GCC Undergraduate Research Grant recipient Dexter Howard leads first-author publication from the Carey Lab

Dexter Howard, a former undergraduate researcher (B.S. ’20 in Water: Resources, Policy, and Management) and now PhD student with GCC affiliate Dr. Cayelan Carey, has first-authored a publication of his undergraduate thesis research. The paper, “Variability in fluorescent dissolved organic matter concentrations across diel to seasonal time scales is driven by water temperature and meteorology in a eutrophic reservoir”, published in the journal Aquatic Science February 2021. Read the article here.

Beginning in 2018, Dexter collected weekly samples of organic carbon (OC) in a Roanoke drinking water reservoir, thought to be the drivers of disinfection byproducts (DBPs) in the water column. In 2019, data collection expanded to the sub-hourly level more relevant to the decision-making timescale used by reservoir managers. The team’s analysis and findings of the magnitude and drivers of OC variability in the reservoir are now published in the journal Aquatic Sciences. Dexter’s undergraduate research experience included mentorship by IGC fellow Mary Lofton, GCC faculty in the Reservoir Science Group at VT, and with support from the GCC Undergraduate Research Grant program and the Virginia Water Resource Research Center at VT.

Kudos, Dexter & team!