VALLEY CITY, N.D. (VCSU) – Valley City State University assistant professor Michelle Abshire has been awarded a grant for nearly $15,000 to purchase equipment and lead a group of students in researching organic carbon in wetland and lake sediments
Abshire received an Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) equipment grant for $14,988 awarded by the National Science Foundation – ND EPSCoR. The money will fund the purchase of new equipment for a project titled: “Organic Carbon in Wetland and Lake Sediments: Informing Agricultural Practices and Mitigating Climate Change.”
Abshire is an assistant professor in the VCSU Department of Science.
“With this research we’ll be able to qualitatively identify ways in which carbon storage in wetland and lake sediment may have changed with increasing agricultural development,” said Abshire. “Knowing how the carbon cycle has been impacted through time will provide a better understanding of the relationship between agricultural development in North Dakota and carbon cycling as well as highlight the importance of preserving our state’s natural water bodies as they serve a valuable carbon storage system.”
Abshire and a group of student researchers will collect lake and wetland sediment cores, measuring and sealing them onsite before evaluating the cores at the VCSU campus geology lab. Half of the core will be sampled for total carbon measurements with new instrumentation from this grant, and the other half will be preserved for future use in further research or classroom activities.
The grant money will purchase a sediment coring device, a benchtop muffle furnace, two analytical balances, and other lab supplies. Along with serving this research, the equipment will also be used in VCSU classrooms for multiple courses in the environmental science, fisheries and wildlife, and biology majors.
“My lab is currently recruiting students to help with this research,” said Abshire. “I’m especially looking for students who are interested in writing a short UROP and/or SOAR proposal that will provide them with a generous stipend.”
VCSU students interested in joining Abshire’s team can contact her at michelle.abshire@vcsu.edu.