How can students' curiosities lead to valuable scientific research?

A Columbia College science program has helped one student shed light on how plants that live in the dark affect CO₂ levels in the atmosphere. The research fills a gap in modeling carbon cycling—how respiration among plant life in areas with little sunlight, such as the Arctic, filters CO₂.

Andy Garcia '17CC and Kevin Griffin, professor of earth and environmental sciences, work to inhibit photosynthesis in leaves to measure plant respiration under different light conditions. Garcia majored in earth and environmental sciences with a concentration in ecology, evolution, and environmental biology (E3B). The E3B program provides opportunities for students to create a project and see it through, often resulting in published scientific papers. Learn more.