Achievement

A new successful collaboration between Chemistry and Marine Science was generated by IGERT research. Carl Tripp (Chemistry) and Mark Wells (School of Marine Science) co-advise an IGERT student Eric Roy. Based on Eric’s research they recently recieved a new NSF grant. The new project will build technology that enables the accurate measurement of the trace amounts of iron and copper in ocean water with a more simple process than previously used. Small pieces of speciallty coated silicone wafers were immersed in the waters of the open ocean and later analized. The research is importent because the metals are important for sustaining microscopic ocean plants that also sequester carbon dioxide, the predominant greenhouse gas. If the research is expanded the data can be used in large scale global climate change modeling