Centennial Collegiate & CLS – A long-term partnership
Five students in the collegiate’s Science Academy proposed a study of the effects that acid rain would have on the chemical composition of soil. Interest from CLS as well as the Department of Soil Sciences at the University of Saskatchewan has resulted in the development of a partnership whereby students from the Academy each year will propose further experiments to build on the information gathered this first year. These students’ findings have been presented at several environmental and soil science conferences. They also participated in the poster session at the CLS Annual Users Meeting, and assisted in writing a paper detailing their research, which was submitted to and accepted by a scientific journal for publishing. This group was also invited to share their experiences in the Students on the Beamlines program at the 2008 Synchrotron Summer Workshop for Teachers.
Soft-Ray Spectroscopic Exploration of Acid-Treated Boreal Forest Soil
This experiment was an exploration of possible effects of acid rain on Quebec boreal forest soil. Our interest was piqued by the susceptibility of this soil to acid rain due to low buffering capacity and its geographic potential for exposure to acid rain. As a result of emissions legislation, sulfuric acid is becoming less of an issue, so we studied the effects of nitric acid. We used soft x-ray absorption spectroscopy in the range of 295 – 2000 eV to investigate the soil using the SGM beamline at Canadian Light Source. Survey scans were used to identify the principle constituents in the soil and narrow our focus. Detailed scans were taken of mineral and organic components including nitrogen, iron and aluminium. While many elements remained largely unaltered, our initial observations indicated a significant loss of aluminum in the acid-treated soil. The results suggested that acid treatment selectively removed species of aluminium from the soil. In our experiment, we explored the implications for the effects of nitric acid rain on Quebec soils.
Download Poster (2.71 MB)
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Students are determining the settings of the synchrotron for the next stage of experimentation |
An image of the computer screen displaying initial x-ray absorption data during the scan |
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Students are comparing data showing on the screen to known spectra in an attempt to identify the peaks |
A student interviewed for a documentary on 21st Century Learning Initiatives |
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The group in front of their poster at the Annual Users Meeting, June 2008 |
Students presenting their findings and experiences with the Students on the Beamlines program at the 2008 Synchrotrom Summer Workshop for Teachers |
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Last modified: 2012-01-19 17:01:02