Barry Volson, a senior marine biology major at UVI, was recently selected as a finalist for best research project by the Estuarine Research Federation.
Volson attended the Estuarine Research Federation's 15th Biennial International Conference in New Orleans, where he presented his research project, "The impact of the runway extension on John Brewer's Bay in St. Thomas, U.S.V.I."
Volson was selected as one of 11 finalists from a pool of 300 undergraduates from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) who submitted abstracts to the ERF.
It was the first time a student from UVI ever participated in the ERF conference, at which some 700 other abstracts from scientists were presented on estuarine research from all over the globe.
Volson's project found that while the amount of oxygen and salinity was uniform throughout John Brewer's Bay in 1971, when the first research was done, by 1998 the situation had changed. Volson documented that fluctuations in the flow of organic matter and fresh water runoff, caused by the construction of the airport runway that shelters the bay from currents that would flush the area, greatly impact oxygen levels, temperature and salinity along the bay.
"I'm very fortunate to get this opportunity," Volson said. "Out of 300 minorities it's kind of difficult to choose 11 and out of the 11, for one to be from the Virgin Islands, I'm just overwhelmed to be that one."
Volson, 23, plans to attend graduate school to study biological oceanography.