Advisor Information
Alan Kolok
Location
Dr. C.C. and Mabel L. Criss Library
Presentation Type
Poster
Start Date
3-3-2017 9:00 AM
End Date
3-3-2017 10:15 AM
Abstract
Atrazine, a commonly used herbicide on corn and soybean crops in the Midwest, can easily migrate to surface waters from agricultural fields. A 2014 research project conducted by Nebraska Watershed Network intern Roni McClellen set out to study the feasibility of using citizen scientists in exploring this phenomenon along the Mississippi River watershed in a one-day event that became known as Lil’ Miss Atrazine. This project provided a 24-hour snapshot of atrazine events within the watershed. The 2016 project, expanded on the one-day snapshot model with an overall goal of seeing if the atrazine-positive results collected in the 2014 iteration of Lil’ Miss Atrazine were constantly positive for the presence of atrazine over time. Utilizing eighteen trained volunteer citizen scientists from six states, encompassing 25 sites along the Mississippi River and six of its direct tributaries were monitored weekly from April 24 to May 28, 2016. From the results, it was concluded that the atrazine-positive test results in the previous study in 2014 do not remain constant in any given location over time. Thus, the presence of atrazine within the Mississippi changes over time within the planting/growing season (between April 24 and May 28, 2016).
A longitudinal study utilizing citizen science to assess the presence of atrazine within the Mississippi River watershed.
Dr. C.C. and Mabel L. Criss Library
Atrazine, a commonly used herbicide on corn and soybean crops in the Midwest, can easily migrate to surface waters from agricultural fields. A 2014 research project conducted by Nebraska Watershed Network intern Roni McClellen set out to study the feasibility of using citizen scientists in exploring this phenomenon along the Mississippi River watershed in a one-day event that became known as Lil’ Miss Atrazine. This project provided a 24-hour snapshot of atrazine events within the watershed. The 2016 project, expanded on the one-day snapshot model with an overall goal of seeing if the atrazine-positive results collected in the 2014 iteration of Lil’ Miss Atrazine were constantly positive for the presence of atrazine over time. Utilizing eighteen trained volunteer citizen scientists from six states, encompassing 25 sites along the Mississippi River and six of its direct tributaries were monitored weekly from April 24 to May 28, 2016. From the results, it was concluded that the atrazine-positive test results in the previous study in 2014 do not remain constant in any given location over time. Thus, the presence of atrazine within the Mississippi changes over time within the planting/growing season (between April 24 and May 28, 2016).