Aquaponics in Georgia are integrating sustainability and efficiency

Native plant species and amphibians exist symbiotically in a pond system. Photo By: Kaz Thomas

By: Kaz Thomas

Aquaponics, a system of using fish or other aquatic species to grow alongside plants, has numerous potential benefits for agriculture in Georgia.

The practice combines aquaculture, which is raising fish in tanks, with hydroponics, raising plants in water. This system of agriculture has existed for a long time, with some examples being East Asian rice paddies benefitting from wild fish, and Aztec floating plant islands.

The process reduces water loss and nutrient runoff by creating a semi-closed ecosystem modeled from wild pond environments, which often have fish and aquatic plants living symbiotically. Symbiosis is a relationship between two species that benefits both.

Researchers at Georgia Southern University’s Sustainable Aquaponics Research Center are streamlining the process to discover efficient and sustainable ways to raise both plant and animal products.

“You feed the fish…it can be done with crustaceans as well. And then their waste goes directly into the water, and you have plants that have their roots suspended in the water,” said Brigette Brinton, the curator of SARC. “They absorb the nutrients and then of course grow really well because they have ready access to the nutrients and are well taken care of.”

The fish benefit as well, with contaminated water being naturally filtered by the growing plants. “That of course removes anything that would generally harm the fish, like the excess nutrients or ammonia from their waste, and so the water can cycle right back to the fish”, Brinton said.

SARC uses a 4,000-square-foot greenhouse to set up systems of both aquaponics and hydroponics.

There are several types of aquaponic systems, with three being Media Bed, Deep Water Culture (DWC) and Nutrient Film Technique (NFT).

Media Bed prioritizes a layer of rocks or soil for plants to root into, using embedded PVC pipes to provide nutrient-rich water flowing through the media. The technique is relatively simple and can be used by backyard gardeners.

Deep Water Culture uses a large water tank and floating rafts which plants grow on, with their roots suspended in nutrient rich water. SARC implements this technique with fish to aid nutrient production.

Nutrient Film Technique is similar to Deep Water Culture, with plant roots suspended in water. However, these plants are arranged in a vertical shelf with PVC pipe pumping through smaller, water-filled platforms.

Many edible plants such as lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes can be grown using aquaponics. SARC partners with the Armstrong Southern Café to provide fresh vegetables for salads and sandwiches.

The long-term goal of SARC is to provide sustainability on the Armstrong campus and to act as a place of interdisciplinary research for students and faculty members.

The center also partners with nearby schools to educate students about aquaponics and more efficient methods of growing crops.

Dave Davies, the owner of Georgia Aquaponics Produce LLC. has a commercial use for the agriculture system. The business grows and sells aquaponic produce from DWC tanks, which Davies described as “A premium product. It's organic, and it tastes amazing, but it is twice as expensive.”

Aquaponics for commercial use have noticeable differences from research settings, primarily in costs. “Water is a minor cost because you only use 5% of the water that you would normally grow a crop with,” Davies said. The type of crop being grown is important, since it may require additional nutrients that the local water source cannot provide.

The largest cost is labor, which according to Davies, is “stopping it from taking off” in Georgia. “Most commercial growing operations now are mechanized, you put a tractor in and you plant 100 acres in a day. Aquaponics is very labor intensive,” Davies said.

Each system can be used efficiently, but the species within them are important. Smaller plants tend to do better in smaller systems, such as NFTs and Media Beds, while larger plants are best used in DWCs.

Improper PVC filtration can result in clogging from plant roots, underpowered water cycling and temperature fluctuations resulting in the loss of crops.

The balance of species and space is crucial in aquaponic systems, and too many of one or the other can result in failure.

“They grow too many fish and they don't have a big enough area to grow plants. What happens is that ammonia builds up in the tank because it's not being used,” said Davies. “It goes from ammonia, to nitrite to nitrate and there's not enough area for the plants to use all the ammonia that has been produced by the fish. Then the fish die, and the plants die.

Aquaponics has the potential to make gardening and farming in Georgia more efficient and sustainable. Further education, partnerships with schools, and workshops are the key to making the system more widespread.

“We need to start making people aware and start getting it sorted out because it is the future,” Davies said.

Extended research can result in higher yields of crops, efficient management of environmental challenges and deeper understanding of water ecology.

Consistently evolving CTE research has changed how concussions, player safety are viewed in football

By: Austin Carter

Football is one of the most popular sports in the United States, but developments regarding what is known about the severity of repeated head injuries cast a shadow on the sport. 

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy is the degeneration of the brain that occurs as a result of repeated injuries to the head and brain. This condition leads to impaired cognitive ability, as well as the possibility of mood and behavioral changes.

 

Overall, relatively little is known about CTE and its development, according to Mayo Clinic. This lack of knowledge contributes to more precautions being taken to prevent head injuries. 

 

CTE is not diagnosable in a living patient and is only able to be determined by an autopsy. While little is known about how it develops, the understanding of concussions allows researchers to connect the dots with symptoms. 

 

Statesboro neurologist Dr. Spencer Paterson explained that the shape and the location of certain parts of the brain contribute to the types of symptoms that arise from head injuries. “The frontal lobes and temporal lobes are particularly prone to injury,” Paterson said. “There’s bones at the bottom of the skull called petrous ridges and they make the temporal lobes very susceptible to injury.”

 

Paterson explained that these areas of the brain are important for cognition, mood, reasoning and memory. When the areas are injured repeatedly, these aspects of how a person functions can be heavily impacted.

 

Keenan Hellesto suffered seven concussions during his time playing football through high school. He attributes his current problems with his memory to those injuries. “I struggle with major memory issues,” Hellesto said. “Short term and long term memory have both been affected.”

 

Even though his memory deficiencies can be a hindrance, Hellesto does not regret his time playing football, nor does he plan to prevent any future children from playing if they choose to. 

 

As common as concussions are in football, changes had to be made to try to mitigate the frequency of these injuries occurring. The concussion prevention effort has become a polarizing topic within football as new regulations are being imposed. To the dismay of many fans, rule changes have been made across all levels of football to eliminate helmet-to-helmet contact. 

 

The Targeting rule was implemented in college football, which makes it illegal to hit a defenseless player in the head or neck area while leading with the crown of the helmet. If this foul is committed, the player responsible is disqualified.

 

The issue that fans have doesn’t lie within the promotion of player safety, but rather the idea that the game of football is being stripped of its physicality with every new rule. 

 

Former high school football player Logan Finn still enjoys watching football with the rule changes. Having suffered multiple concussions himself, he understands the benefits of the rules being in place. “Everyone loves to see those big hits, but they’re not worth someone’s health or life,” Finn said. 

 

As more information comes to light about the dangers of repeated head injuries regarding CTE development, the debate about whether parents should allow their kids to play football has begun to intensify. 

 

Paterson clarified a misconception regarding head injuries to children. “The young brain is much more pliable,” Paterson said. “In other words, it has a much greater capacity to heal and form new connections.” 

 

He also noted that it was still unsettling seeing any of his own children take a hard hit, but he was able to take comfort from the fact that the speed and power possessed by children are substantially lower than those of professional athletes. 

 

The stark differences in strength, speed and power at different levels of football contribute to the overall chance of CTE developing. “There’s no question the force of the impacts and number of impacts correlates with the likelihood of having problems later on because of damage to important areas of the brain,” Paterson said. 

 

The higher the level of football being played, the longer those athletes will have been playing for. More time on the field means more chances of being hit, which is a major contributing factor to the National Football League becoming more vigilant in its concussion prevention in recent years. 

 

Similar to college football, the NFL has also implemented new rules to reduce contact to the head. On top of that, the NFL has banned the use of specific models of helmets that tested poorly, according to ESPN. 

 

The 2017 preseason and regular season produced a combined 281 concussions. That number was reduced to 187 concussions in 2021 as a result of the changes, according to the NFL. It is not feasible to expect these injuries to completely cease to exist, but taking the precautions to lower the amount that occur year-to-year will help to lessen the chances for complications to arise later in an athlete’s life.

 

As researchers uncover more information about CTE moving forward, the NFL, and football as a whole, will have to continue to evolve to prioritize player health while maintaining the competitive spirit and entertainment value that the game is renowned for. 

 

Georgia Southern becomes the first university in the state of Georgia to receive Foundry Educational Foundation certification.

By: Addie Robinson

In 2019, a chapter of the American Foundry Society was formed at Georgia Southern, led by Mingzhi Xu, who received his doctorate in Metallurgical Engineering from Missouri University. With this new chapter, both mechanical and manufacturing engineering students are starting to receive significant national attention.

Metal casting is “the process of pouring molten metal into an empty shaped space.” (reliance-foundry.com). It is the sole focus of the American Foundry Society, and the Foundry Educational Foundation.

Xu has an extensive history with metal casting, alongside teaching the process at Georgia Southern as well. As a recipient of the Junior Faculty Award from the Association for Iron and Steel Technology, Xu’s success is being passed onto his students.

Xu strives to encourage younger engineering students to be more involved in the metal casting industry and create an emphasis on metal casting. He is looking to create new courses in metal casting in the process, such as a dedicated metal casting class and a microstructure steel course. 

With leadership from Xu, Georgia Southern has received certification from the Foundry Educational Foundation, an organization dedicated to strengthening the partnerships between students and companies around the globe.

The FEF requires at least two years of affiliation before a chapter of the AFS can qualify for certification. During the certification process, the higher a program scores, the longer it can keep its certification before having to reapply for it. Georgia Southern is the first university in Georgia to receive certification, scoring almost ninety points after only three years of involvement. This means they can keep their certification for five years without having to reapply for certification.

Nick Bacik, annual giving and relationship manager for the FEF said that this certification means that the school will receive more recognition and more funding for more projects, lab equipment, and even travel costs.

Xander Bowen, Vice President of the Georgia Southern chapter, said that he is hoping to invite the engineering students at Statesboro High School on a field trip to watch a demo of the casting process. “It would be a really good experience for them to see metal casting live in person.” Bowen said. Bowen’s goals for the future are to expand recruiting, and hopefully get more freshmen and sophomores involved in the chapter. “I like having our small group because it feels like a family, but getting more people involved will also help us grow and be able to do more projects.” Said Bowen.

In a few weeks, they will be presenting projects at the AFS Southeast Regional Convention in Savannah, where they will be going head to head with groups from Virginia, Alabama, Tennessee, and more later in the semester in the national competition in Ohio. Bowen’s team will be competing at the national competition in making a Celtic Sword, with one of the judges being from the television show “Forged in Fire.”

Xu has high hopes for the chapter, as it has become one of the fastest-growing programs in the nation. Many of the top schools that are involved with the FEF have had their programs for upwards of 50 years, including powerhouses such as Ohio State University, University of Alabama, and Penn State University. Georgia Southern, with only three years of involvement, is already making a name for itself. Xu is pushing for the chapter to become a more matured program, with better facilities and more equipment. With such ambitious goals and the upward growth of the program, Xu and the Georgia Southern chapter of the American Foundry Society are sure to make some sparks fly. 

Cryptocurrency shows promise for investors, poses threat to environment

By: Joshua Jones

Despite cryptocurrency’s growing popularity in recent years, many people are still left wondering how it works.

While other forms of currency are regulated by nations and financial institutions, cryptocurrency is decentralized, meaning that it is immune from government interference, according to Investopedia.

Due to this, many countries have either placed an implicit or absolute ban on its use. El Salvador, on the other hand, has accepted Bitcoin as legal tender, while others have yet to make a firm decision.

“Any decision by the US will be very influential globally,” said John Barkoulas, a finance professor at Georgia Southern University. “To adopt regulation you need to know all important aspects of reality but that reality is in a state of flux currently.”

The data of cryptocurrency “coins” is contained on networks in various locations and stored on a blockchain, which is a virtual ledger that stores information in blocks that cannot be edited, according to Investopedia.

Because the blockchain is copied to multiple different nodes, or devices attached to a network, it is difficult for hackers to manipulate, and data errors can be noticed and corrected quickly.

Similar to sharing a Microsoft Word document with a team, they will not see any edits made after the document is shared. Therefore, if someone sabotaged that document on one computer, it would still be the same on the others.

When someone purchases a form of cryptocurrency, the passwords, or “keys,” to access the funds are stored in wallets, which can be physical or digital, according to Coinbase.

There are risks to both kinds, as physical wallets can be lost or destroyed, and online wallets can be hacked.

The first and most popular cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, was created in 2009 by an anonymous source under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, according to Business Insider.

Growing from a valueless digital concept, a single Bitcoin is now worth over $40,000, according to Yahoo Finance.

Since 2009, many other cryptocurrency coins have emerged, including Ethereum and Cardano.

Today, the total market value of all cryptocurrencies has reached over $3 trillion, according to Al Jazeera.

Not all cryptocurrency coins are created equal, though, and while success stories such as Bitcoin can seem promising, many other newer coins remain at a very low value.

“Any time you have a lot of supply and lack of demand, something is going to fall,” said Kent Patrick of Bush Wealth Management.

Patrick said that while some coins have gone “to the moon,” others have not been so successful, and said that he would advise people, as with any investment, to not have more than 10% of their net worth in any one form of cryptocurrency.

Barkoulas agreed that those interested in cryptocurrency should only use a small percentage of their funds but said that there are portfolio diversification benefits associated with investing.

While there are legitimate capital risks, as with any speculation, many people have seen significant financial gains from their investment. However, cryptocurrency’s impact does not stop with those who choose to buy in.

Many forms of cryptocurrency are “mined,” which involves a system of computers solving complex equations on a cryptocurrency’s network in order to be rewarded in that coin, the same way a student might be given candy by a teacher for answering a question correctly.

This process consumes a lot of energy, which can be harmful to the environment.

In fact, Eden Hollers, a student at GSU writing on cryptocurrency’s environmental impacts, said she found in her research that Bitcoin’s energy consumption alone is comparable to that of the country of Belgium, and that greenhouse gases emitted from Bitcoin mining may lead to an increase in global temperatures by 2 degrees Celsius.

“Because of the environmental effects of it, I don’t really believe that we need it that much, especially when it comes to NFTs,” said Hollers. “It’s just something to go into that capitalistic nature of society, a new way to gain money.”

While cryptocurrency may seem like an exciting investment, the jury is still out on how it will fit into the global economy and the effect that these digital transactions will have on our environment.








Graphic by Joshua Jones. Data obtained from Bankrate.

GS professor has been approved for a grant to work with construction air filtration

By: Liz Lavender

Georgia Southern University associate professor, Atin Adhikari, Ph.D, has been granted $28,400 to explore the use of new technology with the Z Flow Pro Helmet to protect construction workers from Ultra Fine Particles (UFP’s).

“I am interested in studying relationships between air pollutant exposures and respiratory disorders and related health issues in home and work environments as well as in other emerging areas of occupational and environmental health”. 

On construction sites, the drilling, sawing, and sanding of various construction materials such as brick, concrete, and wood, exposes construction workers to ultra fine particles containing silica, as well as other hazardous chemicals.

The silica exposure can potentially cause silicosis among the workers and “crystalline silica was considered as a Group 1 or suspected human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC)”, continuing that “We need more advanced personal protective equipment to protect construction workers from hazardous dust exposures” states Dr. Adhikari on the importance of this research. 

The lack of effective professional equipment for construction workers is his main concern when moving forward with his research on protection from UFPs. 

The current protective gear is causing many issues such as poor fit, overheating the workers, and most importantly, the filtration level is not strong enough to protect the workers from these hazardous chemicals.

Hopefully, the work of the Z Flow Pro Helmut will “provide a downward draft through the front of the helmet, creating an air curtain in front of the worker’s face”, which will allow workers to have not only more effective protection equipment, but also a more comfortable fit. 

Samuel Dudley, Construction Management Major at Georgia Southern University, was unaware of the full extent of damage the exposure to these dust particles could cause him. 

“We have had to leave a site before because of the dust, but it didn’t make sense to me until I looked into the dangers”. Many rising construction workers are also unaware of these dangers, which is why this new research allowing effective PPE to be common, will save the health of so many construction employees. 

Although “dust exposures at construction sites are inevitable”, Dr. Adhikari is hoping to “provide better personal protective equipment to workers”.

Cody Dee, property manager for various Statesboro establishments claims that “having new protective gear would be a blessing to work with” explaining that “the fear of lung corruption” is something all construction workers keep in the back of their minds on job sites. 

 

While the technology is still in the early stages, Dr. Adhikari is hoping to use light particles to test dust exposure and redirect the ultra fine particles with his new Z Flow Pro protective gear. 

Dr. Adhikari has more than 10 years in environmental and occupational health research, as well as being involved in a broad range of research projects related to air pollution. 

Dr. Adhikari and his colleagues will formally start their research in March.

Temperatures have varied drastically in Southeast Georgia and blueberry farms are paying the price

By: Lauren Sabia

Climate change is leading to drastic weather changes this winter in southeast Georgia due to warming global temperatures, where blueberry farms in Bulloch county are suffering.

After January, where the average daily temperature ranged from 50 degrees to the high 70s, a cold front swooped in the last week of the month, causing a cold snap for the local agriculture.

The lowest, recorded temperature dipped down to 25 degrees on January 30. 

Lissa Leege is a biology and sustainability professor who focuses her research on plant conservation ecology and biodiversity. She explained how climate change increases temperature, which causes growing seasons to be earlier. 

This can even change the crops farmers choose to plant because some cannot tolerate warmer temperatures. Climate change can also increase drought and storm intensity in some areas, which negatively impacts crops by damaging them and requiring an increase in irrigation. 

Warmth through the beginning of this year caused blueberry plants to flower early. The flowers eventually turn into the blueberry fruit we eat. A cold snap however, devastates this growth and diminishes the crop, which has happened in recent years.  

John Marshall, the owner of Marshall’s Farm in Statesboro, grows blueberries and muscadine grapes. He explained the process of how most fruits are grown and produced. 

Before the fruit starts to flower, the plant needs a certain amount of chill hours, which are every hour that is below 45 degrees after the plant loses its leaves (or defoliated). Blueberries only need 200 to 300 chill hours before they are ready to break dormancy and flower. 

Since this specific fruit quickly fills the chill hour requirement, when there is an extended period of warm weather followed by a cold snap, all of the flowering that occurred during this time freezes over, which kills the fruit. 

If the effects of climate change were not a problem, the weather would get cold and stay cold, and premature flowering would not be an issue. 

“So that has happened to me three times out of the last three years, three out of three,” Marshall said. 

When he has no crop or a diminished crop, he has nothing to sell and does not make any money.

Marshall is hoping this does not occur this year. 

Rusty Bell owns Bell Farms in Claxton, Georgia, where they grow rabbiteye blueberries and make wine out of it. Since this blueberry type is a later variety, they have not started blooming yet. Bell is more worried about a freeze coming in late February, early March since this affects his growth. 

“I was in the seventh grade, about 40 or 50 years ago, when we learned that we were coming out of an ice age and we're building into you know, warmer climate anyway,” Bill said when asked about the impact of climate change on the agriculture industry.

Marshall also agreed that there is not much farmers can do to control unpredictable weather due to climate change, even though it has become “politically popular” according to him.

“Weather is going to happen, no matter what,” said Marshall. “No matter what we do one way or the other, so you just have to adapt to it rather than try to manipulate it.” 

As temperatures change, crops are moving north that would not be possible to grow in the past because of colder winters. This can be seen in Statesboro with Franklin's Citrus Farm.

“In this case, our economy is benefiting from the warmer temperatures with the new orange and grapefruit crops, but other crops may be suffering due to the heat,” Leege said. 

As Southeast Georgia becomes hotter and hotter, farmers are prepared to change their crop to citrus instead of what can typically be found here, blueberries. 

“If it gets too warm, I'll throw something that does better in warm weather, if I'm still alive,” said Marshall. “If it gets too cold, just plant something that does well in cold weather.”

Leege stated that all farmers really can do is be flexible with when they plant their crops, where they may need to plant earlier in warmer years. They also should irrigate more to compensate for drought issues. 

The blueberry industry in Georgia has grown immensely over the past few years, where blueberry export revenues jumped from $0.44 million in 2018 to $5.6 million in 2021, according to “EastFruit”.

However, consumers of crops, like blueberries, that are impacted by climate change need to prepare to pay more for them since they are in shorter supply and for them to possibly not be 
available to purchase.