Amy Townsend-Small is the director of the Environmental Studies Program as well as an associate professor in the Department of Geology and Geography at the University of Cincinnati. [1]
Amy Townsend-Small | |
|---|---|
 Townsend-Small in 2005 | |
| Born | 1976[ citation needed ] Seattle, Washington, US |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Skidmore College, University of Texas at Austin |
| Awards | OEC's Science and Community Award |
| Website | University of Cincinnati Faculty Website |
Townsend-Small was born in Seattle, Washington. She grew up in Holliston, Massachusetts, and graduated from Holliston High School.[ citation needed ] While attending Skidmore College in 1997, Townsend-Small spent a semester at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts as part of the Semester in Environmental Science program.[ citation needed ] [2] During this semester she produced a research project investigating the use of nitrogen stable isotopes as tracers of wastewater inputs to groundwater, and has continued to work with isotopes and marine environments since.[ citation needed ]
In 1998, Townsend-Small graduated magna cum laude from Skidmore College, receiving a bachelor's degree in both English literature and environmental biology. [1] She received a PhD in marine science from the University of Texas at Austin in 2006, where she had done dissertation research investigating carbon cycling and its relationship with climate in the Amazon River headwaters of Peru. [3]
Townsend-Small's dissertation research focused on examining the particulate organic matter (POM) carried downstream by rivers from the Andes Mountains in Peru to the Amazon River, paying special attention to the elemental and isotopic compositions of carbon and nitrogen in the POM. [3] After receiving her PhD, Townsend-Small worked at the University of Texas at Austin as a postdoctoral researcher studying the connection between changing climate and the export of carbon, nitrogen, and dissolved nutrients in rivers of the Alaskan Arctic. [4] In 2007, Townsend-Small began working as a Postdoctoral Scholar and Project Scientist in the Department of Earth System Science at the University of California Irvine, where she conducted research regarding urban greenhouse gas and water budgets in Los Angeles, California. [5] Since 2010, Townsend-Small has been at the University of Cincinnati, where she is now an associate professor in the Department of Geology and Geography as well as the director of the Environmental Studies Program. [1] Her current research at UCI investigates anthropogenic sources of methane and climate change feedbacks to the global carbon cycle. [6]
In 2010, Townsend-Small led a research project known as UC GRO (Groundwater Research of Ohio), run by the University of Cincinnati. [7] The study involved testing samples of groundwater from eastern Ohio for dissolved methane concentrations in order to determine the relationship between contaminated groundwater and the process of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) for natural gas. [8] In praise of the project's innovative and unique groundwater analysis techniques, the Ohio Environmental Council (OEC) awarded Townsend-Small the Science and Community Award in 2014. [9]
Natural gas is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane (97%) in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbon dioxide, nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide, and helium are also usually present. Methane is colorless and odorless, and the second largest greenhouse gas contributor to global climate change after carbon dioxide. Because natural gas is odorless, odorizers such as mercaptan are commonly added to it for safety so that leaks can be readily detected.
A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetlands along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as mires. The unique water chemistry of fens is a result of the ground or surface water input. Typically, this input results in higher mineral concentrations and a more basic pH than found in bogs. As peat accumulates in a fen, groundwater input can be reduced or cut off, making the fen ombrotrophic rather than minerotrophic. In this way, fens can become more acidic and transition to bogs over time.
Isotope analysis is the identification of isotopic signature, abundance of certain stable isotopes of chemical elements within organic and inorganic compounds. Isotopic analysis can be used to understand the flow of energy through a food web, to reconstruct past environmental and climatic conditions, to investigate human and animal diets, for food authentification, and a variety of other physical, geological, palaeontological and chemical processes. Stable isotope ratios are measured using mass spectrometry, which separates the different isotopes of an element on the basis of their mass-to-charge ratio.
Anaerobic respiration is respiration using electron acceptors other than molecular oxygen (O2). Although oxygen is not the final electron acceptor, the process still uses a respiratory electron transport chain.
Shale gas is an unconventional natural gas that is found trapped within shale formations. Since the 1990s a combination of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing has made large volumes of shale gas more economical to produce, and some analysts expect that shale gas will greatly expand worldwide energy supply.
Well stimulation is a well intervention performed on an oil or gas well to increase production by improving the flow of hydrocarbons from the reservoir into the well bore. It may be done using a well stimulator structure or using off shore ships / drilling vessels, also known as "Well stimulation vessels".
Fugitive emissions are leaks and other irregular releases of gases or vapors from a pressurized containment – such as appliances, storage tanks, pipelines, wells, or other pieces of equipment – mostly from industrial activities. In addition to the economic cost of lost commodities, fugitive emissions contribute to local air pollution and may cause further environmental harm. Common industrial gases include refrigerants and natural gas, while less common examples are perfluorocarbons, sulfur hexafluoride, and nitrogen trifluoride.
Fracking is a well stimulation technique involving the fracturing of formations in bedrock by a pressurized liquid. The process involves the high-pressure injection of "fracking fluid" into a wellbore to create cracks in the deep-rock formations through which natural gas, petroleum, and brine will flow more freely. When the hydraulic pressure is removed from the well, small grains of hydraulic fracturing proppants hold the fractures open.
Fracking in the United Kingdom started in the late 1970s with fracturing of the conventional oil and gas fields near the North Sea. It was used in about 200 British onshore oil and gas wells from the early 1980s. The technique attracted attention after licences use were awarded for onshore shale gas exploration in 2008. The topic received considerable public debate on environmental grounds, with a 2019 high court ruling ultimately banning the process. The two remaining high-volume fracturing wells were supposed to be plugged and decommissioned in 2022.
Environmental impact of fracking in the United States has been an issue of public concern, and includes the contamination of ground and surface water, methane emissions, air pollution, migration of gases and fracking chemicals and radionuclides to the surface, the potential mishandling of solid waste, drill cuttings, increased seismicity and associated effects on human and ecosystem health. Research has determined that human health is affected. A number of instances with groundwater contamination have been documented due to well casing failures and illegal disposal practices, including confirmation of chemical, physical, and psychosocial hazards such as pregnancy and birth outcomes, migraine headaches, chronic rhinosinusitis, severe fatigue, asthma exacerbations, and psychological stress. While opponents of water safety regulation claim fracking has never caused any drinking water contamination, adherence to regulation and safety procedures is required to avoid further negative impacts.
The environmental impact of fracking is related to land use and water consumption, air emissions, including methane emissions, brine and fracturing fluid leakage, water contamination, noise pollution, and health. Water and air pollution are the biggest risks to human health from fracking. Research has determined that fracking negatively affects human health and drives climate change.
The Marcellus natural gas trend is a large geographic area of prolific shale gas extraction from the Marcellus Shale or Marcellus Formation, of Devonian age, in the eastern United States. The shale play encompasses 104,000 square miles and stretches across Pennsylvania and West Virginia, and into eastern Ohio and western New York. In 2012, it was the largest source of natural gas in the United States, and production was still growing rapidly in 2013. The natural gas is trapped in low-permeability shale, and requires the well completion method of hydraulic fracturing to allow the gas to flow to the well bore. The surge in drilling activity in the Marcellus Shale since 2008 has generated both economic benefits and considerable controversy.
Groundwater pollution occurs when pollutants are released to the ground and make their way into groundwater. This type of water pollution can also occur naturally due to the presence of a minor and unwanted constituent, contaminant, or impurity in the groundwater, in which case it is more likely referred to as contamination rather than pollution. Groundwater pollution can occur from on-site sanitation systems, landfill leachate, effluent from wastewater treatment plants, leaking sewers, petrol filling stations, hydraulic fracturing (fracking) or from over application of fertilizers in agriculture. Pollution can also occur from naturally occurring contaminants, such as arsenic or fluoride. Using polluted groundwater causes hazards to public health through poisoning or the spread of disease.
Increasing methane emissions are a major contributor to the rising concentration of greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere, and are responsible for up to one-third of near-term global heating. During 2019, about 60% of methane released globally was from human activities, while natural sources contributed about 40%. Reducing methane emissions by capturing and utilizing the gas can produce simultaneous environmental and economic benefits.
Caroline Masiello is a biogeochemist who develops tools to better understand the cycling and fate of globally relevant elemental cycles. She is a professor at Rice University in the Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences and holds joint appointments in the Chemistry and Biochemistry Departments. Masiello was elected as a Fellow of the Geological Society of America in 2017. She currently leads an interdisciplinary team of scientists who are developing microbial sensors for earth system science.
Adina Paytan is a research professor at the Institute of Marine Sciences at the University of California, Santa Cruz. known for research into biogeochemical cycling in the present and the past. She has over 270 scientific publications in journals such as Science, Nature, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and Geophysical Research Letters.
Jennifer McIntosh is hydrogeologist and professor of hydrology and atmospheric sciences, university distinguished scholar at the University of Arizona. In 2019 she was named a Geological Society of America Fellow.
Susan Elisabeth Subak is an environmental scientist and author. She has worked for environmental agencies around the world and is known for her work on America's carbon footprint and climate change.
Donald Ira Siegel is the emeritus Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professor in the department of Earth Science at Syracuse University. He served as the president of the Geological Society of America from July 2019 until June 2020. Siegel is known for his work in wetland geochemistry and hydrogeology.
Beth L. Parker is a hydrogeologist and professor at the University of Guelph who has made exceptional contributions to the science and practice of Contaminant Hydrogeology and the protection of groundwater from contamination, that have been adopted internationally to protect water supplies in Guelph and many other communities.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)