EMPOWER faculty and graduate students are active researchers who collaborate with experts at Syracuse University and beyond. They work in a range of geographic settings and address a wide variety of research questions. Here are some highlights of recent work:

EMPOWER Program Director Laura Lautz and EMPOWER trainee Robin Glas co-authored a study on groundwater–surface water interactions in a proglacial valley in Peru. The work was published in the journal Hydrological Sciences. READ MORE

Charles Driscoll collaborated with researchers from Syracuse University, Drexel University, Boston University and Harvard University, convened by the Science Policy Exchange, to estimate the potential co-benefits to the productivity of crops and trees with U.S. coal power plant carbon standards. READ MORE

Syracuse University Magazine’s Fall/Winter 2016 issue had an article featuring Tara Kahan’s recent National Science Foundation/Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award. READ MORE

Laura Lautz and Chris Scholz, along with EMPOWER’s affiliated faculty members Christa Kelleher and Laura Condon, collaborated with others in the College of Arts and Sciences and the Maxwell School to secure funding to develop operational expertise in environmental monitoring and geoscience surveying by applying UAS technologies to current research projects. READ MORE

Chris Scholz and Earth Sciences graduate student Tannis McCartney publish their research findings about the evolution of the East African Rift in the Journal of Structural Geology. READ MORE

Charles Driscoll is part of a team of researchers at Hubbard Brook that have created an experimental ice storm to study the effects of ice storms on forests. READ MORE

Over 50 people gathered on Wednesday evening to celebrate the Grand Opening of the EMPOWER Collaborative Suite. Joined by the EMPOWER trainees and Leadership Team, EMPOWER Program Director and NRT PI Laura Lautz shared the goals and accomplishments of the program with university administrators, Earth Sciences faculty and staff, and the EMPOWER affiliated faculty.

Thanks for Brian Brooks and Don Torrance for the video.

Peer mentoring has positive effects on productivity, collaboration, and academic success. In EMPOWER’s last get-together of the Fall semester, trainees gathered for breakfast at the Goldstein Alumni & Faculty Center to discuss mentoring. Dr. Tara Kahan, EMPOWER faculty member and Assistant Professor of Chemistry, spoke about her experiences with a peer mentoring group. Trainees additionally had the opportunity to discuss varied aspects of the peer mentoring relationship and consider different definitions of mentoring. By identifying their own goals in graduate school and beyond, trainees created their own “mentoring maps” and set goals for enhancing their professional network.

For more information about mentoring maps, please see The National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity at http://www.facultydiversity.org/.

In the wake of passing what many scientists deemed a global warming milestone, where levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere exceeded 400 ppm, Dr. Chris Junium from the Department of Earth Sciences at Syracuse University presented at EMPOWER’s weekly Water-Energy seminar on how we could use the geologic past to predict the future effects of our current climate crisis on the environment. As global temperatures rise, oxygen concentrations in the oceans are expected to decrease. In fact, it is predicted by 2100, most of the world’s oceans will be experiencing a significant decrease in oxygen levels. This phenomenon, known as ocean anoxia, is believed to be responsible for the mass extinction of many aquatic organisms such as fish, shellfish, coral and plants,that rely on dissolved oxygen in the ocean to survive.

Geological evidence suggests that oceanic anoxic events (OAE) have occurred millions of years ago. Junium, a sedimentary, organic, geochemist, uses this geological evidence collected from ground sediments around the world to better understand these past OAEs and their effect on the environment. In his presentation, titled “Oceanic Anoxic Events in the Geologic Past,” Junium discussed how he uses carbon and nitrogen isotopes found in sediments taken from areas that experienced OAE in the past to examine how various biogeochemical cycles, such as carbon, nitrogen and phosphorous cycling, were affected by these events. Nitrogen and phosphorous are essential nutrients for aquatic life and it is clear that the way they were cycled was drastically different during OAEs than most of Earth’s history. Therefore, Junium’s research provides insight into how marine food webs and marine ecology respond to OAEs. Since we are on a trajectory for more widespread OAEs, better understanding of how ecosystems were affected by these events in the past will help predict how ecosystems will be affected in the future. For more information about Junium’s research, visit http://paleoclimate.syr.edu/

Story written by Laura DeMott, Caitlin Eger, Kristina Gutchess, Changcheng Pu, and Alexa Stathis

Roofs that are fully or partially covered with vegetation have numerous benefits in an urban environment. These “green roofs” provide added insulation to buildings, create an aesthetically pleasing habitat and urban landscape, decrease urban heat island effect, and reduce stormwater runoff. However, the role that green roofs play in acting as a sink for contaminants is less well understood.

EMPOWER trainee Alex Johnson, who is a graduate student in the Civil & Environmental Engineering Department, is comparing contaminant amounts in runoff from green versus gravel roofs in Syracuse, NY, to assess the degree to which green roofs act as contaminant sinks. Alex also conducts field experiments to estimate the washoff of dry deposited aerosols from building roof surfaces during rainstorms. He recently presented some of his findings at the American Association for Aerosol Research (AAAR) 35th Annual Conference in Portland, Oregon. His presentation, entitled “Deposition and Washoff of Atmospheric Trace Metals and Anions from Two Large Building Roofs,” was coauthored with his advisor, Cliff Davidson.

A good understanding of groundwater quantity and quality requires knowledge of how rock becomes soil through weathering processes. When bedrock weathers, pore spaces are created through which water can travel and be stored in aquifers. The National Science Foundation has set up ten “Critical Zone Observatories” (CZOs) across the country where scientists from many different disciplines can come together and conduct research on near- surface processes and structure.  The critical zone can be thought of as the “skin of the earth”, extending from the tops of the trees down to the bedrock- soil interface. The more connected the pore spaces in the subsurface, the more potential that particular area has for storing groundwater.

Recently, EMPOWER hosted visiting scholar, Dr. Steven Holbrook of the University of Wyoming. Dr. Holbrook is a scientist who studies critical zone architecture through the use of geophysics.  His methods include seismic refraction, in which sound waves are generated by a sledgehammer or small explosive charge at the surface, and the sound waves travel downward into the critical zone, then refract back up to the surface where they are detected with small sensors.  Sound waves travel faster through more compacted, less porous soils, and slower through less compacted media.  With this method, Dr. Holbrook is able to model how porosity changes with depth in the critical zone, and identify where bedrock is being weathered underground, converting to more porous soils.  With an understanding of porosity, we can make estimates of how much water the ground can possibly hold, and how that quantity can change over time with weathering rates.

In 2012, Dr. Holbrook and colleagues founded the Wyoming Center for Environmental Hydrology and Geophysics (WyCEHG) from a $20 million EPSCOR grant from the National Science Foundation. The goals of the center are (1) to improve understanding of mountain front hydrology, (2) to improve understanding of effects on hydrologic systems by climate change, (3) improving integrated modeling of hydrologic processes, and (4) to provide geophysical research tools for educators and water managers in the state of Wyoming.  WyCEHG provides education and training in geophysics, and conducts scientific research in critical zones throughout the country.  Learn more at http://steveholbrook.com/wycehg/.

Story submitted by Sara Alesi, Megan Daley, Robin Glas, and Yige Yang

With historically low oil prices as a backdrop, Professor Matthew Huber from the Maxwell School of Public Policy joined the EMPOWER program’s weekly Water-Energy seminar to address potential concerns with America’s “oil addiction.” Climate change is being felt near and far, just look at the recent damage felt by people along the Western-Atlantic due to Hurricane Matthew. However, public and political response has been largely absent. Huber, the author of Lifeblood: Oil, Freedom, and the Forces of Capital, discussed potential problems with market-based solutions to climate change as well as the social narrative that accompanies them. Political discourse has led most efforts to internalize the costs of pollution, such as implementation of a cap-and-trade policy, to be recast as a “tax” on the public at-large. In the wake of political opposition to these taxes, Huber argued that a public solution based on a moral imperative would provide the most effective means of dealing with climate change.

After finishing his presentation, Huber engaged with the EMPOWER trainees in a round table discussion, fielding questions on a variety of topics related to climate change policy. Students pressed to understand the implications of some of the more radical measures proposed by the speaker, such as the New Deal-type public solution, and even posed questions prodding at Professor Huber’s viewpoints. Emily Baker, an Earth Sciences PhD student, was curious if Washington policymakers were looking at any alternative solutions to Cap-and-Trade. Huber’s answer: largely not. While not wholly satisfying in a country where political discourse is reduced to gossip on the latest scandal, the discussion left trainees with a better understanding of the complexity surrounding climate policy and free market economics. Professor Huber provided insight into the policy side of issues that many of the trainees view only through a scientific lens. He was a joy to have and his proximity at Maxwell School makes him an invaluable resource as the EMPOWER program delves further into the Water-Energy nexus.

Story written by Kyle Blaha, Nathan Chien, Emily Gaub, Geoffrey Millard, and JR Slosson

NRT trainee Alexa Stathis recently published a paper titled “Photolysis Kinetics of Toluene, Ethylbenzene and Xylenes at Ice Surfaces” where she proposed a new reaction pathway in the environment for the pollutants toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes. These toxic, organic pollutants are emitted through fossil fuel combustion and extraction practices and are a significant concern in the events of oil or fracking fluid spills. Through her research, Alexa discovered that these pollutants are able to break down in sunlight when on ice surfaces, such as in snow; a reaction that has previously been unconsidered. Thus, her research provides greater insight into the fate of these pollutants in the environment, specifically in colder climates.

Photolysis Kinetics of Toluene, Ethylbenzene, and Xylenes at Ice Surfaces
Alexa A. Stathis, Albanie K. Hendrickson-Stives, and Tara F. Kahan
The Journal of Physical Chemistry A 2016 120 (34), 6693-6697
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.6b05595

Everyone loves low gas prices. In the words of former president George W. Bush, “Gasoline prices are like an attack on our working people”… unless you are in the energy industry. The current low gas prices are a result of one of the biggest economic downturns in the oil industry ever, even bigger than the oil glut of the 1980’s. On Friday, September 30th, Dr. Fred Schroeder spoke to the Department of Earth Sciences and the EMPOWER program about job prospects and careers in the oil industry based on his more than 32 years of industry experience. Dr. Schroeder acknowledged the current downturn and subsequent downsizing of oil and gas companies to cope with loss in revenue from low oil prices and how that might discourage one from pursuing a career in geosciences, but there is hope.

The job outlook is not as bleak as it may appear due to the need for new technology, industry demographics, and energy demands. While energy companies have been downsizing, particularly in their exploration departments, known reserves of hydrocarbon fuel are projected to run out, requiring the creation of new methods to profitably extract these known sources. Almost half of the workforce in the energy industry is of retirement age and will soon need to be replaced, creating many job openings despite the current cutbacks. Gas prices will rise again, perhaps soon, as OPEC is currently discussing capping production for member countries. When gas prices rise above $60 a barrel, as suggested by Dr. Schroeder, companies will start hiring again to replace their lost workforce. A final concern Dr. Schroeder addressed was the prospect for a lengthy career in oil and gas. He cited a study that predicted that hydrocarbon fuel will remain a large part of the world energy supply for the greater part of the next 50 years. This would allow for any geoscientist graduating within the next 5 years to potentially have a 35-40 year career in the industry. As Dr. Schroeder sees it, the present job market for oil is rough but the future is brighter than a propane flame.

Story submitted by Emily Baker, Sam Caldwell, Alex Johnson, Amanda Schulz, and David Zheng

Concentrations of chloride in surface water have increased substantially since the 1950’s, coinciding with increased application of road salts. NRT trainee Kristy Gutchess has been studying central New York rivers with different land uses to characterize the possible sources of salinity in the rivers. She presented some of her findings in a poster at the recent Syracuse Center of Excellence (COE) Annual Symposium.

The COE hosted its 16^th Annual Symposium in late September. The focus of this year’s symposium was “Transforming Design and Energy for a Sustainable and Resilient Future.” In addition to presentations by experts from industry, government, and academia, the symposium featured a student poster competition.

Kristy’s poster had steep competition! A total of 33 students from several academic institutions presented posters in the competition. Judges met with each student for 5-10 minutes to discuss their projects. Posters were further evaluated on content, layout and design.

Kristy earned third place in PhD category. Her poster, entitled Increased salinity in central New York headwater catchments associated with long-term road salt application was co-authored with fellow graduate student Shannon Garvin, SUNY Cortland faculty member Li Jin, EMPOWER Program Director Laura Lautz, former graduate student Xiaoli Zhou, and Kristy’s dissertation advisor Zunli Lu.

For the full story, please see the Syracuse Center of Excellence website (syracusecoe.syr.edu)