby areas, for heavy metals and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).  Chemical specific analysis of these samples enables an examination of the environmental evolution of the reservoir system since sediments sequester metals derived from both natural and anthropogenic sources and isotopic sediment chronology provides the temporal dimension.

Leanna Giancarlo

Leanna Giancarlo

Kisila, Ben05

Ben Kisila

 

Melanie Szulczewki Presents at ACS National Meeting

by

Melanie Szulczewski, assistant professor of environmental science, presented “Examination of the Diverse Environmental Impacts of Long-Term Acid Mine Drainage on a Virginia Stream Ecosystem” in the environmental chemistry division at the 244th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society. The national meeting was held in Philadelphia, Penn., August 19 to 23.