MIT Libraries logoDSpace@MIT

MIT
View Item 
  • DSpace@MIT Home
  • MIT Libraries
  • MIT Theses
  • Graduate Theses
  • View Item
  • DSpace@MIT Home
  • MIT Libraries
  • MIT Theses
  • Graduate Theses
  • View Item
JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

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

Author(s)
Cacciola, Angela(Angela Marie)
Thumbnail
Download1144932128-MIT.pdf (8.349Mb)
Alternative title
Are polychlorinated biphenyls in phytoplankton and zooplankton at equilibrium with the water in which they live?
Other Contributors
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Advisor
Philip M. Gschwend.
Terms of use
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
Metadata
Show full item record
Abstract
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.
Description
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).
 
Date issued
2019
URI
https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/124190
Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Keywords
Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Collections
  • Graduate Theses

Browse

All of DSpaceCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjects

My Account

Login

Statistics

OA StatisticsStatistics by CountryStatistics by Department
MIT Libraries
PrivacyPermissionsAccessibilityContact us
MIT
Content created by the MIT Libraries, CC BY-NC unless otherwise noted. Notify us about copyright concerns.