Spring/Summer 2010 - Natural Resources Research Institute

NRRI Now
Spring/Summer 2010
2
3
Moose on the loose
The power of peat
4
Food chain foundations
6
De-springing springs
7
Award-winning replica
8
10
Iwao Iwasaki: Like a rock
Ups and downs of lake levels
12
South American connection
This photo of a bull moose was taken in
June 2010 by Josh Hett of Aurora, Ill.,
who submitted it to the moose project website.
~Growing Strong Industries
~Developing New Ideas
~Nurturing Natural Resources

GRAND FORKS, ND
Only one thing seems certain about moose – they
remain an interesting mystery. That’s surprising
given the evidence that Homo sapiens have
hunted moose as far back as the Stone Age.
It’s not for lack of trying to learn more. In late June, 140
scientists from the U.S. and around the globe – Sweden,
Norway, Germany and Canada – gathered in International
Falls, Minn., for the 45th Annual North American Moose
Conference and Workshop. And like the range of researchers,
the information shared was all over the map.
In Quebec, wildlife managers are concerned that too many
moose are munching down the forests. Wyoming researchers
are documenting a decline in moose populations. In New
England, there’s a problem with a thriving moose population
and moose-vehicle collisions. Scientists also shared something
they’d never seen before – a video of wolves swimming out to
attack a moose in the water.
Here in Minnesota, scientists have recorded the dramatic
decline of moose in the northwestern half of the state and are
now concerned about declining populations in the northeastern
half. Yet our neighbors in North Dakota are seeing moose in
western and southern prairie ranges that are not typical for
this species.
“This conference gives us the chance to talk about data and
new ideas that will lead to a better understanding of the
challenges moose face,” said NRRI biologist and conference
co-chair Ron Moen. “Solutions are possible when we invest in
research on animals and habitat.”
Minnesotans love their large, lumbering, iconic moose.
They are also a prized game for hunters. Studying moose is
expensive but research funding received over the past year
in Minnesota should help increase our understanding of this
super-sized member of the deer family.
Current research is focused on the evolving complexities in the
environment – warming temperatures, explosions of winter
ticks, changes in wolf populations, predicted changes to forest
vegetation – and how they affect moose.
“Our northeast moose population is declining, but we’re not
confident it’s as simple as warming temperatures. Dew point
might be just as important because it affects how much cooling
a moose can do,” explained Mark Lenarz, a biologist with the
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. He cites disease
and parasites as the major causes of mortality.
2
INTERNATIONAL FALLS
GRAND
RAPIDS
QUETICO
DULUTH
BWCA
GRAND
MARAIS
Researchers were surprised when
moose sightings were being
reported in the western range of
Minnesota. Reports of moose can
be sent to www.nrri.mn.edu/moose.
Where are the
moose All
over the map
Moose researchers
discuss divergent studies
at annual conference
“We believe that some aspect of climate change
make moose less able to fight off the effects of
these pathogens,” Lenarz added.
Radiotelemetry and Global Positioning System
collars have been used on moose to understand
home range, habitats, and movements in many
locations. For the next three years Moen, working
with many other scientists, will be deploying
collars on Minnesota moose.
“These collars are the best tools to help us
understand why and how moose could be
declining in Northeast Minnesota,” Moen said.
“It will also help us develop habitat management
guidelines that could give moose a better chance to
persist in Minnesota.”
Moen is working with researchers from the Grand
Portage Band of Chippewa, Voyageurs National
Park, the 1854 Treaty Authority, the Minnesota
Zoological Garden, the U.S. Geological Survey
and the Minnesota DNR.
Moose stressors
• z Warming temperatures – Moose can become
heat-stressed when summer temperatures reach
60-70 degrees F, or when winter temperatures
are above 32 degrees F. They tend to eat less
and become weakened.
• z White-tailed deer – Increased deer populations
appear to be linked to parasites and diseases
in moose. Less severe winters also increase
parasites and disease.
• z Liver fluke – This flatworm is a deer parasite
that moose can acquire. It isn’t always fatal in
moose but it damages the liver and potentially
weakens the moose’s immune system.
• z Winter ticks – While uninterested in human
hosts, an average of 33,000 ticks, and as many
as 100,000, can be found on one moose. The
feeding ticks can cause substantial blood loss,
and moose rub off their hair coat trying to get rid
of the ticks.

The power of peat
A natural solution for industrial waste water
Many
industrial
processes
require water for
heating, cooling,
cleaning or rinsing.
But before the water
is discharged and
returned to surface
waters, it has to be
treated—typically
with chemicals.
NRRI chemist
Igor Kolomitsyn
(shown right) is
developing a way
to enhance the natural ability of
peat to attract and store toxic heavy
metals to treat industrial waste water.
Even better, he’s working with a
small peat company based in Aitkin,
Minn., to expand their product
line with environmentally friendly
water treatment solutions for heavy
industry.
NRRI’s chemistry research and
American Peat Technology’s
marketing and industry know-how
is an ideal partnership. And it’s what
NRRI was established to do: help
Minnesota’s natural resource-based
businesses grow and thrive in an
environmentally sound manner.
“Being a small company, NRRI
provides us with chemical research
that we just don’t have the resources
to accomplish ourselves,” said
American Peat’s
President, Doug
Green. The company
does about $3.8 million
in sales annually with
about 15 employees.
“We get short term
access to high caliber
chemists allowing
rapid product
development and
early entry into the
marketplace.”
For Kolomitsyn, the
arrangement allows
him to focus on
chemistry, leaving
the business-end to
the business people.
“I have the idea for
this product, but I
don’t have time for
market research,”
said Kolomitsyn.
“If I spend time
on that, I’m not a
chemist anymore.
American Peat is in the best
position to move it forward.”
Peat is partially decayed vegetation
that accumulates in wetland bogs,
and about 15 percent of Minnesota is
covered with this valuable resource.
Minnesota’s peat industry—mostly
harvesting and packaging for
horticultural purposes—provides
about 200 jobs in rural areas where
work can be scarce. American
Peat, founded in 2003, develops
environmentally beneficial products
that can replace chemicals for
agricultural and remediation
purposes.
“I’ve had a whole lifetime in the
business world and I’ve developed an
ability to see market potential,” said
Green. “But our labs are under Igor’s
direction. He’s part of our team and
he gives credibility to the research.
We’re very quick to incorporate
what Igor comes up with.”
No sooner had the ink dried on
the partnership agreement when
two customers came
knocking – Freeport-
McMoRan, one of the
world’s largest copper
and gold producers,
and the Soudan Mine
in Tower, Minn.—
both of which are
interested in this low
cost way to remove
dissolved heavy
metals for wastewater treatment.
“One of the reasons our business
is growing is because the organic
market is growing,” said American
Peat CEO Tom Eberhardt. “We feel
strongly that, working with Igor and
NRRI, we can continue to develop
peat-based products that are good for
the environment.”
More about American Peat Technology
In the heart of Minnesota’s boggy,
sedge peatlands, American Peat has
developed two forms of microbe carrier
products that are beneficial to growing
crops while reducing the need for
commercial, nitrogen-based fertilizers.
Granulated BioAPT can be inoculated
with bacteria that are beneficial to
crops. Among its many benefits, the
peat granules resist moisture loss
and provide a stable environment
for organisms. The company is the
only supplier of this product to the
Rhizobia industry.
Rhizobia is a naturally occurring
organism that lives in a symbiotic
relationship with legume crops like
soybeans, field peas and lentils,
reducing the need for commercial,
nitrogen-based fertilizers.
They also produce a finely ground
BioAPT product that is used as a seed
coating. The small particles allow for
strong cohesiveness to bind directly to
seeds. Rhizobia living on the attached
peat benefit the root system as soon as
it sprouts.
“We have as many as 50 research
projects going on right now with
peat,” said American Peat CEO
Tom Eberhardt. “Our peat products
are an ideal life support system for
organisms, and we can deliver a high
quality, consistent and reasonably
priced product.”
3

4
Food chain foundations
Microscopic monitoring of the Great Lakes

The foundation that supports
life on earth is the bottom
of the food chain. And
NRRI scientist Euan Reavie and his
team pay close attention to what’s
happening to these microscopic
plants called phytoplankton – also
known as algae.
“They’re important because they
nourish everything above them on
the food chain,” said Reavie. “Algae
numbers are down in Lake Superior
and throughout the Great Lakes
and that’s a big concern for the
fishing industry.”
Motoring around the Great
Lakes on the research vessel Lake
Guardian, the sampling crew
collects liters of lake water (and the
accompanying algae) from 80 sites,
twice a year, from Lake Ontario
in New York to Lake Superior in
Duluth. It is part of the ongoing
monitoring program started in
1983 by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency’s Great Lakes
National Program Office.
“There are probably about 50,000
species of phytoplankton in the
Great Lakes, about 500-600 that are
common, and each species has a lot
of meaning,” said Reavie. “Some
are tolerant of pollution and if they
start to increase in number, then
you know you have a problem.”
While 20 years ago an
overabundance of phytoplankton
was a concern, Reavie said the
recent drop in this biomass in the
lakes is puzzling, especially in
Lake Superior.
“At least the other lakes have
excuses, like mussel invasions or
non-native fish eating more than
their fair share,” Reavie said. “But
Lake Superior is very deep, very
oligotrophic, which means there’s
not lot of life there to begin with.”
Reavie and crew – scientists Amy
Kireta, Kitty Kennedy and Lisa
Allinger – collect phytoplankton
samples from the surface down
to as many as 1,000 feet below.
The open waters and 6-to-10 foot
waves are sometimes a challenge,
but the Lake Guardian and their
tools are built for the task.
“We also have an experienced
captain who keeps us pointed in
the right direction and over the
correct GPS point,” added Kireta.
The samples are transported to
a lab on land where the data are
compiled and analyzed. In the
end, it will provide answers to the
extent of changes taking place in
our critical freshwater resources
and the future of the food chain.
Digging deep into the
lakes’ history
Many research projects take place as the
Lake Guardian makes its way around the
Great Lakes twice a year. Complementary
to monitoring the modern conditions of the
lakes, is research that digs into the past.
Hidden in the mud are microscopic glasslike
shells left behind by phytoplankton
decades and centuries ago. Because
these tiny plants are so sensitive to
changes in their environment, the
preserved shells leave clues to changes in
the water quality when they were alive.
NRRI’s Amy Kireta is leading an effort to
collect sediment samples a few feet into
the lake bottom to gather information about
how the lake water quality has changed
over the past 300 years. Terry Brown,
NRRI geographic information systems
specialist, is simultaneously making
computer models of the historic changes
in the surrounding landscape so human
activity can be linked to what is observed
in the sediment.
NRRI will also be partnering with scientists
at UMD’s Large Lakes Observatory who
are using isotopes (atoms that are missing
or have an extra neutron) in the sediments
to determine whether Lake Superior has
been impacted by human activity in the
lake's watersheds or by airborne pollutants
from further away.
Together, the retrospective data and
ongoing monitoring help scientists
understand past changes and future
possibilities for the Great Lakes
ecosystems.
Kitty Kennedy processes samples. Euan Reavie inspects collected samples. Amy Kireta watches as Reavie scraps off
sediment core samples.
5

Taking the spring out of springs
Local innovators help NRRI move mattress recycling forward
The steel springs
in old mattresses
posed a conundrum
that frustrated NRRI
researcher Tim Hagen as
he tried to find markets for
the mattress components.
Steel holds good value in
the recycling industry, yet
the springy springs are like
so much air—they need
to be compressed to ship
efficiently and for a foundry
to melt them down.
Duluth entrepreneur Clint
Deraas learned of the problem through
NRRI and consulted with an inventor
friend, Gene Luoma.
“I thought about it for a bit, then realized
the business potential,” said Deraas. “I
called Gene and asked him if he thought we
could come up with a solution. He said, no
problem.”
First they tested their compaction idea on
a modified hydraulic press. When they got
the results they wanted, they designed the
first ever Coil Spring Compactor. Deraas
hired fabricators to assemble it, and after a
couple of modifications, the final machine fit
the need exactly. After the foam, cotton and
shoddy material is separated from the steel,
several springs can be compressed in each
cycle in a completely sealed environment so
stray springs don’t pose a safety hazard. The
steel compresses to a 17x13x9 inch cube with
a density that meets the requirements of
steel foundries nationwide.
NRRI has been working with Goodwill
Industries in Duluth for three years on a
viable mattress recycling business plan, and
finding a way to recycle the steel springs
is the key to making it work economically.
Goodwill bought the prototype Coil Spring
Compactor and has been very pleased with the results.
The current market value for the compressed springs at
ME Global foundry in Duluth is $213 per ton. This income
allows Goodwill to offer recycling services to other
potential customers.
“Steel has the highest monetary value in the mattress or
box spring,” said Goodwill manager Greg Conkins. “The
6
By the
numbers:
40 million –
approximate
number of
mattresses
purchased annually
in the U.S.
11 – years of life in
typical mattress
50 – percent of
weight from steel in
a typical innerspring
mattress
100 – approx.
number of
mattresses
deconstructed daily
at Goodwill Duluth
30 – approx.
number of
mattresses
deconstructed daily
at PPL Industries in
Minneapolis
Coil Spring Compactor
gives us optimal
production efficiency.
We’re hoping to grow this
program even more, and
put more people to work
who have employment
barriers.”
In 2009, PPL Industries
in Minneapolis followed
Duluth’s lead to start a
similar mattress recycling
effort in partnership
with Hennepin County.
Hagen helped them find
markets for their materials and found a
manufacturer, Schmidt Machine Co., to
modify a baling machine that can bale five to
seven mattress springs at a time into 18x24
inch bundles.
“The baler is phenomenal,” said Doug
Jewett, PPL Industries chief operating
officer. “We built a machine that easily
handles the material, very readily. And there
are a number of places in the metro area that
will buy the steel.”
Over 80 percent of a mattress is recyclable,
and both Goodwill and PPL are interested
in expanding their markets for the foam,
cotton, and other materials. Currently,
the mattress foam is being recycled into
carpet underlayment and wood from box
frames is burned as a biomass fuel. Hagen is
working with Mat, Inc., a textile company
in Floodwood, Minn., on potential markets
for the mattress cotton and “shoddy,”
a synthetic composite material. Hagen
hopes that, with the right preparation, the
cotton can continue to be sold to diesel and
locomotive oil filter manufacturers. He also
finds that blends of cotton, shoddy, and a
crimped polyester fiber can be thermally
formed into stormwater filters and molded
pet beds.
Hagen is hoping to get industry partners to help fund
the research from proof-of-concept to demonstration
scale, and then testing and market research.
“We’re particularly excited about the thermal-forming
techniques we’ve developed,” said Hagen. “This could
really close the recycling loop and help achieve our
quest for sustainability.”

Pistol perfection
NRRI builds award-winning replica
“
The heft, the grip, the metal and wood – this is a 1776 English dueling pistol.
Flintlock pistols like this one were some of the most artistic weapons ever
built, and they fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars at auction. You
might even be a little nervous putting your finger on the trigger.
Or not. This one is actually a replica built in NRRI’s rapid prototyping center and
it recently won first place in the 3D Systems Users Group Advanced Finishing
competition. The pistol body was built by Sam Firoozi using a glass-filled nylon
material in the center’s Selective Laser Sintering machine.
“I like old guns so when we were looking for something to build I saw this image
in a catalog online, then I found a three-dimensional model of it,” explained
Firoozi, rapid prototyping specialist. He converted the computer model to the
correct size, and made each piece – a dozen or so – to be painted and assembled.
Mike Cable, NRRI shop technician, took it from there and his painting precision
paid off with the award. Each piece was sanded with sandpaper, primed and
This pistol is an excellent example of the precision
we get from our rapid prototyping machines and the
quality of work that our people produce.
”
sprayed with carefully selected paint in four layers.
“The ‘candy’ paint concentrates are so transparent, the
base color really makes a difference in the top layer,”
Cable said. “The paint has fine metal particles in it so it
looks like real metal.”
Lab Director Steve Kossett
It was assembled quickly to get it to the competition
on time – and no glue holds the solid pistol together.
Everything was built precisely and tightly. And to house the fine workmanship,
NRRI’s wood products scientist Scott Johnson built a wooden box which they
fitted with a molded form (also built with rapid prototyping technologies) to hold
the pistol snuggly.
“This pistol is an excellent example of the precision we get from our rapid
prototyping machines and the quality of work that our people produce,” said Lab
Director Steve Kossett. “I’m very proud of the work our technicians do to build a
wide variety of items for numerous manufacturing and testing purposes.”
7

8
Like a rock
A metallurgist’s legacy: A vast repository of
knowledge for the iron and steel industry
Never has a man been more aptly named. “Iwao” is Japanese for “rock.” Iwao Iwasaki, born
in Tokyo, Japan in 1929, has lived a life dedicated to Minnesota’s ores and minerals. Today, at
age 81, he continues that dedication as NRRI Endowed Taconite Chair, lending his lifetime of
mining and metallurgical processing expertise to benefit Iron Range industries.
It wasn’t exactly his plan to live more of his life in Minnesota than in Japan, but opportunities
kept unfolding, and with each opportunity came Iwasaki’s increased desire to give back to the
state he now calls
home.
He first came to
Minnesota in 1950
at age 20 to spend a
summer with a pen
pal’s family. This
led him to apply to
the University of
Minnesota where
he received tuition
scholarships. He
made connections
there that led
him to the
prestigious MIT
(Massachusetts
Institute of
Technology)
which launched
Iwasaki into new
discoveries in iron
ore flotation – the
vital process of
separating the good
ores from the bad.
“Iwao’s lifelong
research career
has played a key
role in the success
of the Minnesota iron ore industry, supplying iron ore pellets to this country’s blast furnace
steelmaking industry,” said Dave Hendrickson, NRRI minerals lab director. “And his work
continues to be highly respected by all of our Minnesota and Michigan taconite operations, as
well as by large steel company partners, such as U.S. Steel, Mittal and Nucor.”
A little ‘black magic’
From Tokyo to Minnesota's Iron Range, Iwao Iwasaki has
focused a lifetime of curiousity and talent to making our state's
ore resources as productive as possible.
In Japan they say “Keizoku wa chikara nari” which means, “there is strength in perseverance.”
That philosophy drives Iwasaki’s research. He anticipates at least 10 years to fully understand
each new endeavor.
“I enjoy my work at NRRI… I just wish I was 10 years younger,” said Iwasaki with a grin.
Iwasaki, known as “Pete” to his U.S. friends and coworkers, experienced the devastation of
post-World War II Japan. Manufacturing ramped up and the country had about 500 working
mines. His early college courses in mining engineering were practical, but something else
caught his attention.
“During World War II we were mobilized into factories and I was put into a manufacturing
plant, operating lathes and other machinery,” Iwasaki recalled. “I knew I wasn’t interested
in that. But when I saw an engineer dissolving metals and analyzing colored solutions…that
fascinated me.”

At the University of Minnesota School of Mines
he majored in metallurgy and quickly finished his
Bachelor of Science degree with thoughts of going
back to Japan. The U of M asked him to stay on for
his master’s degree, and because of his fascination in
the flotation process – widely used to separate nonferrous
minerals from sulfides – Iwasaki said “yes” to
understand how flotation could be applied to iron ore.
"I was so excited about the research that I often
worked past midnight."
“I asked the professor, ‘How do you explain, by
choosing different reagents, that you can float white
silica and not float iron oxide or the other way
around’ He told me, ‘It’s black magic.’ So that stayed
in my mind,” said Iwasaki.
A master of flotation
There was a perfect opportunity for flotation studies
on Minnesota’s Cuyuna Range – an iron sulfide
deposit that needed researching. Iwasaki also learned
that Japan had iron sulfide resources that were not
being well-utilized. He hoped his master’s thesis
research could be shared by both countries.
It was during this research that he was supervised by
a former MIT graduate who encouraged Iwasaki to
get his doctorate degree in metallurgy from the highly
reputable University.
“It really opened my eyes,” said Iwasaki. “I was still
focused on flotation, but at MIT, they studied a very
fundamental science of flotation, highly scientific. I
was so excited about the research that I often worked
past midnight. I also felt I had to get back to Japan
because I am my parents only son, so I wanted to
finish quickly.”
And he did. Iwasaki finished his Doctor of Science
degree in two and a half years. He went back to the U
of M’s School of Mines armed with a deep knowledge
of flotation science to research the “black magic” of
iron ore flotation.
Japan, Minnesota, Japan
At age 29 and after two years with the U of M as an
assistant professor, Iwasaki went back to Japan. He
was hired by Nippon Steel as a research engineer
where he learned the industry of iron and steelmaking.
“The research director said to me, ‘Forget about
flotation. Now you’re working for a steel company.
Concentrate on iron making’,” Iwasaki recalled. “So,
I worked on pelletizing, sintering and direct reduction
of iron ores. This gave me a very good background
when I came back to Minnesota.”
In 1963, with the help of then-Senator Hubert H.
Humphrey, Iwasaki moved quickly through the
lengthy visa process so he could get to work at the
U of M’s Mines Experiment Station in Minneapolis.
This was where E. W. Davis developed his process
for turning low-grade taconite into pellets for blast
furnaces, which saved the economy of the Iron Range.
Iwasaki worked there as a professor for 30 years.
“I had many graduate students working with me on
the research there,” said Iwasaki. “But in the 1980s, the
mining industry started its downturn and along with
that, enrollment in the School of Mines, so it closed
in 1991.”
It was time to go back to Japan. Iwasaki was offered a
research position with Mitsubishi Materials in Tokyo.
There, he used hydrometallurgy research on coppernickel
ore that he initiated at the U of M to obtain a
large research grant from the Japanese government.
“The customary retirement age in Japan is 55 . . .
Here I was 70 years old and beginning a new job!”
Iwasaki said with a laugh.
But at the same time, he was encouraged to come
back to Minnesota by NRRI’s Minerals Research Lab
Director Rod Bleifuss and others to fill a newly created
Endowed Taconite Chair position at NRRI's Coleraine
Minerals Research Lab on the Iron Range.
“My superior at Mitsubishi said, ‘If you go we
won’t have anyone to do the research. We’ll have
to apologize to our government and give the money
back’,” Iwasaki recalled. “Well, I could not do that. I
was sorry I couldn’t go back to Minnesota, but I had to
fulfill my obligation to Mitsubishi.”
Minnesota, again
By the time Iwasaki was 70, he had fulfilled that
obligation and he was ready for retirement. But a
chance meeting with Bleifuss at a mining meeting
reinvigorated their connection. Again, Bleifuss offered
the Endowed Chair position to Iwasaki.
“The customary retirement age in Japan is 55. If you
have a very important position, maybe you retire at
65. Here I was 70 years old and beginning a new job!”
Iwasaki said with a laugh.
The vast experience Iwao Iwasaki has brought to
Minnesota’s iron ore industry has been invaluable.
“Iwao has been and continues to be a model scientist
in our organization,” said NRRI Center Director
Don Fosnacht. “Whether it’s iron ore processing
refinement, iron nodule developments, or new ways
to recycle waste materials, he uses sound science and
his vast knowledge to move our projects ahead in a
dramatic and timely manner. In addition, his ability
to document what he has done in a systematic way
and to do this religiously has produced a record of
accomplishment which will be used for decades into
the future.”
9

Yellow dots show where water level data is collected in the Pokegemma Bay in So. Superior, Wisc., (left)
and in a bay off the St. Louis River near Fond du Lac, Minn (right).
The ups and downs of lake levels
Water level management in Lake Superior
10

Field technicians Bob Hell and Noah
Kroening gather water level data.
Summer intern Cory Peterson collects data in
tall reed grass near Oconto, Wisc.
Bob Hell and Noah Kroening collect data up
the estuary shoreline.
Left alone, lake levels naturally
fluctuate—high for about 10
years, then down for another
decade or so.
Lake Superior’s water levels are
managed by locks and dams so
that ships can consistently move
goods through the Great Lakes.
Lakeshore owners also appreciate
consistent lake levels. But the
shoreline meadow marsh habitat,
and the plants and animals that
inhabit it, thrive best with natural
lake level fluctuations over decades.
“Meadow marshes naturally occur
all around the Great Lakes. It’s an
area where, walking through it,
your feet just barely get soggy,”
explained NRRI Aquatic Scientist
Valerie Brady. “It’s home to
unique wild flowers and a lot of
critters.”
Lake Ontario once had rich
meadow marshes, but the desire
to tightly regulate water levels
all but eliminated them there.
Lake Superior is currently being
regulated to mimic normal
fluctuations in water levels, but
there’s a potential policy change on
the table.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
is considering changing the
regulations, so they’re asking
the question: What are the
repercussions of less fluctuation
in water levels in lakes Superior,
Michigan and Huron
Brady received $300,000 to research
what this might mean for the
marshes of the St. Louis River.
She also organized a coalition of
wetland researchers around the
Great Lakes, from Wisconsin to
New York, to share decades of
coastal data. The needs of other
groups – lake shore owners and
the shipping, fishing and tourism
industries – will also be considered
by the regulatory panel in charge of
making this decision.
But getting a scientific answer to
the environmental repercussions
isn’t easy. Detailed elevation maps
(called “bathymetry” from the
Greek, “deep measure”) of the floor
of the coastal wetlands are crucial,
and surprisingly, it hasn’t been
done before.
So that’s the first task. NRRI field
technicians Bob Hell and Noah
Kroening have to boat, walk and
measure their way around three
wetland sites in the St. Louis
River estuary. This summer, they
are collecting data using a high
tech global positioning system.
It will give them high resolution
locations, complete with water
depth or elevation for hundreds to
thousands of points per day. This
data will be translated into a 3D
contour map of the floor of the
estuary and up the banks.
“We want to know, if the water
level changes, where can the
wetland go Is there room for it to
move upland, or are there cliffs or
roads or homes in the way” Brady
explained. “If the water level drops,
can the wetland move downslope
or is there a shipping channel or a
drop-off in depth”
Today’s technology makes
mapping the bathymetry of this
region possible with an accuracy
that wasn’t possible before.
Understanding the contours of the
wetlands will allow the scientists
to predict what changes in the
water management plan for Lake
Superior means for the Great Lakes
coastal wetlands and the fish, bug,
bird and amphibian communities
that depend on them.
affects coastal habitat
11

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NRRI starts chemistry workshop in South America
Reaching across the globe is second nature
to NRRI scientist Subash Basak. Now
he’s strengthening a new South American
connection as co-chair of the Second
Mathematical Chemistry Workshop of
the Americas held in Colombia July 19-24.
Last year’s event, held for the first time in
the southern hemisphere, generated keen
interest in continuing and growing the
workshop. Basak is joined by co-chairs
José L. Villaveces from the Universidad
de los Andes (this year’s sponsor) and
Guillermo Restrepo from the Universidad
de Pamplona, Colombia.
Mathematical chemistry is a consortium
of sciences – chemistry, mathematical
modeling, chemo-informatics,
environmental sciences and toxicology,
quantitative structure-activity
relationship (QSAR) and quantitative
molecular similarity analysis (QMSA)
modeling, bioinformatics (including
genomics and proteomics), and other
relevant fields. This workshop allows
leading researchers in all of these fields to
come together and share knowledge.
2009 Participants (from left): Nubia Quiroz, Andrés Bernal, Tatiana del Pilar
Suárez, Wilmer Oswaldo Leal, Subhash Chandra Basak, Teresa Martínez, José
Luis Villaveces, Francisco Flórez, Rosana del Pilar Suárez
The workshop conference series arose out of interactions
among mathematical chemists from North and South
American countries during their participation in the
two Indo-U.S. events – the Indo-U.S. Workshop on
Mathematical Chemistry and Indo-U.S. Lecture Series on
Discrete Mathematical Chemistry. Basak and coworkers, in
collaboration with Indian colleagues, have been organizing
these events on the UMD campus and in different parts of
India since 1998.