/news-archive/tag/laura-ruhl/ 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Fri, 24 May 2019 12:56:12 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 /news-archive/2019/05/24/fiallos-fourche-creek/ Fri, 24 May 2019 12:56:12 +0000 /news/?p=74338 ... 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock student studies microplastics in Little Rock wetlands]]> Nearly 73 percent of all water in the Little Rock metropolitan area drains into a watershed located in the Fourche Creek wetlands. Harmful objects are often found within it, including small plastics that often go unnoticed but can have a major impact on the environment. Juliann Fiallos, a junior geology/biology double major from Ansonia, Connecticut, spent several months this spring examining the levels and impact of microplastics in the Fourche Creek wetlands. Microplastics are microscopic pieces of plastic that are released into the environment as plastic products slowly begin to break down. 鈥淧lastics are a modern product that take a significantly long time, longer than our own lifetimes, to break down,鈥� Fiallos said. 鈥淓ven though microplastics are so small, we鈥檝e had plastics for long enough now that it begins to build up. We want to know how much we鈥檙e dealing with now.鈥� During her research, Fiallos collected monthly samples of water and sediment from the wetlands to gain a better understanding of the overall water quality as well as the amount of microplastics present in both. As microplastics are increasingly used in everyday products, it鈥檚 expected that they will be found in increased levels in the wetlands. Because they break down so slowly, buildup occurs, which in turn can cause a myriad of issues for the environment as well as human health, Fiallos said. Dr. Laura Ruhl, associate professor in 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 Department of Earth Sciences, served as the faculty mentor for Fiallos, who gained invaluable field research experience. 鈥淚鈥檝e learned that you definitely want to question,鈥� Fiallos said. 鈥淭he first part of finding an answer is knowing that you鈥檙e asking the right questions. You might be wrong and that鈥檚 okay. Our question in this case is whether these microplastics are being filtered through the wetlands, or if they鈥檙e staying and building up in them.鈥� Aside from analyzing the level of plastics in the wetlands, Fiallos also studied other environmental forces. In particular, she looked at how storm systems affect water flow and trash build-up. Fiallos presented her research at the Undergraduate Research and Creative Works Expo on April 18, where she placed first in the physical science category. She offers the following advice for students who also want to become involved in the research process. 鈥淒on鈥檛 ever doubt yourself,鈥� she said. 鈥淢y parents never even graduated high school, and college seemed impossible to me for a long time. You know so much more than you think you know.鈥�]]> /news-archive/2018/03/12/gsa-conference/ Mon, 12 Mar 2018 14:06:26 +0000 /news/?p=69755 ... Earth Sciences department to host Geological Society regional conference]]> Department of Earth Sciences will host the 52nd annual South-Central Geological Society of America meeting on March 12-13 at the Little Rock Marriott. About 300 attendees from Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Kansas, and three states in Mexico are registered to attend. Ten 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock professors and students will be presenting research, much of it based on their work in the Natural State. For example, Kayla Bolin and Dr. Laura Ruhl will discuss 鈥淕eochemical and Bacterial changes along the Buffalo National River.鈥� Ruhl along with Matthew Carey, Forrest Payne and Erik Pollock also will present research on 鈥淕eochemical and Planktonic Dynamics in the Lake Maumelle Reservoir Drinking Water Source. More information about the conference is available ]]> /news-archive/2017/12/19/earth-sciences-american-geophysical-union/ Tue, 19 Dec 2017 14:28:50 +0000 /news/?p=68885 ... Earth Sciences students present research at American Geophysical Union Conference]]> Six University of Arkansas at Little Rock students and two faculty members had the opportunity to attend one of the largest earth and space science conferences in the world.聽 The group attended the conference Dec. 11-15 in New Orleans, where more than 20,000 oral and poster presentations occurred during the five-day event. 鈥淭he students had the opportunity to present their own original research, observe the presentations from experts in their fields, interact with researchers at all levels and from a wide array of different institutions, partake in professional development workshops and networking events, and meet with potential graduate schools,鈥� Earth Sciences Instructor Joshua Spinler said. The attendees include Spinler; Tom Colby, visiting assistant professor of earth sciences; Kayla Bolin, senior geology major; Olivia Pate, junior geology major; Jason Simmons, senior geology major; and Jeffrey Baggett, Matthew Carey, and Kalyca Spinler, graduate students in the Applied Science program. 鈥淭he students also had the opportunity to see presentations in topics that are not part of the 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Earth Sciences curriculum, which allows them to expand their geologic knowledge base,鈥� Spinler said. Three students presented research conducted with a faculty mentor, Dr. Laura Ruhl, assistant professor of earth sciences. They include:

• 听听听听听Bolin, 鈥淲ater Quality Assessment of the Buffalo River, Arkansas, United States鈥�
• 听听听听听Carey, 鈥淪patial and Temporal Water Quality Dynamics in the Lake Maumelle Reservoir: Geochemical and Planktonic Variance in a Drinking Water Source鈥�
• 听听听听听Simmons, 鈥淯rbanization Effects on Floodplain Sediments in the Fourche Creek Wetlands in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States鈥�

In the upper right photo,聽University of Arkansas at Little Rock students attending the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, from left to right, are Matthew Carey, Kalyca Spinler, Olivia Pate, Kayla Bolin, and Jason Simmons. Photo by Tom Colby.]]>