{"id":29162,"date":"2019-03-05T09:13:31","date_gmt":"2019-03-05T14:13:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/?p=29162"},"modified":"2019-03-05T09:14:50","modified_gmt":"2019-03-05T14:14:50","slug":"taking-measure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/2019\/03\/05\/taking-measure\/","title":{"rendered":"Taking Measure"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"MasseMarlowe\"
RWU’s Lyndsay Marlowe and Colby Masse<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Roger Williams University senior <\/span>Colby Masse<\/span><\/b> describe<\/span>d<\/span> Narragansett Bay as a \u2018sink\u2019 for chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). <\/span>He and<\/span> SURF <\/span>colleague <\/span>Lyndsay Marlowe<\/span><\/b> worked this past summer under <\/span>Dr. Stephen O\u2019Shea<\/span><\/b> to discover the process by which these chemicals are deposited into the bay\u2019s sediment, and also transformed into other chemical compounds that could prove harmful to the environment.<\/span> <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCFCs were used in aerosols and refrigerants and were non-carcinogenic, but scientists started to notice there was a big gaping hole in the ozone, and they were contributing,\u201d explain<\/span>ed<\/span> Masse, a biochemistry major from Williamstown, Mass. \u201cCountries regulate them now, but they can still affect the ozone years after being released. That is why we see them in the ocean sediment.\u201d<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

The ozone protects the Earth from harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun, and its depletion causes both atmospheric and ocean temperatures to rise, ultimately impacting ecosystems throughout the globe, including Mount Hope Bay<\/span>,<\/span> where the students <\/span>gathered<\/span> samples.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Masse and Marlowe tested potential techniques to better understand how CFCs are transformed in sediment and ocean water, and whether their chemical makeup <\/span>changes <\/span>for better or worse in the process.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Beyond the research itself, t<\/span>he SURF students learned to use complex equipment and discover<\/span>ed <\/span>that scientific inquiry is much a process of trial-and-error.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGetting all of the tests to work properly is a challenge,\u201d admit<\/span>ted<\/span> Marlowe, a junior at Roger Williams studying chemistry who hails from Tewksbury, Mass. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of preparation and, when something is not working, a lot of troubleshooting.\u201d<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are looking at CFCs and organisms in anaerobic environments, so it is a struggle to keep our samples unexposed <\/span>t<\/span>o<\/span> o<\/span>xygen,\u201d add<\/span>ed<\/span> Masse. \u201cWe try to keep samples in an inert gas like argon, but it is tough when you are doing live tests. They take multiple hours.\u201d<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

For O\u2019Shea, the experience is one uniquely available to students in a small laboratory like that housed at RWU.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

 \u201cThey are not giving samples to a technician, but doing hands-on experimentation themselves,\u201d the chemistry professor emphasized. \u201cThe lab and instruments are robust enough for research, the data collected from which is publishable. Students can set up experiments and follow them all the way through uninterrupted by classes coming in and out.\u201d<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Many SURF projects are single steps in a larger research program, and O\u2019Shea\u2019s work on CFCs is no different. Marlowe and Masse <\/span>felt a greater sense of accomplishment knowing<\/span> the research they conduct will be crucial for future SURF students.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

 \u201c<\/span>Because<\/span> I am contributing to something a lot bigger definitely makes me excited to see what results come of it long-term,\u201d sa<\/span>id<\/span> Marlowe, who continued her work with O\u2019Shea into the school year.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of the time when you go to research presentations, you sit through talks and at the end, you ask, \u2018<\/span>O<\/span>k, who cares?\u2019\u201d noted Masse, who is currently applying to become a physician\u2019s assistant. \u201cThey don\u2019t know how it contributes to larger science. Here, we do. Figuring out all these different applications for our work, that is why it is rewarding.\u201d<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

RWU\u2019s Lyndsay Marlowe, Colby Masse research impact of CFCs in Mount Hope Bay <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1994,"featured_media":22761,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[888],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29162","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-current-winter-19"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29162","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1994"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29162"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29162\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29168,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29162\/revisions\/29168"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22761"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29162"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29162"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29162"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}