Kelsey Shaw

Title of Talk:

Is it just hot air?: The science you need to know about greenhouse gas emissions from septic tanks

Short Bio:

Kelsey’s research integrates environmental engineering, molecular microbiology, and bioinformatics to understand how microbes drive methane emissions in non-sewered sanitation (NSS) containments. Access to and the safe management of sanitation services remains one of the world’s greatest public health and environmental challenges. Almost half of the global population relies on NSS systems such as septic tanks and holding tanks. While an essential part of the sanitation service chain, these containments can release methane, a potent greenhouse gas, yet their emissions remain poorly quantified—a critical blind spot in climate modeling and sanitation policy. Kelsey addresses this gap by studying the microbial ecology underlying wastewater degradation and greenhouse gas production during storage. She will share some of her results and key insights from her PhD research which included fieldwork in Kampala Uganda and Southern Vancouver Island and Gulf Islands.