The College has awarded Matt Fantle '97, David Leone '96 and Joshua Mooney '98 more than $1,000 in Mellon grants to study environmental change.
Fantle, Leone and Mooney will research ecosystems in Vermont, the Himalayan mountains and the desert Southwest, respectively.
Environmental Studies Chair Ross Virginia, who served on the selection committee, said grants were awarded to every student who applied this term. The committee serves more as an advisory board than a jury, he said.
"We usually get two to six applications each term," he said. "The main goal of the review panel is to give the students suggestions and feedback on their proposals."
Fantle, an earth science major, said he began his project during the summer of 1995. Working with Earth Science Professor Hals Zantop, Fantle tested the Ompompanoosuc River for heavy metals he believed were draining from an abandoned copper mine in northwest Vermont.
Chemistry Professor Joshua Hamilton, who researches heavy metals, previously told The Dartmouth "eight of the 20 most toxic substances of concern to the [Environmental Protection Agency] are heavy metals."
Fantle said he calculated the distribution of heavy metals in the water and sediment and used this data to predict their future concentration.
While Fantle was collecting water samples in Vermont last summer, a second grant recipient was exploring desert vegetation in New Mexico.
Mooney said his project was inspired by Virginia, who taught his freshman seminar, "Deserts Hot and Cold," about extreme environments. At the time, Virginia was using his leave terms to study desert decomposition on the Jornada Experimental Range in New Mexico.
"The seminar provided me with a link with someone who was doing research in the field, I wanted to do research in the southwest," he said.
Fascinated by his tales in the classroom, Mooney persuaded Virginia to include him in his research the following summer.
While in New Mexico, Mooney measured how quickly plants decomposed, hoping to link his data with changes in global climate in deserts.
Leone, the third Mellon grant recipient, will study "a small area of the Himalayas in order to gain a better understanding of Himalayan weathering and its significance in the process of carbon dioxide removal from the atmosphere."
Leone was not available for comment.
