RESEARCH FELLOWS
Amanda French
I recently graduated with my PhD in Environmental Toxicology where my focus was determining Pb shot exposure in American woodcock, a small gamebird. In doing so, I gained hands-on experience using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). My background in analytical chemistry provides me with a unique view on sampling, analysis and data quality that enables elemental analysis of a variety of difficult environmental samples. I aim to use analytical chemistry techniques to provide an understanding of biological and environmental changes and aid in conservation.
With the capabilities in the ICP-MS Suite at the University of Waikato I plan to focus on elemental speciation, in particular arsenic (As) and antimony (Sb). My interest in speciation stems from an ecotoxicology perspective as the elemental species plays an important role in the elements toxicity. My knowledge and experience with ICP-MS has led me to collaborate on a variety of different metal-related projects, all of which presented opportunities for learning new techniques and developing a deeper understanding of the complicated movement of metals through the ecosystem.
Mahdiyeh Salmanzadeh
I completed my PhD in Environmental Science with a focus on the accumulation of cadmium (Cd) in New Zealand agricultural soils. Cadmium is a biotoxic metal mainly originating from the application of phosphate fertiliser which has been applied to NZ soils since the 1800s. During my PhD research, I assessed the behaviour of Cd in contrasting soils including Cd leaching potential, and tracking the fate of Cd in the terrestrial environment using stable Cd isotopes.
My work is supported by an MBIE Smart Ideas grant and gives me the opportunity to continue this project. I will be monitoring the Cd level in soils, plants, ground and fresh water and aquatic organisms. Using the isotope approach, we can assess whether the Cd in a sample is from fertilisers or is natural and how much of applied Cd to soils is taken up by plants or leached out of the soil.
PhD RESEARCHERS
Brittany Ward
Hi, my name is Brittany. I obtained my BSc in Geology from Grand Valley State University, where I had the privilege to serve as a McNair Scholar and Space Grant Consortium Fellow. These programs enabled me to gain paleoceanography research experience, were I developed a love for lab and field work. I shifted my focus to terrestrial paleoclimate research during my MSc at Boston College, where I used speleothems as archives of past hydroclimate. My project was focused on assessing the temporal and spatial variability of the South American Monsoon System over the last 10,000 years.
My PhD research, under the supervision of Dr. Adam Hartland, will focus on using a variety of speleothem-based proxy systems to understand the hydroclimate of New Zealand over the last 36,000 years. Through project QUEST, I will be developing a method to extract and measure speleothem fluid inclusions here at UoW, which are gaining momentum in the field of speleothem-science as a proxy of paleotemperature. These measurements, coupled with other speleothem-based proxy measurements, will enable us to explore new territory in New Zealand paleoclimate.
Thomas Corbett
After graduating from the University of Auckland, with a BA/BSc Conjoint and BSc Honours in Chemistry, I traveled the world for three years. During this time I visited many communities feeling the effects of poor nutrient management, and nutrient run-off. Farmers in developed nations such as New Zealand face the same challenges. Excess nutrient concentration is one of the key determinants of the health and quality of fresh water systems. Under the supervision of Dr Adam Hartland, Professor Louis Schipper, and Professor Bill Henderson, I am undertaking a PhD research project developing a Diffusive Gradients in Thin-Films (DGT) sensor that integrates colourimetry to measure nitrates/nitrites and phosphates in fresh water. The aim is to produce a tool that is easy to use, accurate, and very affordable.
Grace-Lynn Chong
I love the great outdoors and I spend most of my time tramping or going for walks. It is therefore a privilege for me to study something that I find much joy, in being one with the environment. On a more serious note, I am investigating the seasonal cycling of fresh water lakes and different trophic status effects on the bioaccumulation of monomethylmercury in trout in the Rotorua lakes. Monomethylmercury is the more toxic component of mercury and poses as a health hazard thus, there is a need for such data. I am being supervised by Associate Professor Nicholas Ling, Dr. Adam Hartland and Professor Brendan Hicks (University of Waikato).
Andrew Pearson
I have an interest in environmental change, having previously gained an MSc in Environment & Climate Change from the University of Liverpool (UK). In my PhD research (commencing May, 2015) under the supervision of Dr Adam Hartland, Dr Beth Fox and Dr Shaun Barker (University of Waikato), and Marcus Vandergoes (GNS Science), I will be aiming to use geochemical proxies within speleothems and lake sediments to reconstruct changes in the terrestrial carbon cycle through time.
Huma Saeed
My PhD project focuses on the interaction between iron nanoparticles and phosphorus in lake systems with high internal loadings of iron. The objective is to understand how iron influences the bioavailability of P to autotrophs. My studies are supported by a Waikato University Environmental Research Institute Scholarship.
Amir Mohammadi
My journey in Environmental Studies started in Iran, where I completed my MSc in Environmental Engineering at Iran University of Science and Technology. I have a strong interest in the fate and transport of contaminants in soils and aquifers. My PhD thesis is entitled “From soil to groundwater: assessing the leaching potential of cadmium across gradients of soil type and land-use”. In this study, I aim to deploy Diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) solution probes in groundwater piezometers to monitor the concentration of Cd. This approach will be extended by measurement of the Cd isotope composition in order to characterise the Cd source(s) and biogeochemical processes affecting Cd mobilisation. I am supported by the Waikato University Doctoral Scholarship and supervised by Dr Adam Hartland and Prof. Louis Schipper. Aside from my academic interests, I enjoy exercising, camping, sport fishing and cooking!
MSc and Hons RESEARCHERS
Ingrid Lindeman
I gained my BSc in Chemistry at The University of Waikato and am now undertaking a Masters project that allows me to apply this knowledge to another of my interests- environmental research. Trace metals are known to respond to environmental variables and thus they have been a focus of speleothem scientists for their possible use as climate proxies. Trace metal incorporation at the speleothem surface is understood to respond to a number of factors including temperature, the growth rate of calcite and characteristics of the drip solution. However despite a long history of research on trace element partitioning into calcite, many uncertainties remain regarding the controls on trace metal incorporation into speleothems. My Masters’ project will involve studying the dissociation of metal-ligand complexes during calcite-precipitation. This will help us to understand the effects of organic ligands in cave drip waters on trace metal incorporation into speleothem calcite, and thus help to establish the use of trace metals as robust and reliable proxies for paleoclimate reconstructions using speleothems.
Jackson White
My BSc (hons) dissertation will focus on the process of cave corrosion and how to measure this phenomenon in touristic caves. Cave corrosion rates are likely to be increased in touristic caves due to the higher atmospheric CO2 concentrations, but the importance of other aspects of cave microclimate (e.g. humidity) remains uncertain. Understanding cave corrosion is important for the preservation and longevity of features in touristic caves, such as stalagmites, stalactites and flowstones. My project is under the supervision of Dr Adam Hartland and in conjunction with Waitomo Group environmental officer, Carl Fisher.
ALUMNI
PhD
Theodore Alfred N.K Kpodonu, PhD Thesis: Temporal variability in the water quality of a deep, temperate, oligotrophic lake (submitted May 2016). Current position: Water quality scientist, Research Foundation of The City University of New York.
Julien Huteau, PhD Thesis: Fate & effects of estuarine contaminants as tracked by stable isotopes in Tauranga Harbour, New Zealand (submitted September 2015).
Mahdiyeh Salmanzadeh, PhD Thesis: Cadmium accumulation in agricultural soils (Submitted March 2017). Current position: Lecturer, Waikato Institute of Technology.
Phil Clunies-Ross, PhD Thesis: Glacial Suspended Particulate Material (SPM): Characterisation as an agent of nutrient and contaminant transport in freshwaters (Submitted December 2017).
Helena Iuele, PhD Thesis: In situ measurements of endocrine disrupting chemicals in environmental waters (Submitted May 2018).
MSc
Te Puea Dempsey, MSc Thesis: Toitu Te Moananui a Toi – The Effects of the MV Rena on the Water Quality, Chemistry and Zooplankton of Otaiti (Astrolabe Reef) (2015)
Caleb McSweeney, MSc Thesis: Rena copper sediment effects to Paua (Haliotis iris) (2015)
Chris Eager, MSc Thesis: Biogeochemical Characterisation of an Alum Dosed Stream:
Implications for Phosphate Cycling in Lake Rotoehu (2017)
Summer research project students
Ben Scarlet (2014), Jain Abraham (2015), Amy Shen (2016), Alexander Truong (2017)
Undergraduate Research Students
Jackson White (2016), Katie O’Reilly (2017)
VISITORS
Martin Andersen, UNSW Connected Waters Initiative Research Centre. November-December 2014.
John Hellstrom, University of Melbourne, November 2015.
Chaoyong Hu, China University of Geosciences, January-July 2016.
Niklas Lehto, Lincoln University, April 2016.
Sebastian Breitenbach, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, September-October 2016.
Tihana Vujinovic, Lincoln University, June and October 2017.
Dharshika Welikala, Lincoln University, June 2017.
Mirona Chirienco, Okinawa Institute of Science & Technology, May-June 2017.
Andreas Holbach, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), October – December 2017
Ry Farley, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York, October – December 2017
Inken Heidke, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, December 2017 – January 2018
David Dominguez-Villar, Ruđer Bošković Institute, Zagreb, January- February 2018
Maximilian Hansen, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, April – May 2018
Bedartha Goswami, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Sept – Nov 2018
Hauke Kraemer, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Nov – Dec 2018
Slide show of some of the visitors and students in our group
