Environmental Internship Program - 2019 Booklet
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Louison Sall ’21<br />
EAST ASIAN STUDIES<br />
Certificate: Humanistic Studies<br />
CLIMATE CHANGE AND<br />
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Tracking Microbial<br />
Metabolism with Isotopes<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Zhang Lab, Department<br />
of Geosciences,<br />
Princeton University<br />
LOCATION(S)<br />
Princeton, New Jersey<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Xinning Zhang, Assistant<br />
Professor of Geosciences<br />
and the Princeton<br />
<strong>Environmental</strong> Institute;<br />
Ashley Maloney,<br />
Postdoctoral Research<br />
Associate, Geosciences<br />
The goal of the experiment I worked on was to<br />
find a relationship between metabolism and<br />
isotopes. Geochemists are very interested in how<br />
carbon affects the environment. Because carbon<br />
is present in water, air, rocks, methane, coral<br />
and biomass, a lot of work has gone into how<br />
the environment impacts carbon isotopes. The<br />
biomass c3 and c4 plants are very well studied,<br />
but there isn’t much research into heterotrophs,<br />
the organisms on the forest floor that break down<br />
detritus. If you change the environment, often<br />
the bioprocesses in the organisms will change<br />
and be reflected in isotopes. If you keep the<br />
environment exactly the same, but only change<br />
the food, the isotopes also will change. From<br />
this experiment I learned how to use a range of<br />
instruments, including the elemental analysis<br />
isotope ratio mass spectrometer, a centrifuge,<br />
and the MARS 6 microwave digestion system. I<br />
also learned that research takes diligence and<br />
commitment, both of which I will take with me<br />
into the rest of my studies.<br />
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