I am currently working on two projects as a post-doctoral researcher. One involves the bioavailability of effluent-derived organic nitrogen that exits wastewater treatment plants and enters into natural aquatic systems. This topic is increasingly important since loads of total nitrogen must decrease according to the Chesapeake 2000 agreement. By decreasing total nitrogen loads, the proportion of dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) in treated effluent from wastewater treatment plants will increase, since dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) is easier to remove. Therefore, determining the bioavailability of that DON fraction from treated effluent in natural waters is imperative from an environmental as well as a regulatory standpoint. The second project is also tied to DON, and specifically involves the role of peptide hydrolysis by algal communities in marine environments. Little is known about the processes that affect the observed dissolved organic matter pools in the marine environment and it is the goal of this project to understand the biological and chemical basis for the observed distribution of protein, peptide and amino acid pools in the marine environment. Both projects have local ties to the Chesapeake Bay and the coastal ocean and hope to elucidate further the complex role that DON has in the marine environment. My other interests include nutrient dynamics in coastal regions, specifically within the Chesapeake Bay outflow plume, and the nitrogen budget within the mid-Atlantic bight.
