{"id":2452,"date":"2020-08-11T10:40:00","date_gmt":"2020-08-11T17:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/shells-could-save-our-seas-says-usc-dornsife-undergraduate\/"},"modified":"2025-07-22T17:58:11","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T00:58:11","slug":"student-deacidifies-oceans-and-lakes-with-discarded-sea-shells","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/student-deacidifies-oceans-and-lakes-with-discarded-sea-shells\/","title":{"rendered":"Shells could save our seas, says USC Dornsife undergraduate"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n    \n                                          \n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-hero \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-hero\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n<div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--image\">\n\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n              \n      <img\n                            data-src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/story-3283-768x432.jpg\"\n          data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/story-3283-768x432.jpg 768w\"          data-sizes=\"(min-width:1200px) 75vw, (min-width:768px) 83vw, 100vw\"          class=\"lazyload\"\n        \n                  alt=\"Shells could save our seas, says USC Dornsife undergraduate\"\n        \n        \n                                      \/>\n\n    \n    \n  \n  \n\n<\/div>\n  \n      <div class=\"image-caption\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  Political science major Isabella O\u2019Brien has been working on ways to counter the impact of climate change on our oceans since she was in middle school. (Photos courtesy: Isabella O&#8217;Brien)\n\n\n<\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  \n  <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n          <nav aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\" class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n        <ul>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\">News<\/a><\/li>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\/?category=student\">Student<\/a><\/li>\n                  <\/ul>\n      <\/nav>\n    \n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--page-title\">\n\n    \n  <h1>Shells could save our seas, says USC Dornsife undergraduate<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n          <div class=\"subtitle\">\n            \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  Isabella O\u2019Brien turned discarded oyster, clam and mussel shells into a means to deacidify ocean and lake waters. <strong>[4 min read]<\/strong>\n\n\n<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    \n           <strong class=\"author-field\"><span >By<\/span><a href=\"mailto:communication@dornsife.usc.edu\">Margaret Crable<\/a><\/strong>\n    \n          <span class=\"post-date-field\">August 11, 2020<\/span>\n      <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--social-share \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--social-share\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"content-wrapper\">\n    <span class=\"a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list\" style=\"line-height: 32px;\">\n      <span class=\"title\">\n        Share\n      <\/span>\n                        <a class=\"a2a_button_copy_link\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#copy_link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Link\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_copy_link\">\n              <svg height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 19 19\" width=\"19\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m7.43475275 9.52380952-2.17490843 2.26076008c-1.08745421 1.058837-1.68841575 2.518315-1.68841575 4.0350275 0 1.5167124.60096154 2.9475732 1.68841575 4.0350274 1.058837 1.0874543 2.51831502 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<p>Inspiration struck USC Dornsife sophomore Isabella O\u2019Brien at age 11, during a family vacation in 2009 to the beaches of Akumal, Mexico. A guided dive took them through Gonzalo\u2019s Reef, alive with small, swift fish darting through a network of vibrant coral. For a girl who hailed from landlocked Ontario, Canada, this shimmering underwater world was sheer magic.<\/p>\n<p>But, something felt amiss. Although much of the coral was brightly colored, large swaths had turned a chalky white. \u201cThey seemed to guide you away from the dead areas,\u201d O\u2019Brien remembers of the divers conducting the tour. Later that day, she stumbled upon an educational center where she learned that much of the coral was dying due to ocean acidification.<\/p>\n<p>Since 1985, the Mesoamerican Reef system that winds through Mexico\u2019s Gulf Coast has lost nearly <a href=\"https:\/\/earthjournalism.net\/stories\/coral-disease-and-invasive-algae-accelerate-loss-of-reefs-in-mexico\">half of its reef-building coral to white<\/a> band disease. Although exact causes of the plague remain unclear, scientists speculate that it\u2019s exacerbated by warming ocean waters and acidification caused by climate change.<\/p>\n<p>O\u2019Brien was shocked: \u201cHow could people have let this happen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Basement lab beginnings<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 350px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/migration-uploads\/EnvironmentalStudent_IsabellaOBrien_secondary2-3283.jpg\" alt=\"Two scuba divers dive through a reef\" width=\"350\" height=\"225\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">O&#8217;Brien diving in Akumal, Mexico in 2013.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Back home in Canada, she was determined to do something to help. She read up on ocean acidification and discovered a connection to calcium. Acidification reduces the number of calcium ions in ocean water. Without these ions, organisms struggle to produce and maintain their shells.<\/p>\n<p>O\u2019Brien looked up the content of mollusk shells and discovered it was almost 98% calcium, depending on the individual species. She also read that millions of tons of shells were tossed into landfills from the seafood industry each year. Perhaps adding the calcium from these discarded shells back into the ocean would help with\u00a0 acidification, O\u2019Brien thought. This idea became her seventh-grade science fair project.<\/p>\n<p>To prove her theory, she needed a lab. Her parent\u2019s basement became her work bench and household kitchen supplies her equipment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI got oyster, clam and mussel shells from the local seafood market. I cleaned, sterilized and dried them, then I pulverized them using a coffee bean grinder,\u201d she explains. Without access to the ocean, she simulated seawater \u2014 carefully mixing salt, water and vinegar to create the same salinity and pH levels \u2014 in mason jars.<\/p>\n<p>The experiment was a success. \u201cAfter three months of testing, my results clearly showed a\u00a0decrease in the rate of shell degradation and a stabilization, even an increase, in pH levels,\u201d says O\u2019Brien.<\/p>\n<p>Her science fair project \u2014 titled \u201cTrouble in Paradise: Can Shell Recycling Help Buffer the Effects of Ocean Acidification?\u201d \u2014 made her a top 20 finalist for the 2015 Google Science Fair, in which thousands of students from around the world competed for prizes.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Save the fleas<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 250px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/migration-uploads\/EnvironmentalStudent_IsabellaOBrien_secondary1-3283.jpg\" alt=\"A person pours liquid from a bucket to another container\" width=\"250\" height=\"193\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">O&#8217;Brien collecting samples at Plastic Lake, Ontario<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Without easy access to the ocean, she switched to more local waters for her next project. Acid rain in the 1970s and \u201980s had lowered pH levels in lakes near her home, causing calcium to leach from the water. This put the water flea <a href=\"https:\/\/animaldiversity.org\/accounts\/Daphnia_pulex\/\"><i>Daphnia pulex<\/i><\/a><i>, <\/i>a tiny crustacean that keeps algae populations in check, at particular risk.<\/p>\n<p>O\u2019Brien collected samples from Plastic Lake in Ontario and tried another set of experiments. She added pulverized shell to the lake water along with juvenile water fleas to gauge if increased calcium levels could aid in their reproduction. It did.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe calcium level, survivability and reproduction improved in all treatments with shell powder,\u201d says O\u2019Brien. \u201cThis could protect lake biodiversity, help mitigate algal blooms and address the global issue of shell waste disposal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>More awards came her way. She snagged a gold medal and the Environmental Challenge Award at the 2016 Canada-Wide Science Fair.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Political future<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Now a <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/politicalscience\/\">political science<\/a> major at USC Dornsife, O\u2019Brien is turning her eye to how government policy can make a dent in climate change.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne of our biggest problems is that we can\u2019t communicate effectively what our problems are; just talking about \u2018parts per million\u2019 doesn\u2019t make people care,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n<p>She got an inside look at United States politics through the <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife-center-for-political-future.usc.edu\/\">USC Dornsife Center for the Political Future<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI went with [the center] to Sacramento for a political summit. We toured legislature, got to know everything about politics in California and met so many interesting people,\u201d she recounts.<\/p>\n<p>Back home in Canada for the fall semester, she\u2019ll continue her USC Dornsife courses online while also working as a research assistant with <a href=\"https:\/\/voxpoplabs.com\/\">Vox Pox labs<\/a>, which is using data science to improve political representation and democratic participation. In 2021, she\u2019ll embark with the organization <a href=\"https:\/\/studentsonice.com\/\">Students on Ice<\/a> on an Artic expedition. She\u2019s still not sure quite what her future holds beyond that, but whatever unfolds for O\u2019Brien, environmental advocacy will remain a guiding force.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s always so much going on, but climate change is the biggest issue that we face. If we destroy our planet then the human race is gone and there\u2019s nothing we can fix.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Isabella O\u2019Brien turned discarded oyster, clam and mussel shells into a means to deacidify ocean and lake waters. <strong>[4 min read]<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":2455,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,15],"tags":[66,65,410,108,370,247,97,214],"class_list":["post-2452","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-student","category-sustainability","tag-climate-change","tag-environment","tag-oceans","tag-political-science","tag-science","tag-sustainability","tag-undergraduate","tag-undergraduate-spotlight"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Shells could save our seas, says USC Dornsife undergraduate<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/student-deacidifies-oceans-and-lakes-with-discarded-sea-shells\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Shells could save our seas, says USC Dornsife undergraduate\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Isabella O\u2019Brien turned discarded oyster, clam and mussel shells into a means to deacidify ocean and lake waters. 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