Fall Semester

The Fall semester of my senior year has begun!

I'm sorry I couldn't resist inserting one of my favorite Michael Scott moments...

More importantly, I will be continuing the research I began over the summer for credit this semester! I am also happy to say my partner in crime, Sarah, will be continuing research with me! She and I will be meeting with Dr. Chaudhary and other students working on lab related projects regularly in a small lab group meeting. My main goals for the semester are:  

• Collect the ibutton data in September, reset the ibuttons, replace them back outside in their experimental postions and then analyze the data
• If I have time, I will analyze the data with R, a statistical package, and compare it with daily temperature/precipitation data. This will provide us with a little more information on transpiration rate. If the temperature varies within the trays after rainfall, we will know that the cooler trays have the ability to not loose water as quickly as the other warmer trays.
•  Sample soil from experimental trays and measure water holding capacity of the different soils
•  Once collected, the soil is inundated with water using a can and filter setup. The soaked soil is weighed and then dried in an oven and then weighed once dry. The difference is the water-holding capacity in ml of water per gram of soil.
•  Complete my prospectus, which I will share with you of course! 

 I will keep you updated all along the way!