Hannah Whitby
 
Hannah Whitby, PhD Student Research summary Supervisors: Prof. CMG van den Berg, Dr Pascal Salaun and Dr Claire Mahaffey. For my PhD, I am researching the competition between copper and iron for ligands in humic substances. Iron and copper are both important micronutrients for microorganisms, whilst copper can also be toxic. Humic substances are large, complex molecules derived from the degradation of organic matter and have been shown to bind both copper and iron. By studying the chemical relationship between copper, iron and their ligands, I hope to gain a deeper understanding of the processes involved. Biography I achieved my first class BSc Hons degree in Chemistry with Oceanography from the University of Liverpool in July 2012. My final year project was titled 'Metal speciation and the effect on bioavailabilty to marine organisms', for which I visited NIOZ, NL, to learn algal culturing techniques in January 2012. During my degree I attended a placement year at the NOC Liverpool, compiling Matlab scripts for mapping webcam and video data to ground coordinates for wave pattern analysis, September 2011-2012. After my degree I spent one month aboard the RRS Discovery as part of the Fastnet program collecting and analysing samples for dissolved oxygen, nutrient, DIC/DOC, DOM and trace metal concentrations in June 2012. I then worked on a project for Metrohm UK, Applikon and a UK utility company creating an automated method for analysing arsenic in drinking water. I also analyse chromium in river samples for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA). This took me to the beginning of my PhD here in Liverpool, where I developed a method for measuring copper-binding humic substances in seawater leading to the publication of our first paper. I am now collaborating with colleagues in the University of Athens, Georgia, on copper limitation in archaea, and working with the SSB and GEOTRACES cruises analysing copper speciation. I thoroughly enjoy the research, teaching, networking and outreach experiences that I have taken part in throughout my PhD.   Publications and Conference Abstracts Whitby, H. and van den Berg, C.M.G., 2014. Evidence for copper-binding humic substances in seawater. Marine Chemistry(published on-line). ‘Copper-binding humic substances in seawater: potential for competition with iron’ presented at a seminar at the University of Georgia, Athens, April 2014. 
'A method for the determination of copper-binding humics using voltammetry' poster at ASLO/AGU Ocean Sciences conference, Hawaii, February 2014 and at the Marine Symposium, Liverpool, January 2014. 
‘Determination of arsenic in drinking water, using the Applikon ADI 2045 and the vibrating gold microwire electrode’ presented as guest speaker at the Applikon Distributors Conference, May 2013. 
‘Competition between copper and iron for ligands in humic substances’ presented at the Bioavailability workshop at Wageningen University, NL, May 2013. 
'The competition between copper and iron for ligands in humic substances, and the impact on bioavailability to marine microorganisms' presented at GEOTRACES conference Croatia, October 2012. ‘Optical imaging of near-shore bathymetry’ poster at the Young Coastal Scientists and Engineers Conference, Liverpool 2011.