ucw
Dean of Postgrad uate Research
Vice-Chancellor's Office
Extension:
Email:
7285
lucy.johnston@canterbury.ac.nz
UNIVERSITY OF
CANTERBURY
Te Whare Wananga o Waitaha
CHRISTCHURCH NEW ZEALA ND
Summer Research Scholarship Scheme
2014-2015
Project Application Form
Please complete and submit the application form as a WORD document and send to:
summerscholarships@canterbury.ac.nz
The Project
Title of Project (max 30 words):
Reconstructing fossil CO, in the Wellington atmosphere from tree ring records
Project Leader(s):
Jocelyn Turnbull
Host Department/Organization:
GNS Science, National Isotope Centre
Other persons involved in this topic/activity:
(List other significant members involved along with their affiliation to the research project.)
Name
Affiliation to project
Brief outline of project
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Describe the proposed research project -maximum of 400
Note that this information will bepublished
mindful of any Intellectual Property issues
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WOJ'(/S
(box will expand as you type).
the web in order to attract student applicants and therefore be
Emissions of C02from fossil fuel combustion are the dominant driver of atmospheric C02 increases
and the current observed global warming. Urban areas contribute 75% of global fossil C02
emissions, fi 'om vehicle use, industry and electricity generation, Urban areas are leading the way in
reducing emissions through planning and local regulation. For example, increasing public
transport availability decreases private vehicle use and reduces fossil C02 emissions. Detailed
information on current and past emissions is needed to help urban areas make decisions on the best
strategie for reducing their emissions.
Thisproject aims to reconstruct fossil C02 concentrations in the Wellington atmosphere from the
1920s until present, using measurements of the radiocarbon content of tree rings collected in
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Wellington urban areas, aproxy for fossil C02. We expect to see increases in thefossil C02
concentration associated with the increase infossil C02 emissions through time.
The student 'sprimary work will be in two main areas: (1) developing an automated method for
chemical pretreatment of the samples for radiocarbon analysis, (2) preparing tree ring samples
using the new method. The existing chemical pretreatment method is labour intensive, requiring
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day per sample to manually heat the sample in multiple solvents to remove contamination. The new
method will use an automated solvent extraction system to do the same process. The work will
involve developing automated method protocols and comparing the manual and automated
· methods.
The project may also involve field work collecting additional tree ring samples from around
Wellington, and at Baring Head south of Wellington.
This work could be extended to a masters level research project. This could involve further.field
work, measurement and interpretation of results, and/or atmospheric transport modelling.
Ifthe projectinvolves work away from the University campus (e.g., at fieldwork sites) please detail all locations.
Based at National Isotope Centre, GNS Science, Gracefield, Lower Hutt. May involve field work around the
Wellington area and at Baring Head research station near Wellington.
Ifthe student be required to work outside of normal university hours (8am-5pm) please provide details
Field work could occasionally require work beyond normal hours.
Benefits student will gain from involvement in the project
Describe the research experience and skills
the student will acquire through involvement in this researcb project -
maximum of 100 words.
Design of laboratory experiment and development of lab protocols.
Experience with laboratory preparation systems.
Experience with tree ring analysis.
Field work experience.
Experience working in a team and contributing to a larger research project.
Specific student requirements
- Please provid,;- details {(Jj/ J°quirements you have for the h;clent to work on this project -f,;;;;- ;.;;;:,ple, if;pcific
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courses/experience are necessary.
· A background in chemistry, engineering, environmental sciences or related field.
General laboratory skills.
Good attention to detail and writing skills.
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