Are PCBS in phytoplankton and zooplankton at equilibrium with the water in which they live?

Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2019

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Cacciola, Angela(Angela Marie)
Other Authors: Philip M. Gschwend.
Format: Thesis
Language:eng
Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2020
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/124190
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author Cacciola, Angela(Angela Marie)
author2 Philip M. Gschwend.
author_facet Philip M. Gschwend.
Cacciola, Angela(Angela Marie)
author_sort Cacciola, Angela(Angela Marie)
collection MIT
description Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2019
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spelling mit-1721.1/1241902020-03-24T03:28:56Z Are PCBS in phytoplankton and zooplankton at equilibrium with the water in which they live? Are polychlorinated biphenyls in phytoplankton and zooplankton at equilibrium with the water in which they live? Cacciola, Angela(Angela Marie) Philip M. Gschwend. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Civil and Environmental Engineering. Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2019 Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references (pages 31-34). Food chain bioaccumulation of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) can result in harmful concentrations within higher trophic level organisms such as fish and humans. It is important to consider how the concentrations of PCBs in phytoplankton and zooplankton affect higher trophic organisms. It was hypothesized that polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) concentrations within primary producers such as phytoplankton simply reflect chemical equilibrium of PCB congeners freely dissolved in the water column and in the lipid fraction of the plankton. In this study, the freely dissolved PCBs in the water of Lake Cochituate, MA, were measured using polyethylene (PE) passive sampling strips, thereby avoiding problems associated with colloid-bound PCBs. Phytoplankton and zooplankton samples were measured to determine their PCB levels and lipid fractions. The phytoplankton were at equilibrium in the fall of 2016. The phytoplankton and zooplankton appeared close to equilibrium in the spring of 2017. The large PCB congeners measured in the spring of 2017 may have been undersaturated, consistent with the idea that rapid growth leads to phytoplankton undersaturation. by Angela Cacciola. S.M. S.M. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering 2020-03-23T18:10:59Z 2020-03-23T18:10:59Z 2019 2019 Thesis https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/124190 1144932128 eng MIT theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from this source but further reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 61 pages application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology
spellingShingle Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Cacciola, Angela(Angela Marie)
Are PCBS in phytoplankton and zooplankton at equilibrium with the water in which they live?
title Are PCBS in phytoplankton and zooplankton at equilibrium with the water in which they live?
title_full Are PCBS in phytoplankton and zooplankton at equilibrium with the water in which they live?
title_fullStr Are PCBS in phytoplankton and zooplankton at equilibrium with the water in which they live?
title_full_unstemmed Are PCBS in phytoplankton and zooplankton at equilibrium with the water in which they live?
title_short Are PCBS in phytoplankton and zooplankton at equilibrium with the water in which they live?
title_sort are pcbs in phytoplankton and zooplankton at equilibrium with the water in which they live
topic Civil and Environmental Engineering.
url https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/124190
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