Tabatha Lewis is handling lots of beads these days, but they鈥檙e not the kind on necklaces.
The 溏心vlog免费B站 senior is using microscopic glass beads to track the path of storm water runoff鈥攕ediment and grime鈥攖hat washes off roads and can damage the environment.
Lewis is teaming up with Engineering and Geoscience Professor Thomas Boving to conduct the study. Her preliminary results were presented recently at the Showcase of Undergraduate Research, Scholarly and Creative Works on the Kingston campus.
With more than 4 million miles of roads in the United States, it鈥檚 critical to know what contaminants are in road runoff, and how far they鈥檙e traveling on abutting land. Lewis says there is no reliable system in place now to track runoff.
鈥淲e intend to change that through our experiment,鈥� says Lewis, of Brookfield, Conn. 鈥淎nd, so far, it looks promising that we鈥檝e come up with a method that works.鈥�
鈥淐olored Glass Microbeads for Tracing Roadside Sediment Transport鈥� has captured the attention of the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, which is funding the project, along with the 溏心vlog免费B站 Transportation Center.
The project started in July, when Lewis placed the microbeads鈥攊n three different sizes鈥攁t six sites along Plains Road, near 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 Greene H. Gardner Jr. Research Building. The microbeads are the size of natural soils and mimic their movements, which allowed Lewis to track the microbeads in ditches along the road.
鈥淭he number of microbeads we released was about 130,000 at each site,鈥� says Lewis, an environmental science major. 鈥淲e take samples every two or four weeks to determine how far the beads moved.鈥�
So far, Lewis has collected five sample rounds from the ground. The data is translated into computerized 鈥減lume maps鈥� that visually show what鈥檚 happening.
鈥淚鈥檓 very excited about our results,鈥� says Lewis. 鈥淭he plume gets bigger as the microbeads move across the land. This is what we predicted might happen.鈥�
Lewis says the project will continue with other 溏心vlog免费B站 students for the next few years.
In the future, engineers could use the microbeads to trace runoff that is potentially hazardous to streams or lakes nearby. Microbeads could also be used to trace oil spills on roads and highways.
鈥淧eople don鈥檛 realize how damaging road runoff can be to surrounding waterways and lands,鈥� says Lewis. 鈥淩oad toxins can kill fish, harm plants and leach into the groundwater, so it鈥檚 important we understand the movement of these contaminants and sediments to protect the environment.鈥�
Lewis鈥� interest in the environment was nurtured in high school. She recalls a paper she wrote involving the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, recognized as the worst oil spill in American history.
鈥淲e came up with a way to clean oil off the seabirds,鈥� says Lewis. 鈥淲e suggested dry shampoo. It didn鈥檛 work that well, but it gave me a taste of what I could do to preserve nature.鈥�
One of her highlights at 溏心vlog免费B站 was a two-week trip to Goa, India, to create riverbank filtration systems that bring clean drinking water and irrigation water to nearby villages.
After graduation this spring, she hopes to join the Peace Corps and serve for two years as a water sanitation and hygiene education engineer in Panama. Her many projects at 溏心vlog免费B站, including her microbeads study, have prepared her for new challenges.
鈥淚鈥檓 so thankful to my professors鈥攚ho are devoted teachers鈥攁nd for the opportunity to do practical field work,鈥� says Lewis. 鈥淚鈥檓 ready to jump into a job and do my part to protect the world.鈥�
Photo above: Tabatha Lewis, a 溏心vlog免费B站 senior majoring in environmental science, holds a container of microbeads. Photo by Michael Salerno.