New EAES Research Grants

Dr. Tanya Blacic was awarded $31,435 by the National Science Foundation’s Catalyzing New International Collaborations program for, “New US-South Korean Collaboration: 2-D Ocean Temperature from Seismic Oceanography Data.” The grant launched a new collaboration between Dr. Blacic and Dr. Changsoo Shin at Seoul National University to adapt seismic waveform inversion methods developed by Dr. Shin for solid earth exploration to ocean exploration. Hayley Rosado, a Master of Geoscience student, describes the project and her visit to Seoul National University in the Fall 2014 CSAM Newsletter.

Dr. Stefanie Brachfeld was awarded $157,056 from the National Science Foundation for a project titled Deglacial Ice dynamics in the Weddell Sea Embayment using sediment provenance.” This collaborative project includes researchers at Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory, Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis, the Alfred Wegener Research Institute, Germany, Imperial College, England, and the British Antarctic Survey. The team members use mineralogic and geochemical “tracers” in marine sediment to explore when, where, and how Antarctic ice destabilized in the past in order to predict how ice sheets will behave as climate continues to warm. The grant will support several undergraduate and graduate student researchers in Earth and Environmental Studies.

Dr. Mark Chopping was awarded $39,086 by the National Aeronautic & Space Administration for “A high-resolution circumpolar delineation of the forest-tundra ecotone with implications for carbon balance.” The study will map and characterize the current Arctic forest-tundra transition zone and reveal its changes during the last several decades with multi-sensor satellite data and field observations. The work will be performed in collaboration with researchers at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

Dr. Yang Deng and collaborators at DC Water and Brown and Caldwell Consulting have been awarded a two year, $175,652 grant from Environmental Research and Education Foundation. This is the first grant that Montclair State University has received from this research foundation.  The project “Approaches to Mitigation of Landfill Leachate-Induced UV Transmittance Impacts,” will explore the origins and nature of UV absorbance by dissolved organic matter in landfill leachate.  Landfill leachate absorbs UV radiation, which reduces the effectiveness of UV treatments in waste treatment plants. This presents a challenge to solid waste industry. Dr. Yang’s group will investigate technologies to reduce these UV impacts.

Dr. Pankaj Lal was awarded $25,000 by the NJ Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) as part of NJIT led study titled Assessment of economic, ecological, and social capital in congruence with design studies for reducing storm surge and flooding risks to New Jersey coastal communities. Dr. Lal is leading the ecosystem valuation and environmental constraint component of the project and is evaluating ecosystem effects of university design alternatives in three areas being considered for flood mitigation: Barnegat Bay; Hudson River and its tributaries and the Delaware Bay.

Dr. Sandra Passchier‘s Consortium For Ocean Leadership project titled “Understanding ice dynamics, meltwater discharge, and paleocirculation in the Baltic Sea Paleoenvironment through laser particle size and XRF analysis” is featured on the Office of Research and Sponsored Program’s website.