Environmental Science

Engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) are widely used across commercial sectors, yet their effects on environmental systems have not been examined thoroughly, especially at environmentally relevant concentrations. They are known to be harmful at lethal doses, but their effects on natural environmental systems at sublethal doses, the examples primarily seen in real life, have only recently been studied. Previous studies have shown ... Read More

Technological advancements in batteries and electric cars have increased global demand for critical metals like cobalt and nickel. These metals are essential to these emerging technologies’ functions; however, the majority of these technologies are disposed of with minimal effort to reuse or recycle their components. These metals are also subject to unstable supply chains and problematic mining processes, and so ... Read More

Prairie restoration is an important strategy to recover biodiversity and ecosystem services, especially in the North American Midwest where many prairie sites have been destroyed or degraded due primarily to intensive agriculture. Restored prairies have microbial diversity and soil organic carbon (SOC) that serves as a carbon storage, absorbing the carbon in the atmosphere and decreasing CO2 levels. Analyzing the ... Read More

Aggregates are an important indicator of soil fertility, playing a crucial role in stabilizing soil structure and sequestering soil organic carbon (SOC). Research indicates that factors such as crop rotation and cultivation years can impact aggregate stability and SOC sequestration. However, there has been a lack of information on how these factors could influence the stability and SOC concentration of ... Read More

An estimated 229.76 tons of sunscreens are used annually. While the active ingredients in sunscreens are effective in blocking harmful UV irradiation, they have recently been found to be harmful to coral reefs. Sunscreen active ingredients are released into bodies of water via direct human contact, runoff from beach sand, and effluent from wastewater treatment facilities. These chemicals have been ... Read More

The purpose of this research was twofold: 1) t investigate if plants that used varied photosynthetic pathways (C3 or CAM) decrease permafrost thaw amount and subsequent CO₂ accumulation and 2) ascertain if plant abundance has any additive impact Plants were selected from CAM and C3 groups due to their variations in methods of CO₂ fixation. This experiment addressed a gap ... Read More