ESI98 Project Plan

Topic:

The Impact of Ultraviolet Radiation on Plankton

Faculty Mentors:

Oscar Schofield and Alice Gao

Project Team

List of team members.

Description of Research Project:

Plankton represent the base of aquatic food-webs and are largely comprised of single-celled plants (phytoplankton). Phytoplankton are important in regulating ocean chemistry, optics, and biology. Global thinning of the stratospheric ozone layer results in an increase in the amount of ultraviolet light reaching the earth's surface. This ultraviolet light is highly energetic and can disrupt DNA and proteins, which are critical for life. The increased ultraviolet light has been shown to impact the phytoplankton and thus can potentially impact the overall productivity of the world's oceans.

The goal of this scientific project is to assess the impact of ultraviolet light on phytoplankton. We will train the scientific team in a few fundamental measurements and assist in setting up an experiment to measure the impact of ultraviolet light on phytoplankton growth.

Scientific Objective:

Determine if (and how much) ultraviolet light suppresses the growth of phytoplankton

Educational Objective:

Science often involves setting simple experiments to quantify the impact of a "variable" (like light, nutrients, pollution, etc.) on a biological system. These experiments are a fundamental tool for scientists, and can be used by anyone interested in answering a question using the scientific method. The goal of this exercise is to design an experiment and collect data on an important environmental question. The goal is to teach the participants some fundamental methods used by aquatic biologists, which are simple and might be utilized back in the classroom. A secondary goal is to provide a background of the plankton and their importance to global biogeochemistry.

Outcomes:

Participants will be taught a suite of simple measurements, which can be used to characterize the impact of ultraviolet light on the plankton. The experimental design will be such that it can be easily modified to assess the impact of other environmental stresses on aquatic microbial communities. The experimental exercise will also introduce the participants to the world of the plankton.

Resources Needed:

We will utilize state of the art instrumentation (for the fun of it!), but will also design some simple systems from common art supplies, which can be used to study the plankton and general water quality.

Preparation before the Institute:

Review material at the following web-sites describing the plankton (SeaWiFS Project, Marine Phytoplankton) and the global declines in stratospheric ozone (EPA's Ozone Depletion Resource Center, Ozone Introduction, from Earth First!)

Woodrow Wilson Leadership Program in Environmental Science lpt@www.woodrow.org
The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation webmaster@woodrow.org
CN 5281, Princeton NJ 08543-5281 Tel:(609)452-7007 Fax:(609)452-0066