McKenna Ives
Eastern Washington University
Research Mentor: Colleen Hoffman
Project: Exploring iron-building ligands across active and inactive hydrothermal sites along the Escanaba Trough
It was an absolute privilege to work in the Bundy Lab in the UW School of Oceanography with my mentor Colleen Hoffman, along with many other lab members. Our project’s focus was to investigate dissolved iron and strong organic ligands in hydrothermal vent systems across our planet’s oceans. In the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of the United States was the main location of my exploration, the Escanaba Trough.
Previous to the start of my internship, a cruise along the Trough took place with the collection of seawater samples. Those same samples were the center of my work this summer. In the lab, I analyzed the samples from two distinct hydrothermal locations, one active site and one inactive site. To find a relationship between dissolved iron and strong organic ligands, I used a process called competitive ligand exchange-cathodic stripping voltammetry (CLE-CSV). While quite a tedious proccess, it was rewarding to produce complete data sets, and Zappy – the resident BASi unit – became my buddy for a fair amount of time. Aside from this method, I was able to practice lab skills with various techniques and instruments, and conduct data analyses using programs such as ECDSoft, ProMCC, and R Studio to render my results. As this was only a fraction of a larger project, and the first inactive hydrothermal site to be analyzed, no definitive conclusions can be conveyed. Results of the active site, however, are consistent with previous research and literature from other hydrothermal vent locations within the project. To truly understand processes in the deep ocean, like iron-ligand binding in hydrothermal vents, and how those are connected with the rest of the ocean, further research must be conducted.
I am honored to have had the opportunity to be a small part of this work, and I would like to thank CICOES and the Bundy Lab members for their guidance and support in working towards solving one of the many mysteries of our extraordinary planet.
Project introduction
Research poster
