Student Spotlight: Jacob Major conducts research on Phosphorus dynamics in watersheds
Undergraduate environmental sciences student Jacob Major is working to identify how phosphorus concentrations in watersheds are impacted by interactions with sediment.
Phosphorus that bound to stream sediments in the past is known as “legacy phosphorus.” Release of legacy phosphorus to the water column over long periods of time can obscure potential reductions in phosphorus concentrations from conservation practices.
Major’s research is the basis for his undergraduate honors thesis with Crop, Soil, and Environmental Sciences Professor Dr. Shannon Speir. Major works in the Speir Lab with other undergraduate and graduate students.
In April 2023, Major began collecting sediment and water samples every other month in three locations along Brush Creek, which is a tributary to Beaver Lake.
“The big picture is, we want to maintain water quality in Beaver Lake for drinking water and recreational purposes for the growing population here in Northwest Arkansas,” Major said.
The samples are used in equilibrium phosphorus concentration (EPC0) assays. These experiments show phosphorus concentration where sediments do not take up or release phosphorus to surrounding water. This information shows the relationship between legacy phosphorus in sediment and ambient phosphorus levels in the water. Major hopes his research will help future water quality studies account for legacy phosphorus effects, phosphorus cycling and export in the Brush Creek watershed.
Major’s research is getting a lot of positive feedback. He received a grant from the Bumpers Undergraduate Research and Creative Project Grants Program and the Office of Undergraduate Research under the Division of Research and Innovation.
Major was also awarded first place in the undergraduate poster presentation contest at the Arkansas Discovery Farms Research Conference. Major received third place for his research at the Undergraduate Research Symposium.
“This whole experience has been so rewarding to me as a student. It has given me so many opportunities to go a little bit further,” Major said.
Major plans to defend his thesis this fall and publish his research before graduating in December 2024. Upon graduation, Major plans to attend law school.
“I wanted to improve my background, my understanding, and my knowledge of environmental science with the purpose of ultimately going to law school. My whole intention is to utilize that STEM background to help craft informed environmental and agricultural policy,” Major said.
Major’s work in the Speir lab was supported in part by the Arkansas Water Resources Center through the U.S. Geological Survey 104(b) program.
Article written by Schyler Angell
Photos Courtesy of Jacob Major
