NGWA Offers Free Student Memberships

As the fall semester begins, the National Ground Water Association (NGWA) is offering free student memberships to those studying in groundwater-related programs (in both undergraduate and graduate programs), whether in a university, community college, or a drilling school.

NGWA student member benefits include:

  • Access to NGWA’s educational programs including, Develop Your Professional Skills: Young Professionals and Students Virtual Conference on October 13th
  • Digital access to current, and all past, issues — as well sneak peeks of yet-to-be-published papers — of Groundwater® and Groundwater Monitoring & Remediation® via the Wiley Online Library
  • A subscription to monthly NGWA member e-newsletter, Groundwater Matters
  • Use of NGWA’s online Career Center

There are also special benefits available to students at our biggest annual event, NGWA’s Groundwater Week, where students can:

  • Present academic papers and posters
  • Compete in a scholarship competition
  • Network with industry professionals.

If you are interested in joining NGWA, all you need do is complete and submit a brief online application to https://www.ngwa.org/members/join-ngwa/Students.

Using Bioavailability to Assess Pyrethroid Insecticide Toxicity in Urban Sediments

The ecotoxicological effects of hydrophobic organic compound (HOC) contamination in sediment are often assessed using laboratory exposures of cultured invertebrates to field-collected sediment. The use of a sediment holding time (storage at 4 °C) between field sampling and the beginning of the bioassay is common practice, yet the effect of holding time on the reliability of bioassay results is largely unknown, especially for current-use HOCs, such as pyrethroid insecticides. Single-point Tenax extraction can be used to estimate HOC concentrations in the rapidly desorbing phase of the organic carbon fraction of sediment (i.e., bioaccessible concentrations), which relate to sediment toxicity and bioaccumulation in invertebrates. In this study, repeated measurements of bioaccessible concentrations (via Tenax), were made as a function of sediment holding time using pyrethroid-contaminated field sediment, and Hyalella azteca 10-d survival and growth was measured concurrently for comparison. Similarly, bioaccessible concentrations and 14-d bioaccumulation were measured in Lumbriculus variegatus as a comparison using the legacy HOCs, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). While the bioaccessible and bioaccumulated PCB concentrations did not change significantly through 244 d of holding time, the bioaccessible pyrethroid concentrations were more varied. Depending on when pyrethroid-contaminated sediments were sampled, the bioaccessible pyrethroid concentrations showed first-order loss with half-lives ranging from 3 to 45 d of holding, or slower, linear decreases in concentrations up to 14% decrease over 180 d. These findings suggest that at least for some contaminants in sediments, holding the sediments prior to bioassays can bias toxicity estimates.

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Call for Abstracts: The Harmful Algal Bloom Symposium is Returning in 2023!

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The Harmful Algal Bloom Research Symposium is coming back in 2023! The Algal Bloom Action Team’s popular Harmful Algal Bloom Research Symposium will return for it’s third year this January 5-6, 2023! The symposium is free and will be held entirely virtually. Over the last two years, the event has brought together over 600 water professionals annually from across the North Central Region to hear about the latest Harmful Algal Bloom Research, discuss examples of effective bloom management, and learn about the latest technologies tackling this global issue.

Our call for abstracts is now open!

The Harmful Algal Bloom Symposium is a great opportunity to share your work with fellow water professionals. Be sure to submit an abstract of your work today!
 
Research and case study abstracts are encouraged!

Abstracts are due at 11:59 PM CT on Friday, November 4th.