James Landmeyer, research hydrologist for the U.S. Geological Survey, spoke about tritium uptake in trees to a small crowd in Haley Center for Earth Day Thursday.
"We kind of did (my research) on a shoestring budget, but we were really curious," Landmeyer said.
Landmeyer said the problem of tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, in groundwater in his home state of South Carolina is a concern, because tritium can be detrimental if it enters human lungs.
Landmeyer said he feared the groundwater would be taken up by the trees and released into the air.
Landmeyer's project focuses on using natural plants and trees to mediate the water.
"It was interesting just to find out what steps are being taken to fix the problem," said Brandon Gregg, junior in pre-landscape architecture.
Gregg said he enjoyed learning about Landmeyer's project and thought it was a good fit for Earth Day.
Luke Marzen, associate professor in geography, said he thought Landmeyer's speech was interesting because it incorporated biology, geology and hydrology.
"I'm a geographer, and I am very interested in evapotranspiration," Marzen said. "Obviously, it ties in well with Earth Day because it deals with biosphere, lithosphere and hydrosphere."
Landmeyer proposed simple solutions to the problem, such as undergrowth removal, which his studies showed would keep groundwater clean and tritium out of the air.
Landmeyer also addressed Earth Day celebrations in his speech.
He said Vikings worshipped the ash tree, which feeds on spring water, similar to his area of study.
Landmeyer has worked as a research hydrologist for the U.S. Geological Survey since 1990, according to USGS website.
He received his bachelor's degree from Allegheney College and his master's and PhD from University of South Carolina.
During his speech, Landmeyer encouraged students to keep their minds open to different kinds of jobs. He said he never expected to be working for the federal government while he was in college.
"When I was an undergrad and graduate student, I never thought I'd be here," Landmeyer said. "Sometimes life takes you weird places. I never thought I would be working for the federal government for 20 years. I was anti that."
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