On this week’s The Sci-Files, your hosts Chelsie and Danny interview Chelsea Weiskerger from the Department of Environmental Engineering, pursuing a Dual Ph.D. with Environmental Science and Policy. 

Chelsea has been involved in several different research projects focusing on how water quality and beaches affect public health. She has published statistical models of long-term (10-15 year) beach water quality patterns in Lake Michigan and Lake Erie. She has also created models of how sunlight behaves within water; which can indicate water quality conditions.

Beach sand has been a source of microbiological contamination, so Chelsea is currently working on a project to see how urbanization and climate change may affect it. Much of her research has involved fieldwork, analysis of water samples, and statistical modeling of the Great Lakes.

Moving forward, Chelsea is planning to research the effects of river outlets on beach water quality, since they change with stormwater runoff. Overall, she hopes to use her skills to influence clean water policy and maximize the protection of the public at beaches.

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