Research Projects

1. Nutrient Assimilation in the Black River Upper Morass, St. Elizabeth.
Graduate student: Mrs. Francine Taylor-Campbell (PhD).
Thesis advisor: Dr. A.M. Greenaway.

Nutrient (N and P) concentrations in the Black River increase significantly as the river flows through the agricultural lands north of the Santa Cruz Mountains but then decrease as the river flows through the Upper Morass. Nutrient concentrations reaching the coast at Black River township are comparable to the concentrations in the head waters. This project seeks to determine the capacity of the Upper Morass to assimilate nutrients and thus its ability to protect the Lower Morass and the coast from nutrient contamination. A wetland model is being modified to allow for the prediction of changes in land-use practices on river water quality. The work is being done in collaboration with the St. Elizabeth Environmental Protection Association (SEEPA)and Maggoty High School,
who have been equipped (funds from the Inter-American Development Bank) and trained to monitor the river and
to take samples during floods, fish-kills, droughts, etc. The work is supported with funds from the
Environmental Foundation of Jamaica (EFJ).

2. Optical Sensors in Water Quality monitoring.
Graduate student: Mrs. Rosemarie McLean-Wilson (PhD).
Thesis advisor: Dr. A.M. Greenaway.

Optical Sensors, including remote sensing, have been shown to indicate the status of pollution in coastal and inland waters. This project seeks to use such sensors to quantify the water quality in Jamaica’s wetlands and coastal waters, with a focus on the Black River Morasses, the Black River and Black River Bay. The information generated will illustrate how optical information collected from equipment deployed in the field can substitute for routine water sampling.

3. Nutrient Fluxes to Discovery Bay, St. Ann.
Graduate student: Mrs. Debbie-Ann Gordon-Smith (PhD).
Thesis advisor: Dr. A.M. Greenaway.

The algal cover of the Discovery Bay reef, and other reefs around the world, has been blamed on chronic nutrient concentrations in the bay. This project seeks to quantify the nutrient concentrations and to measure the flow of fresh water to the bay and thus determine the annual flow of nutrients to the bay and the fringing reef. The freshwater flow to the bay is via submarine vents and seepage through sand. There are no rivers flowing to the bay. This work has been made possible through funds from Kaiser Jamaica Ltd and USAID through its CWIP project.

4. The Effects of alumina mineralogy on bauxite processing.
Graduate student: Miss Shakia Sewell (M.Phil).
Thesis advisors: Dr's M.D. Coley and A.M. Greenaway.

The disparate solubilities of alumina minerals during the extraction of alumina from bauxites by the Bayer Process leads to some minerals remaining in the insoluble residues after the digestion process. These minerals can act as seed for the precipitation of alumina from the supersaturated liquors. This project seeks to identify the best analytical methods to use to predict possible alumina loss from the characteristics of the bauxites. This work has been made possible through funds and technical support from WINDALCO.

5. Caustic Soluble Phosphorus in Jamalco Bauxite.
Graduate student: Miss Khadeen Henry (M.Phil).
Thesis advisors: Dr's M.D. Coley and A.M. Greenaway.

As the quality of bauxites available to processing companies using the Bayer Process decrease (lower concentrations of soluble alumina and higher concentrations of impurities) the need grows to be able quantify the solubility of impurities and to predict these solubilities from bauxite characteristics. This project seeks to determine the mineralogy of P in bauxites that are to be mined by Jamalco and to quantify P solubility under varying processing conditions. This work has been made possible through funding and technical support from Jamalco and Alcoa World (see project 6 below).

6. Caustic Soluble Trace Metals in Jamalco Bauxite.
Graduate student: Miss Alicia Bucknor (M.Phil).
Thesis advisors: Dr's M.D. Coley and A.M. Greenaway.

As the quality of bauxites available to processing companies using the Bayer Process decrease (lower concentrations of soluble alumina and higher concentrations of impurities) the need grows to be able quantify the solubility of impurities and to predict these solubilities from bauxite characteristics. This project seeks to determine the mineralogy of Cr, Mn, Cu, Zn and Cd in bauxites that are to be mined by Jamalco and to quantify their solubility under varying processing conditions. This work has been made possible through funding and technical support from Jamalco and Alcoa World (see project 5 above).

7. Evaluation of Hypoglycin A and B Content and the Phytochemistry of Blighia sapida (ackee)
Graduate student: Miss Camille Bowen, (PhD).
Thesis advisor: Dr. D.A. Minott-Kates.

In the 1950’s the Chemistry Department, UWI was instrumental in isolating and identifying the toxic principles in ackee, hypoglycins A and B. The possibility of traces of hypoglycin A remaining in ackee prevented significant development of international trade of the product. Recent efforts of the private sector and government agencies in establishing safe limits of hypoglycin A in processed ackee's has fueled renewed interest in trading of ackee and ackee products. Current research is geared to tracking the changes in hypoglycins A and B content as the fruit matures, across different ackee varieties and through different bearing seasons. In addition work is being carried out on the individual diastereomers of hypoglycin A and on identification of other secondary metabolites of ackee.

8. Characterization of Pigments Developed During Thermal Processing of Coconut Water
Graduate student: Maurice Lewis, MPhil student
Thesis advisor: Dr. D.A. Minott-Kates.

Coconut water has gained significant popularity as a commercial product in recent years. Once removed from the nut however the water has a very short shelf life. Varying techniques have been employed experimentally to improve its keeping quality including thermal processing. Coconut water that has been thermally preserved typically develops a pink colour. This investigation serves to determine the factors which might be contributing to the development of pigments in processed coconut water and to isolate and characterize the pigments produced after thermal preservation of the water.

9. Physiochemical Characterization of Transgenic and Non-transgenic Papaya Fruit (Carica papaya L.)
Graduate student: Madeen Roberts Miller, MPhil (2005)
Thesis advisor: Dr. D.A. Minott-Kates.

Jamaica’s flourishing papaya export industry suffered severely in the 1990s with the Papaya Ringspot Virus (PRSV) infestation of the crop. Joint efforts between Harvard and the University of the West Indies produced several transgenic papaya lines resistant to the PRSV. This project characterized some of the physiochemical properties of these transgenic lines and looked at whether or not there were any significant differences to non-transgenic papaya. Information procured will form part of a safety data package for the future scientific assessment of the substantial equivalence of these transgenic lines and non-transgenic papaya fruit and hence their commercial viability. The project was funded through the Jamaica Development Foundation, and the Organization of American States.

10. Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Jamaican Jerked Products
Graduate student: Dwyte Bremmer, MPhil student
Thesis advisor: Dr. D.A. Minott-Kates.

It is known that Polycyclic Aromatic Nuclear Hydrocarbons (PAHs) are generally produced in grilled/barbecued meats. Many of these have been found to be mutagenic/carcinogenic to varying degrees in experimental animals. This study aims to examine the conditions under which traditional Jamaican jerked products are prepared, to determine the presence of possible carcinogenic PAHs in Jamaican jerked products.