My name is Maeah Walthall and I am a Civil Engineering major at George Mason University (GMU) in Fairfax, Virginia. Coming from a family of engineers, teachers, and doctors who earned their degrees in Mathematics, my interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects started at an early age.
During the summers of 2007 and 2008, I participated in the Center for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets (CReSIS) Middle School Program (CMSP) at Elizabeth City State University (ECSU) under Dr. Linda Hayden. During the program, climate change, hydrology, and the fields of remote sensing, polar and oceanic sciences, were discussed. The program also integrated global positioning satellite (GPS) training as well as water testing. Over the two year period, my problem solving, critical thinking, and writing skills improved.

After being enrolled in an intro to drafting and design class in high school, my interest in Civil Engineering was peaked. The most enjoyable part of the class included drafting using the drafting board. Using AutoCAD was simple and something that I could see myself doing as a career. I found myself having to consider two majors that combined AutoCAD and drafting: architecture or civil engineering. After spending time researching the main differences between the two, a major in Civil Engineering at George Mason was the best choice.

George Mason promotes community, networking, and, above all, education. The school promoted many groups and clubs that related to my major and the STEM fields including the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE). During the spring semester of my freshman year, I joined NSBE and promptly afterwards was elected to the position of Pre-College Initiative co-chair, where the objective was to reach out to pre-college students and promote interest in the STEM subjects through tutoring and programs.

Building upon the experience gained in the CMSP as well as being a STEM major, I applied and was accepted into the Research Experience for Undergraduates for Ocean, Marine, and Polar Science (REU OMPS) 2015 at ECSU.  The REU program at ECSU focused on skills that would give participants a competitive edge when applying for jobs regardless of the field including programming with Python, properly working with Microsoft Office, and going through SeaSpace training where we manipulated data taken from satellites.

During the REU OMPS program, the members were placed into three teams based on the research subjects that were being covered: Arctic, Antarctic, and Water Testing. My team was the Arctic. Our research focused on carbon dioxide emissions in the Stordalen mire in Northern Sweden and how the climate change is affecting these emissions. Stordalen Mire is an area in Northern Sweden underlain with discontinuous permafrost. The three locations that were the focus of the study best represented the variation in the vegetation for the mire were the palsa, an area fully covered by permafrost with little to no vegetation; the Sphagnum site, a partially thawed area inhabited by Sphagnum moss; and the fully thawed Eriophorum site which is similar to a fen. The objective of the study was to perform secondary analysis on measurements taken from the mire to calculate the net ecosystem CO2 exchange (NEE) and determine whether the mire would continue to be an atmospheric carbon sink or become a carbon source. A carbon sink is where there is mainly carbon uptake and a carbon source is where carbon is mainly emitted in the form of CO2 or total hydrocarbons (THCs).

The measurements were taken through the automatic chamber system located on the mire. In brief, chamber system is made up of nine chambers which are distributed among the site locations (n=3 at the palsa site and Sphagnum, n=2 at Eriophorum, and n=1 at the Eriophorum/Sphagnum chamber). The system measured fluxes of CO2 and the data was recorded in a computer to be analyzed. The data was analyzed using a statistical software known as JMP Pro 12. Data analysis included regression analysis as well as analysis of variance (ANOVA). The environmental variables that were used were photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), air temperature, and air temperature. The period that was analyzed, identified as the green season, was determined based on the consistent CO2 uptake by the mire. The season began on day 121 and ended on day 260. The data was filtered to only show the green season and PAR greater than or equal to 0. For the regression analysis, the data was filtered so that r2 was greater than 0.87 to ensure a 95% confidence interval.

The results of the research study revealed that the Stordalen Mire continued to maintain its status as a carbon sink for the green season of 2013. The palsa site was the smallest carbon sink since it had little vegetation to perform photosynthesis but still managed to uptake carbon in the form of CO2. The largest carbon sink was Ch. 9, the Eriophorum/Sphagnum site, where there was a combination of vegetation as well as the site being a midpoint within the thaw gradient. The strongest environmental predictor of NEE is PAR which had an r2 of 0.30. Future work would include incorporating the water table and active layer data as environmental variables to observe how they influence atmospheric carbon uptake and carbon emissions.

These actions that were accomplished in the program are things that can be taken back and used for the rest of any participant’s college and professional career. Participating in the REU OMPS program has helped me to become a better student and a better researcher.
My plan for the future is to obtain my bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering. My experience with programming through the REU OMPS program has made me begin to consider taking programming classes to increase my range of skills and enhance my resume. After graduating with my bachelor’s degree, I plan to go forward and get my master’s degree in Civil Engineering.