Hey everyone! It’s been a while since my last blog. In the
past few months I have completed my second finals week, watched the seniors
walk across the Dimple on graduation day, and spent a few precious weeks back
home in Colorado enjoying family, friends, and the wonderful mountains. Now I find myself back in Massachusetts and back on campus (a much
emptier version) to do some summer research. In the next five weeks I will be
immersing myself in lab work in the beautiful Mars Science Center. Under the guidance
of one of my Chemistry professors I get to help with two government funded
research projects. The two projects, though very different, are both interesting and could be very influential. The first project involves looking
at hot springs and river samples from the Himalayas in order to better understand
the carbon cycle. It is currently thought that this area acts as a sink for
carbon dioxide, taking it out of the atmosphere, but it is possible that the
carbon dioxide being released through the hot springs is offsetting the amount
being taken in. The second project focuses on samples from a little farther
south in Antarctica. For this project we will be analyzing ice core segments
and comparing our findings to satellite data in order to figure out if our lab
method of determining when the sea ice is melting and freezing can be used to
go further back in time (father than the satellite data).
Lab work won’t be my only focus this summer, however. I will also be working in the gym trying to improve
my game for the upcoming season. Thankfully, being on campus provides not only
a place to lift and shoot, but it also brings me close enough to my teammates
to play some summer league games as well. Should be a busy summer!
Tomorrow we head out to Woods Hole on the Cape to help receive
the shipment of ice cores!
No comments:
Post a Comment