Zhaozhe Chen is a graduate student in SES advised by Ozeas Costa. Here, he shares how Friends of Orton Hall helped him further his studies.
Artificial Floating Islands (AFIs) is a phytoremediation technology that is growing in popularity, and has been used in rivers, lakes, and reservoirs worldwide for nearly 40 years. These floating treatment wetland systems involve the application of naturally occurring plants as floating hydroponic mats on the water surface, where emergent plants are inserted in a buoyant mat suspended in a floating support, with the crowns and the shoots growing above the water level while the root system grows deeper into the water column. AFIs have been proven to be efficient and cost-effective methods for tackling the problem of nutrient pollution. My research project is entitled "Artificial Floating Island System as a Sustainable Solution for Addressing Nutrient Pollution and Harmful Algal Blooms in Ohio: A Pilot Study", and aims to provide empirical evidence to support state-wide applications of AFI systems as an efficient, environment-friendly, and cost-effective method to remediate nutrient pollution in streams, lakes and reservoirs in Ohio.
After receiving the grant from the Friends of Orton Hall Student Research Fund, I was able to purchase supplies for the experiments, including PVC pipes, luffa sponges, EVA mats, and many others, and started building my AFIs in late March. The first seven AFI units built were deployed in early April at the Milliron Wetland in OSU Mansfield Campus. The FOH grant allows me to build the required AFIs before the bloom season of selected plants so that I can monitor the entire growing season.
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