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Boron in Long Island
Fresh Water
Troy Rasbury
7:30 PM Friday
Sept 27, 2019
ESS 001
Boron isotopes have been used as a tracer of
the source of contaminants such as nitrate to surface and
groundwater in a variety of terrestrial settings. We conducted a
survey of Long Island waters including rainwater, spring fed creeks
and rivers, subterranean groundwater discharge, and ponds across
eastern Long Island to determine if boron could be a useful tracer
of contaminants. A major motivation was to identify the source of
nitrate to groundwater and to the Long Island Sound. Nitrates can
cause harmful algal blooms in ponds, lakes and in the Long Island
Sound. As background to this study we analyzed samples that are
potential sources of nitrates including septic samples as well as
some commercially available fertilizer and manure to consider
potential contaminants to the waters.
Septic waters have high boron concentrations
and light boron isotope compositions, likely derived from bleach.
Fertilizers also have high concentrations and have a range of
isotope ratios, but are mostly isotopically distinct and heavier
than septic samples. Manure has lower boron concentrations and is
isotopically heavier than commercial fertilizer. Seawater has high
boron concentrations and is isotopically very heavy.
This study shows that boron from seawater is a
significant source of boron without concomitant increases in
salinity. Volatilization of boric acid from seawater likely accounts
for ratios that are even heavier than seawater. Ponds in the Pine
Barrens have boron isotopes similar to seawater with the lowest
boron concentrations of any samples we measured, likely reflecting
the average composition of rainwater. There is a remarkable range in
boron isotopes across all the fresh groundwater samples we measured.
There is little trend with boron concentrations suggesting that
there are multiple sources with different isotope compositions.
Combining these results with analyses of
subterranean groundwater discharge (SGD) which has been conducted in
several locations on the Long Island Sound indicates that the source
of nitrate to the Long Island Sound through SGD has isotopically
light boron isotopes and is not one simple source, but rather must
represent a range of sources. This is consistent with the idea that
non-point source contributions of nitrate to the Long Island Sound
are significant.
Troy Rasbury is an Associate Professor in the
Department of Geosciences. She is an isotope geochemist and oversees
the Facility for Isotope Research and Student Training (FIRST) at
Stony Brook University. The work presented here represents a new
direction for her research and is collaborative with Henry
Bokuniewitz and J. Kirk Cochran of SoMAS. Students including
Caitlin Brown, Joe Tamborski, Deanna Downs, and Brooke Peritore have
been involved in this research and contributed to the data and
discussion.
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A Trek Across Western North America
Through Geological Time
William Holt
7:30 PM Friday
Oct. 25, 2019
ESS 001
Western North America today consists of high
topography with many roughly north-south trending mountain belts,
including the Rockies, the Basin and Range province, and the Sierra
Nevada range. The complex geology and topography owes much of its
existence to a long history of subduction and mountain building
along the western margin of North America, followed by the
development of the San Andreas Fault system in California. At the
conclusion of the period of wide-spread convergence about 35 million
years ago a major mountain range existed to the west of the Rockies
in what is now the Basin and Range province. Little is known about
the precise height or distribution of this mountain chain. This
topography experienced a dramatic collapse as subduction ceased
along the western margin of North America and the current San
Andreas fault system developed. This collapse of topography
continues today. In this talk I will provide a tour through geologic
time of the west and show new research results that demonstrate that
this ancient mountain range once rivaled the Andes Mountains of
South America. What remains enigmatic is how or why the lithosphere
weakened enough for the topography to collapse. Geophysical evidence
points to a hot upper mantle beneath these regions. Furthermore, the
introduction of water into the upper mantle and crust from the
ancient Farallon slab that subducted beneath North America likely
played a major role as a weakening mechanism that facilitated the
collapse of topography coupled with widespread volcanism.
William Holt is a Professor in the Department
of Geosciences, Stony Brook University. His interests include
seismology and active tectonics. Professor Holt uses observations
from seismology, space-geodesy, and geology to constrain the forces
operating in the lithosphere that are responsible for producing
earthquakes, plate tectonics, and mountain building. Professor Holt
is a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union, an NSF early CAREER
awardee, and was given an Alumni Achievement award from the
University of Arizona. Professor Holt was on the founding Board of
Directors for the UNAVCO, which is a non-profit university- governed
consortium that facilitates research and education in geodesy. Holt
later served on the UNVACO board again in the period of 2009 – 2013
and was chair during the period of 2010 – 2012.
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The stone age did not end because
of a lack of stones: Materials production as a reflection of
economic power
John Parise
7:30 PM Friday
Nov. 22, 2019
ESS 001
It’s right there in the constitution: “To promote
the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited
times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their
respective writings and discoveries.” Societies rise and fall based
on their intellectual capital, and their economic well-being depends
on their mastery of earth materials. The development and utility of
modern materials still depends on, sometimes rare, materials we
obtain from the Earth. This talk will present examples where basic
research into the benefaction of Earth materials led to
transformative economic gains, such as the electrochemical
extraction of aluminum metal. In the 1800s aluminum was more
valuable than gold. It is now $0.68 a pound. The cold
embrittlement of tin buttons during Napoleon’s Russia campaign
provides a counter-example; the unintended consequences of a
breakthrough in technology, and the worst wardrobe malfunction in
military history. To meet the challenges of a new age, where energy
production and electrical grid stabilization will be key challenges,
the Earth abundance of certain elements will determine the finite
number of materials we can use to meet these challenges.
John Parise is a
mineralogical crystallographer and Solid State Chemist with joint
appointments at Stony Brook University (SBU) and Brookhaven National
Laboratory (BNL) on Long Island New York. His research interests
intersect mineralogy, mineral properties the properties of novel
materials developed with inspiration from the naturally occurring,
though rare, minerals. His recent interests include exploratory
high-pressure materials synthesis, aided by theoretical and in-situ
x-ray and neutron scattering. In 2012 he was appointed Director of
the Joint Photon Sciences Institute, a SBU-BNL initiative to promote
education, training and research at BNL's National Synchrotron Light
Source-II. He directs the Department of Energy’s, Energy Frontier
Research Center, GENESIS, A Next GENeration SynthESIS Center, which
is headquartered at Stony Brook and involves 8 other institution
nation wide.
Professor Parise obtained
his PhD from James Cook University, for work carried out in neutron
scattering at the Australian Atomic Energy Commission. He had
previously spent 2 years in a masters program at Osaka University,
Japan. He has held appointments in Chemistry at Du Pont and at the
University of Sydney. He has published over 400 papers and holds 4
patents.
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