Tenemos Data!

As the head of Team Chemistry, I am happy to report that we have data.  Lake, river, and experimental samples were processed for nitrate, ammonium, phosphate, and chlorophyll a by myself and students.  We travel up to our lab facilities in Solola everyday, and come back with actual data.  Chemistry is a very important component of our expedition.  Because, as I told my students- without us, they'd all just be fools on a boat.  We are the ones who take a water sample and give it meaning.  We quantify the levels of nutrients and chlorophyll in the phytoplankton at different depths and times.  Sure, it's taxing work, but we do it with gusto.  I enjoy sharing what I've learned working in labs over the last 10 years- not only how to do the chemical analyses themselves, but one of the most important and easily overlooked aspects- qualitycontrol/quality assurance.  I like seeing the student's faces when they grasp a difficult concept, and how excited they are to see the results of their hard work.  It's nice to be able to close the loop- from collection, to processing, to analysis, to data synthesis.
-Emily Carlson      


Walda and Juan Carlos analyzing water for phosphate.





Phosphate!



Christine and Luisa reading ammonium samples on the spectrophotometer.