Tropical storms and hurricanes bring strong winds and heavy rainfall with the capability of destroying entire cities when these storms break landfall. Warm ocean waters are required to produce these storms. As global temperatures have increased steadily over the past 40 years, so have the number of hurricanes and tropical storms. My hypothesis is that Florida land-surface temperatures have a strong correlation with hurricane and tropical storm frequency and intensity because both factors have fluctuated similarly.

In this experiment, the effect of the invasive primary producer, Carpobrotus edulis on the native primary consumer, Acheta domesticus, was studied. The purpose of this experiment was to identify the effects of a native primary producer on both the health of the soil and the health of the primary consumers. Six microcosms were created and split into two equal groups. Three microcosms contained invasive Carpobrotus edulis and three microcosms contained native Jaumea carnosa. Every microcosm contained five Acheta domesticus, and there was a cricket for every 200 cm2 of microcosm. The experiment ran for six weeks. On average, crickets in microcosms with native Jaumea carnosa gained 0.27g whereas crickets in microcosms with invasive Carpobrotus edulis lost 0.37g. Of the 15 crickets with Carpobrotus edulis, 15 crickets died, and of the 15 crickets with Jaumea carnosa, 7 crickets died. Of the 6 microcosms only two achieved a final soil nutrition value of 9 or higher, indicating adequate levels of soil nutrition, both of which were microcosms with native Jaumea carnosa. From these results it was concluded that, the survival rate of Acheta domesticus....

Being Published in Journal of Emerging Investigators: In this research paper, we will be comparing the water quality in Chinatown –an area with a majority poor Asian population– and Bayside –a more affluent and wellfunded region in New York City. Our hypothesis was that Bayside’s water will be safer to drink than Chinatown’s for the following reasons: (a) Bayside received a 62.5 million dollar grant to renew its piping system and (b) drinking water injustices have plagued communities with high rates of racial and economic minorities, as seen in the Flint Michigan water crisis. Researching if the accessibility of clean drinking water is dependent on the region is important to ensure no environmental injustices in water quality are occurring in an area of a specific racial and economic demographic. We selected 15 restaurants from both regions and tested for the pH and TDS in collected water samples. We then used DataClassroom to conduct t-tests and linear regression tests to analyze our data. In conclusion, we failed to reject our null hypothesis, as the water from Chinatown and Bayside had no significant difference. Our study raises several important future research questions...

Manure compost is an organic fertilizer made up of manure or natural nitrogen contents, and typically only supplies crops with nitrogen. Synthetic fertilizer is a man-made compound mixture made from inorganic contents and includes various chemical nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, and more. Although fertilizer provides crops with more varied nutrients, it has more negative impacts on the environment. In this study, we compared the growth rate, root width, and final height of Raphanus sativus under manure and synthetic fertilizer treatments. I hypothesized that plants grown in the synthetic fertilizer treatment would slightly outperform the compost treatment group but would not observe a significant difference between the groups. Compost resulted in faster height and leaf growth, but no significant difference was found between the treatments for root width and final height. Thus it was determined that compost has a more stimulating effect on Raphanus sativus growth but doesn’t result in overall differences in growth.

Although the divergence of the aA-crystallin protein from other heat shock proteins has been examined, the extent to which the CRYAA gene controlling it has evolved across vertebrate species remains a scientific topic of inquiry. This gene could potentially be an accurate indicator of the evolutionary relationships between vertebrates, which could provide insight for future phylogenetic studies in this area. The purpose of this study was to determine how the CRYAA gene has evolved across vertebrate species. The aA-crystallin protein is crucial to the function of the vertebrate eye, as it maintains the transparency of the lens and prevents the denaturation of proteins. Because there have been no studies in this area, the null hypothesis that there is no sequence variation in the CRYAA gene encoding was assumed and tested with a phylogenetic analysis of the gene and the protein. The null hypothesis was unsupported by the results, as the CRYAA phylogeny did report evolutionary distances between each genus, although not between each species within those genera. Therefore, the CRYAA gene could be useful for hypothesizing evolutionary relationships between different vertebrate genera....

With global obesity rates continually increasing, an analysis of the relationship between dietary patterns and global obesity rates was performed with datasets representing sugar consumption, macronutrient percentage intake, and caloric intake. We hypothesized that high sugar consumption, an unbalanced macronutrient intake, and a high caloric intake lead to higher adult obesity percentages which were observed to be accurate. In 2019, countries with higher sugar consumption exhibited a relatively higher adult obesity rate. Global daily macronutrient data from 2005-2007 suggest that while a higher protein and fat intake leads to countries having higher adult obesity percentage, higher consumption of carbohydrates lead to a decline in adult obesity rates. Finally, when analyzing the potential relationship between caloric intake and adult obesity percentages in 2016, we did find there to be a positive relationship, indicating that higher caloric intake tends to result in higher obesity percentages for a country.

Access to green space and clean drinking water can be unequally distributed in urban spaces, often associated with income inequality. Little is known about public drinking water and green space inequities in the Bay Area. For our study, we asked, “How do public park access, drinking fountain access, and the quality of public drinking water differ across income brackets in the Bay Area?” and hypothesized that there would be a significant positive correlation between income and the number of drinking fountains, the number of parks, and drinking fountain water quality. For each Bay Area sub-region, water samples from four drinking fountains from four different ZIP codes were analyzed, and the number of parks and fountains was recorded in relation to income for eight different ZIP codes, resulting in 20 analyzed fountains and 40 analyzed ZIP...

Airports contribute to pollution through point source and non point source pollution, which can have a negative effect on water quality and aquatic life. The purpose of the study was to determine if runoff pollution from SFO and OAK airports impacts water quality in the Bay Area. We tested water quality at 12 sites surrounding two airports in the Bay Area. We tested for pH and the presence of specific metals and nitrates. As a result of the analysis, we found that the presence of zinc, copper, chromium and nitrate increases as we get closer to the airport. The pH remained constant throughout the sites. We concluded that airport pollution is a likely source of elevated concentrations of some heavy metals and nitrates in the San Francisco Bay.

The composition of soil can be broken down to a mixture of both abiotic and biotic matter. This composition can include animal waste, minerals, water, and even air. The complex nature of soil can consequently be affected by a large number of factors. These factors may range from simple weather alterations to complex human alterations to environments that could easily impose effects on soil. To see the effects humans can have on soil, this experiment was conducted in which three counties with varying levels of human activity (measured in population) had samples of soil collected to be tested for varying levels of pH and nutrients. Correlation tests were conducted to capture any significant correlation between the different levels of human activity and the variables tested in the soil. The results of these tests suggested that there was no significant correlation between varying degrees of human activity and soil pH and nutrient levels.

Here we examine the relationship between the slope of a terrain and vegetation, measured by NDVI levels. I used satellite data from Yosemite Valley to analyze and test for statistical significance between NDVI levels amongst different slope angles. I used confidence intervals and hypothesis tests to estimate the population mean NDVI levels. I found statistical significance between the 30-45 degree range and the 75-90 degree range, which supports my hypothesis that lower sloped terrain is more supportive of vegetation. However, my findings show that no slope (even as extreme as 85-90 degrees) prohibits the growth of vegetation completely, and that even the steepest slopes analyzed contained plant life.

During the past decade, climate change has become an important topic. A few ramifications include an excess amount of carbon dioxide and rising temperatures. It is predicted that ecosystems may change due to climate change and its effects on soil communities, resulting in a decrease in plant biodiversity. Soil communities contain tons of components with minerals being one. For this study, different treatments were formed, each containing varying levels of nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, and lime and altering the pH. I sowed three different species: Cosmos seeds, Myosotis Forget-Me-Not seeds, and Cruciferae Brassica nigra Mustard seeds. I hypothesize that as the treatment levels decrease in pH the sprouting time and plant growth will increase. Additionally, I predict that as the treatments increase pH, sprouting time and plant growth will increase as well. The results did not support my hypothesis. Only two pots have sprouts. The ANOVA results for the sprouting time in response to the treatment types was 0.042, a rejection of the null hypothesis. Moreover, the ANOVA p-value for the treatment type effect on plant height was 0.000024....

Right now in the world, there are many factors affecting the world’s environment. Environments, ecosystems, and weather throughout the world are changing due to the anthropocene. Humans are affecting the water quality of creeks and rivers throughout the United States, often through pollution and agricultural run-off. Large amounts of nitrogen in water can affect a creek’s ecological surroundings. With the water quality changing, aquatic species and its ecological surroundings are now being affected as well. In my research, I studied the water quality at Pescadero Creek to find the relationship between water turbidity and the creek’s composition, to the water quality. My research suggests how “murky” water contains large amounts of ammonia, compared to clear water. This is because the sediment contains larger amounts of ammonia levels. The large amounts of ammonia in the sediment of the creek is affecting the aquatic life and ecological surroundings of the Pescadero Creek. My research also suggested how the nitrite levels in rocky surroundings were larger than nitrite levels in sandy surroundings....

Research was conducted in summer 2020 to analyze the effect of the shutdown orders due to COVID-19 pandemic on the CO levels across the United States. Since the shutdown orders during the pandemic prevented any public places from operating or conducting any kind of business, the hypothesis was that the CO levels would go down since there was no commute happening or buildings being used. Data was collected from the EPA’s Air Quality public data and analyzed in R: a powerful program used to analyze large datasets. The 15 states analyzed were based on the greatest number of cases on August 20th 2020. Each state had its data, with multiple counties and with multiple sites in each county. In almost every single state, the CO levels went down starting from February, with the lowest CO levels during the shutdown, indicating that the shutdown likely could have led to a decrease in CO levels. As some states opened, the CO level started rising then fluctuating.

A survey was conducted to research how age and knowledge about climate change can impact people’s actions regarding it. People have a large impact on the environment so knowing how different groups of people react to climate change would help with knowing how to effectively conduct outreach about climate change with certain groups of people. The hypothesis was that as age increased, more action would be taken to combat climate change. It was also hypothesized that as background knowledge about climate change increased, the amount of action taken would also increase. Three hundred and thirty-three people filled out the survey. Results supported the hypotheses, showing that as age increased action also increased and as background knowledge increased more action was taken.

Social media’s effects on connecting people worldwide and its exponential growth in usage sparked studies on its effect on the mental state of users. In the local community of Saratoga, Instagram particularly seemed to have the ability to negatively affect the self- esteem of teenage users from comparison and overly fixation on follower counts. However, a result from a local survey targeted toward the local high schoolers disputes most of the aspects proposed. There was a contrast in expectations on every self-esteem or insecurity-related question, suggesting that the correlation between Instagram usage and self-esteem is weak on a local scale. The results also concluded that people did generally have a superficial view of Instagram. Contrasting with expectations, follower count was not a focus to be labeled “overly fixated.” Still, the results did support that such features did not necessarily correlate with a higher self-esteem level. A look into local high schoolers’ feedback on their experiences with Instagram ultimately revealed layers of complexity on the effects of social media on society.

The COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly impacted everyone around the globe. In 2020, many countries entered into a lockdown, transforming daily lifestyles into isolation. The SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes the disease COVID-19 slowly spread to different regions of the world, and the first cases of COVID-19 infection in Los Angeles County, California, were documented in mid-January 2020. In March 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom of California declared a state of emergency and implemented a stay-at-home order (1). Therefore, people were quarantined at home, and many “non- essential” businesses were closed, including schools. With no cure available and hospitals reaching maximum capacity, scientists raced to develop vaccines to immunize individuals against the virus. Meanwhile, wastewater technicians began collecting wastewater samples to monitor the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus shed from infected residents. We hypothesized that the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in LA County wastewater would decrease as localized vaccination rates increased. Here, we describe a meta-analysis comparing two data sets; the vaccination progression data in Los Angeles County, and the wastewater surveillance PCR

We were curious if there would be any simple way to decrease water use in communities because of the ongoing drought in California. To do this, we would use three different types of greywater, soap water with kitchen contaminants, soap water, and regular tap water to see if there would be any difference in the growth of plants. This experiment would tell us whether to use greywater on household plants. If a positive result comes out, people can proceed to use greywater on common household plants to decrease their usage of water. Using six petunias (Petunia axillaris) and six marigolds (Tagetes patula), we charted the growth for three weeks and analyzed the data. I hypothesized that there would be no negative impacts on plant growth if greywater was used. After the first week, I noticed some major growth patterns in plants between each type of water, some of which supported my hypothesis and others that didn’t. In the end, we figured out that dishwater with kitchen contaminants had no negative impact on plant growth.

In my study, I explored the differences in ecological niches and bioclimatic preferences of the Greater and Lesser Capybara. Wallace was used in obtaining the locality and bioclimatic data required to generate ecological niche models and determine if any significant differences existed between the species. The lack of information regarding the lesser capybara, indicated by the data deficient designation on IUCN, emphasizes the need to study the differences between both species rather than assuming they are the same. With the literature indicating that the lesser capybara is a subspecies with little ecological differences, I hypothesized that there would not be any significant differences in the bioclimatic variables predicting their ecological niche. However, I discovered that there was a significant difference in the minimum temperature of the coldest month and temperature seasonality between the two species.

Join the students from Headwaters' Summer Research Program to share the outstanding original research projects they created this summer.

Andy Giordano talks to us about how he has been able to generate a fulfilling life through his pursuit of science. This is a talk relevant for all ages and professional statuses. Whether you are an undergraduate student or Ph.D., this video will be helpful to help guide you on your path.

Will Boyer is a hydrologist at the Nevada Division of Water Resources. In this talk, he covers how the agency manages water in this extremely dry state, the experience of being a professional hydrologist, and answers some great questions from our Facebook audience.

Water researcher Jess Goddard holds talked to us about her incredibly important research on measuring water affordability as a human right. Safe drinking water impacts over 2 billion people and, in the US, water and sewer services bills have increased by 3x the growth rate of inflation since 1986! Watch and learn more about this critical issue.

We are currently witnessing one of the most dramatic climate change events in Earth’s history. This begs the following question: how has Earth’s climate changed throughout geologic time? Dr. Julia Kelson breaks down her research on identifying aridity and evaporation using stable isotopes.

Jeff Hawkins has worked in meteorology since the 1970s. He talks to us about why he is interested in hurricanes, how he got into the field, highlights what the experience of flying into a hurricane is like, and talks about all of the research he is involved with. Not only this but he discusses work opportunities in the field as well, an important component that is not often discussed with students going through their STEM programs. This is an exciting talk and we encourage everyone to check it out!

TJ talks to us about the different types of biodiversity, why they are important, and about his research involving the discovery of a new species of microhylid in Honduras! If you or your students were ever curious about the process involving species discovery and description, this is the perfect video for you.

In this episode of LWS, we had Amanda Cauble, an associate engineer at Central San. She discusses what Central San is and the methods of surveilling SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater. This talk was recorded in November of 2020.

Ameeta Parekh, Ph.D. is the Senior Advisor for Scientific Collaborations in the Office of Translational Sciences for the FDA. She talked to us about the FDA's mission and purpose, an overview of the organizations, FDA centers, and the drug development and approval process.

Are you ever curious about how tornados impact communities, which communities are most at risk, what are the determinants of fatality from tornados, and other related questions? Dr. Kim Klockow McClain breaks down this unique field of epidemiology. Tune in!

Eben N. Broadbent, PhD, is an assistant professor of forest ecology & geomatics in the School of Forest Resources and Conservation at the University of Florida, with a PhD in Biology (Ecology & Evolution) from Stanford University. He talks to us about the challenges and opportunities for ecological mapping using drones, including how planet microsatellites are imaging the planet daily.

The Headwaters Research Experience students have produced some fascinating research throughout our 10-week program. We encourage all to read their reports in our Vol. 3 - Issue 1 - Summer 2021 Student Research Journal!

The Headwaters Research Experience students have produced some fascinating research throughout our 10-week program. We encourage all to read their reports in our Vol. 2 - Issue 1 - Spring 2021 Student Research Journal!

This talk delves into “Modern Agriculture: What’s on Your Plate?” with Dr. Adam Cornish. Adam is a program analyst in the Office of Agricultural Policy at the State Department, and received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Michigan State University, where he focused on biohydrogen production and investigating enzymatic mechanisms.

The Headwaters Research Experience students have produced some fascinating research throughout our 10-week program. We encourage all to read their reports in our Vol. 1 - Issue 4 - Fall 2020 Student Research Journal!

The Headwaters Research Experience students have produced some fascinating research throughout our 10-week program. We encourage all to read their reports in our Vol. 1 - Issue 3 - Fall 2020 Student Research Journal!

Nicholas King acts as the Scientific Program Manager for the Critical Path (C-Path) Institute’s Biomarker Program. He discusses the journey he has been on to arrive at his position, what the Critical Path Institute and consensus-based collaborative research are, and his experience working with health authorities.

The Headwaters Research Experience students have produced some fascinating research throughout our 10-week program. We encourage all to read their reports in our Vol. 1 - Issue 2 - Fall 2020 Student Research Journal!

In honor of @WorldOceansDay , we had the privilege of talking with legendary oceanographer David Gallo for our latest Lunch With A Scientist episode. He shares astonishing footage of deep-sea creatures, volcanic vents, and his exploration of the Titanic.

Dane Samilo, a Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the Department of Defense joined us to talk about an extremely relevant topic for all to understand. That is vaccines. He walked us through the history of vaccinations, the immune system, modern vaccine design, and explained why all of this is important. This is a great educational talk for students of all ages and is extremely relevant of the times.

The Headwaters Research Experience students have produced some fascinating research throughout our 10-week program. We encourage all to read their reports in our Vol. 1 - Issue 1 - Fall 2020 Student Research Journal!

In this "lunch with a Scientist" episode, we interviewed a medical student and medical doctor to help us understand the path to medicine. Becoming a medical doctor is a very daunting task but with the right resources, students can find their way onto the path a bit easier. This resource is great if you have students interested in going into medicine and are struggling with deciding what to major in, what the time commitment is, what the prerequisites for med school are, and what life after medical school is like.

Jenessa Peterson is a former teacher turned data scientist/engineer and Director of Learning Engineering at The Learning Agency. Her more recent work in data science has included building a web-based voter data tracking platform, anomaly detection models for skin lesions and eye disease, and a satellite imagery pipeline for NASA.

In this exciting talk, Dr. Sarah "Stacy" Barber discusses her exciting research covering: 1. Documentation of geological, hydrodynamic, and ecological change in the Indian River Lagoon, and 2. Evaluation of how human populations have both generated and responded to the changes. Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the Historical Society, the National Geographic Society, and Argonne National Laboratories.

Today we are highlighting our talk with Ph.D. student Noelle Patterson discussing watersheds, the history of the Truckee River Basin, and the health of Cottonwoods in the region.

Josiah (Joe) Townsend is an Associate Professor of Biology at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and a Visiting Professor at the Zamorano Biodiversity Center in Honduras. In this discussion, he talks to us about uncovering new species, why taxonomy is important, issues threatening biodiversity in the region, and much more!

Keely Rodriguez is a Ph.D. student at the University of Nevada Reno in the Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology department. In this interview, Keely discusses her background and her research focusing on amphibian immune responses to Chytridiomycosis.

In this discussion, Dr. Colleen Reid discusses her field of Health Geography, or how environmental exposures impact population health. A detailed breakdown of the pollutant composition of wildfires, how they impact health outcomes, and which populations have been affected.

David Hill is a professor at Oregon State University and a National Geographic Explorer. He discusses with us why citizen science is important and how he incorporates it into his own research.

From blue-collar to deep blue research, professor of marine biology and director of the Shark Lab at California State University discusses his life journey and his fascinating research of sharks, rays, and gamefishes.

We interview researchers of all rankings! In this interview, NIH postbaccalaureate fellow Rachel Hendricks discusses her undergraduate research in Dr. Karen Bernd's lab at Davidson College and the impacts of tobacco usage.

Kurt Sable has been a Hydrologist for the US Forest Service for 17 years, working for three different National Forests in Northern California. He supplies insight on the watershed restoration efforts, logging, fuels work, recreation, and much more. This is a great interview on the operations side of science.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) scientist Dr. Katie Wilson discusses with us the intersection of research and operations in the field of Meteorology.

In this Lunch with a Scientist episode, we discuss Genome Sequencing and Bioinformatics with National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) biologist Nate Olson, Ph.D.

We were able to sit down with Dr. Eliza Montgomery, the Materials Engineer and Corrosion Subject Matter expert at NASA, to talk about her path in science and what she does!

Our LWS interview with aquatic ecologist for the Great Basin Institute and Bureau of Land Management, Diana Hitchen.