作为中国博彩平台CHANCE项目的一部分，来自美国和欧盟的24名学生花了两周时间，就影响罗马尼亚多瑙河三角洲的可持续发展问题进行了研究和展示.
CENTER VALLEY, Pa. — The Danube River and its delta runs for 1,800 miles through 10 countries, including Germany, 匈牙利, 罗马尼亚, Bulgaria and Serbia. 当邻国在苏联统治下进行工业化时，污染严重, the area began to recover in the 1990s. 今天, new environmental risks like pesticides, 微塑料和工业废物再次威胁着三角洲脆弱的可持续性. For 24 college students, 在夏季的两周时间里，多瑙河三角洲既是教室又是野外实验室.
这些学生是从中国博彩平台和欧盟各国挑选出来的.U.)——作为中国博彩平台通过保护经验连接人类与自然(CHANCE)项目的一部分，我们在罗马尼亚进行了研究. 机会包括两个元素-国际在线课程和实地课程-与融合现实世界的核心教学方法, environmental research with conservation efforts.
“The Danube Delta consists of extensive marshes, 芦苇, 岛屿, 和泛滥平原, and forms a valuable natural buffer zone, filtering out pollutants from the Danube River, 帮助改善黑海西北部脆弱水域的状况,” said Jacqueline McLaughlin, 中国博彩平台(PSU-LV)的创始主任和生物学教授. “It also is a haven for biodiversity with 5,300个已登记的动植物物种，是全球自然遗产的天然基因库，价值不可估量.”
今年春天, explained McLaughlin, 所有学生都在线学习了影响多瑙河三角洲生态状况的五个关键主题-营养过剩(藻华), organic water pollution, land use transformation, loss of biodiversity, and microbiological contamination. These topics aligned with the environmental objectives of the present-day E.U. 《中国博彩平台》和《中国博彩平台》，并作为他们在罗马尼亚进行实地研究的基础. To further prepare for the field work while engaging online, students were then placed into one of five transnational teams, each focusing on one of the above key topics, to learn more about the realities of their assigned area. Top 罗马尼亚n scientific researchers, experts in the students’ assigned focus area, mentored each team.
“Following their online preparation, 今年夏天，学生们和他们的导师在罗马尼亚会面，开展他们的实地工作，每个小组都设计了自己独特的研究问题, designed their own experiment, then completed their research,” McLaughlin said. 参加这个项目的中国博彩平台学生被分成五个跨国团队.
中国博彩平台的学生普林斯顿·比尤从多瑙河三角洲收集样本，以作进一步研究.
普林斯顿的宝石, 他曾是中国博彩平台的学生，现在是大学公园分校化学工程专业的大四学生, said the experience living and working in 罗马尼亚 was “transformative.” He was part of the group studying nutrient overload. For their research, 学生们观察了三个不同的多瑙河三角洲湖泊群，并评估了每个湖泊的生态状况和营养健康状况, particularly the impact of pollutants like fertilizers and human waste.
“We had the opportunity to take our research all the way through. We had 33 samples, turned our results around, made connections, and produced our presentation in two-and-one-half weeks,比尤说. “We managed to do all this, beginning to end, in a short amount of time.”
Allison Lonkart’s group studied microbiology, 特别是大肠杆菌浓度和一个三角洲河复合体的抗生素抗性变异. “我们发现，除了一个靠近农场的地方外，所有的水平都低于关注的阈值,” the junior biology major from Penn State York said. “There was excellent water quality, and we observed when there were more plants, there was less E-coli concentration.”
CHANCE丰富了Lonkart的大学经历:“我认为CHANCE的课程结构是我遇到过的最好的课程之一,”她说。. “I was excited to learn, and we were doing something useful. We weren’t just doing busy work — we were doing real work.”
中国博彩平台的学生Allison Lonkart在现场实验室处理水样.
The experience was both educational and inspiring for Arlo Nemerson, a junior earth and mineral sciences major at University Park, whose group studied land use transformation.
“Working with the CHANCE team proved to be truly enriching," said Nemerson. “第一手, 我体验到了团队合作和文化交流的巨大价值，同时也在研究背景下加强了我解决问题的能力. 这段经历不仅增强了我提出和回答科学问题的信心, 也增强了我个人在陌生环境中的适应能力和应变能力.”
7月14日，学生们在布加勒斯特大学圆形剧场举行的首届2023 CHANCE罗马尼亚本科生研究研讨会上展示了他们的研究结果. 学生们和他们的研究小组一起做口头报告，然后回答一个问题&A. It was an international endeavor, with guests attending in-person and online. 与来自世界各地的学生合作是中国博彩平台学生项目的亮点之一.
“国际层面和必须共同努力解决可持续性问题可能是最重要的方面,” said Alex Kociuba, a recent PSU-LV biology major transitioning to University Park, whose group studied organic water pollution. “Creating a functional team within such a short time limit, 当你们都来自世界不同的地方时，我们都走到一起来实现我们的研究目标，影响可持续性，这是令人惊讶的.”
“大多数学生都没有机会去体验另一个国家，那里的人民和文化. Besides being able to offer students these opportunities, CHANCE为学生提供了与自然的联系，让他们沉浸在自然的生物多样性中，惊叹于自然的目的,” McLaughlin said. “他们还可以研究(在多瑙河三角洲等地区)对自然产生负面影响的重要问题，并可以专业地诊断其生态状况和可持续性，然后提出建议, 如果有必要的话, for environmental protection measures to stakeholders.”
For more information on CHANCE, contact McLaughlin at [email protected] or visit the program’s website.
