Browsing by Subject "Department of Soil, Water and Climate"
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Item Michigan White Pine Smelter(2010-11-30) Lee, KongTrees has been known to absorb mercury (Hg) through its roots from the soil or injuries caused by insects. Trees also absorb atmospheric Hg through foliar stomata and its subsequent translocation. Michigan White Pine Smelter is known produce atmospheric Hg while it was in operation. White Pine trees are widely grown around that area. While this plantation operated, the annual amount of Hg released varied. In our research, we measured the amount of Hg in the trees surrounding the plantation and compared it to the trees around the trees in Cedar Creek Minnesota. Using the trees’ rings, the samples were cut into different years. We want to test if the amount of Hg per year in the tree samples match up with the amount of Hg that is produced by the plantation that same year.Item Observing Bacterial Diversity in Glacial Till using 16S rRNA Sequencing(2012-04-18) Burnes, AndrewRecent surveys of domestic wells in west central Minnesota have shown that the levels of arsenic in 50% of wells are higher than standards set by the EPA, creating a serious health risk for the surrounding populations. Investigations show that the arsenic contamination originates from naturally occurring arsenic in the surrounding glacial sediments that are part of the Des Moines Lobe; However, wells present in the Des Moines lobe are not universally contaminated with high levels of arsenic, suggesting that the process of contamination is controlled by other factors such as the presence of bacteria. This experiment aimed to observe if there are bacteria present in these soil samples that could play a role in arsenic contamination. To do this, DNA was extracted from core soil samples and the 16S rRNA gene was amplified using PCR. The PCR product was then cleaned and sent to a private lab to be sequenced using 454 pyrosequencing. Results are expected to indicate the presence of bacterial genera that have the ability to trigger arsenic contamination. These findings could further show the importance and scope of microbial populations on a geological level and could lead to avenues of bioremediation.