Yupu Zhao '10, Earth and Environment
Dissolved Nitrogen Concentrations in Legacy Sediments and Its Effect on Stream Water Quality
Some research projects are mainly academic. Others can have a big impact not just on your education, but also on the world around you. Yupu Zhao '10 was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to make a big difference with his summer Bonchek project by working with Associate Professor of Earth and Environment Robert Walter on the Floodplain Wetland Restoration project.
The project's goal is to monitor the Big Spring Run watershed to gather scientific information on the existing conditions of the stream, including water quality. This is important, because the stream-part of the Conestoga River watershed-leads into the Susquehanna River and then flows into the Chesapeake Bay, which has been designated an impaired water system. Thus, like all streams in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, the health of Big Spring Run affects the overall health of the bay.
Because Zhao's background in chemistry was strong, Walter suggested tailoring a portion of the project to match his strengths. Zhao worked in the lab to measure available nitrogen content in stream-bank sediment samples taken from the research site. "Yupu's work is important because we are just beginning to understand that stream-bank erosion, as opposed to upland soil erosion from farms and construction sites, is a major source of suspended sediment to streams," Walter said. "As a result, Yupu's work is literally breaking new ground, which will lead to new insights into the causes of water-quality impairments in the Chesapeake Bay watershed."
Zhao's analysis revealed high levels of available nitrogen in the Big Spring Run soil samples, which could potentially lead to problems if stream-bank sediments are as great a source of suspended sediments to streams as Walter and his colleague and wife, Professor Dorothy Merritts, believe. Excessive nutrients can cause algal blooms in the water, which breaks the biogeochemical balance in the Chesapeake Bay and damages the ecosystem.
An international student, Zhao grew up in Chengdu, China. As an environmental science major, Zhao studies important issues that greatly affect his native country. "China's dazzling economic growth generated immense challenges to its environment and people," Zhao said. "Water pollution and water scarcity are always concerns."
Along with his Bonchek research, Zhao also developed an environmental leadership program this summer in China for local university students. "It was an intensive, English-oriented environmental education program; we offered workshops, presentations, videos and games to train environmental leaders. This research helped me learn how to apply the knowledge I had gained in my coursework, and I was able to pass on some of what I learned here."
