PLANNING AND LEADERSHIP FOR A BETTER WORLD
PLANNING AND LEADERSHIP FOR A BETTER WORLD Our forests are a natural form of solar sump pumps—they suck up groundwater using the sun for energy in a process called evapotranspiration. The leaves of every plant are heated by the sun, causing its moisture to evaporate into the air and thus pulling up more water from the ground to replace it. Each tree's root system—which is of equal size to its branches—absorbs water using evapotranspiration and in the process transports any contaminants contained therein.
Phytoforensics is the process of testing trees to determine the pollution levels in the surrounding soil and groundwater. Missouri University of Science and Technology professor Joel Burken and his colleagues hope to popularize phytoforensics. The group has been demonstrating its ease of use at more than 30 sites in five countries. Previously, the group would need to take traditional core samples from trees and then ship the samples back to the analytic laboratories at Missouri S&T’s Environmental Research Center for Emerging Contaminants for analysis. Now, Burken instead uses a thin filament called a solid-phase microextraction fiber—about an inch long—that can non-intrusively detect traces of chemicals at minute levels, down to parts per quadrillion.
A device called a solid-phase microextraction fiber detects traces of chemicals
at minute levels in trees. (Source: Missouri S&T)
"We’re taking a new approach that improves the process," said Burken. "Sampling is easy, fast and inexpensive for quickly identifying polluted areas."
To prove that phytoforensics could out-perform traditional environmental-monitoring techniques, Burken's lab did a field trip to Sedalia, Mo., where traditional sample well drilling for trichloroethylene near a railroad had taken 12 years to map just 40 sites. Burken's field trip, on the other hand, was able to take 114 tree samples in a single day. Missouri S&T now claims that its map based on one day's worth of sampled data is more accurate than the 12-years in-the-making map.
The solid-phase microextraction fiber is inserted into a bored hole to extract a pencil-led-diameter sample, which can be taken back to the lab or examined in the field by a gas chromatography-mass spectrometer, which can almost instantly classify the trace pollutants. Researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey in Rolla, Mo., have verified the phytoforensic technique at three other sites in Missouri.
Burken's group is also pioneering a new field they call "phytoremediation," whereby contaminated water has its toxins drawn up from the ground using planted fields of trees. Most of the contaminants will be stored in the wood, but some will evaporate from leaves into the air, where Burken claims it will quickly dissipate. A pilot site in Rolla is currently planned to prove the theory by planting a field of trees to stop potential seepage of pollution into nearby lake.
Foth Infrastructure and Environment (Green Bay, Wisc.) is commercializing the sampling method in collaboration with Missouri S&T.
Good morning from Los Angeles! #ibmcloudThat's it from me! Over to North America.The data processing of Roland Garros 2012 (#RG12) rests on IBM Private Cloud http://t.co/JUaY1ItM [French Press release]IBM Accelerates Business from Supply to Demand with New #Cloud Offerings For Smarter Commerce http://t.co/OFxknOb0 [Press Release]How IBM #SmartCloud Foundation technology powers cloud adoption?
IBM VP @SLHebner explains here http://t.co/sSzfa0O5 [VIDEO]IBM's Fiona Cullen will present ‘The Power of #Cloud: Driving Business Model’ On May 24 @ Utrecht, Netherlands #cloudforum2012 #ibmcloudBlog Post: Why service providers should not ignore cloud http://t.co/ZfQyue4r via @eMarcusNet #thoughtsoncloudHave any #cloudmoment? Share your story with us via Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and tag it. See other stories http://t.co/J4ntsaQ5Sign up now for IBM #SmartCloud Enterprise! No charge for select VMs (only till May 28). More Details >> http://t.co/2LEzOUZC #ibmcloudRT @HansMoen: See this video from @IBMCloud to learn how to cut costs in building innovation in your business http://t.co/XOyJoFn6 #clou ...
Like us on Facebook 
Follow us on Twitter 
Get the Smarter Tech Newsletter 
Register to view the archived "Data Center Optimization Techniques: Stop Wasting Time & Money" eSeminar
Register Now > 
