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Mechanism study of trace metal uptake and transport in wetland plants
Metal contamination in urban brownfield sites has been an emergent issue. Trace metals in urban brownfields pose potential hazardous risk to both ecological systems and public community. The goal of my dissertation research is to understand the metal biogeochemical cycle in a coastal urban brownfield site via a coupled macro- and micro-scale investigation. The metal translocation mechanisms in the wetland plant root system are investigated using synchrotron Xray techniques. The factors controlling metal mobility in the brownfield site and metal assimilation rates by plants are studied based on metal concentrations in the plants and soils. The results of this research can be used to evaluate potential ecological risk from contaminated soils, and sustainable management of urban brownfield sites.
About Yu Qian, PhD Candidate in Environmental Management, MSU
Yu Qian is currently a final year Ph.D. student in the Environmental Management program at Montclair State University. She obtained her B.S. degree in Biotechnology from Hunan University in China. In 2010, Yu was awarded an academic scholarship by the China Scholarship Council that partially funded her Ph.D. study at Montclair State University. Her research mainly focuses on understanding the biogeochemical cycle of trace metals in contaminated soils and sediments, especially the uptake and transportation of metals in wetland plants and potential toxic effect of metals on ecosystem health.