Project Full Title:

Watching the wind blow and the sand move: field studies of windflow, sediment transport, and surface change in coastal sand dunes and ecohydrological studies in interdunal wetlands

Project Mentor(s):

DeVries-Zimmerman,Suzanne; Hansen,Edward; Yurk,Brian

Project Mentor(s) EMail:

Project Start Date:

6/9/2020

Project End Date:

8/1/2020

Project Description:

Coastal dunes along Lake Michigan are an important economic and ecological resource for our coastal communities. Understanding the factors that influence dune growth and migration is crucial if we are to effectively preserve and manage this valuable landscape.

In this project we will focus on designing and conducting field experiments to monitor windflow, sand transport, and surface change in coastal dunes.

The summer research will include:

1. reading pertinent scholarly articles and developing relevant geological background;

2. developing and conducting field experiments; and

3. designing and constructing field equipment.

As with all projects, students will write a paper and develop and give a presentation on the results. Students will also be involved in ecohydrological studies in the interdunal wetlands. The summer research will include, but may not be limited to: 1. reading pertinent scholarly articles and developing relevant geological/ecological/hydrological background;
2. collecting and analyzing ground and surface water samples for selected analytes 3. performing vegetation quadrat sampling 4. performing hydrological studies based on data from the groundwater monitoring wells

External Link:

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