Environmental Internship Program - 2023 Booklet

Lindsay Anne Pagaduan ’26
CHEMISTRY
Certificates: Environmental Studies, Korean
Language
OCEANS AND
ATMOSPHERE
PROJECT TITLE
Nitrous Oxide Fluxes From
the Ocean and Estuaries
ORGANIZATION(S)
The Ward Lab,
Department of
Geosciences,
Princeton University
LOCATION(S)
Princeton, New Jersey
MENTOR(S)
Bess Ward,
William J. Sinclair
Professor of Geosciences
and the High Meadows
Environmental Institute;
Weiyi Tang, Postdoctoral
Research Associate,
Geosciences
I investigated the production of nitrous oxide,
a powerful greenhouse gas, in the Potomac
River, which connects to the Chesapeake
Bay. Specifically, I considered how a nearby
sewage treatment plant could affect nitrous
oxide production in the Potomac River. This
is essential to understanding how land use
contributes to greenhouse gas production and
climate change. In water samples from the
Potomac River, I measured the concentrations of
three different nitrogen nutrients (ammonium,
nitrite and nitrate) that play a role in producing
nitrous oxide. Each nutrient concentration was
measured with a different tool — a fluorometer
for ammonium, a spectrophotometer for nitrite,
and a NOx box machine for the combined nitrite
and nitrate concentrations. I also helped prepare
the water samples, nutrient standards and
chemical reagents involved in each experiment.
As a result of this experience, my technical lab
skills have become more precise, and I gained
a more complex understanding of greenhouse
gas production. Through this internship, I have
become more interested in participating in
future studies and research on the chemistry
behind climate change.
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