Team Marmot students Viviana Berrios and Daniela Martinez check grain size.

This NSF-sponsored undergraduate research program “REU Site: River and Coastal Restoration” involves 10 students for 10 weeks of cutting-edge research on two sets of critical environmental restoration problems with scientists and engineers of the National Center for Earth-surface Dynamics (NCED), an NSF-funded Science and Technology Center. Students work on one of two teams: “Team Delta” focused on issues in coastal Louisiana or “Team Marmot” focused on issues related to the 2007 removal of the Marmot Dam on Oregon’s Sandy River. Both teams spend June at the St. Anthony Falls Laboratory (SAFL), University of Minnesota, using experimental modeling to develop an understanding of the processes they will explore in the field. They also develop their field research questions and participate in scientific writing, research, and ethics seminars in June. The teams then perform field research in July, one team in coastal Louisiana and the other on the Sandy River. Both teams then return to the SAFL to synthesize their research in posters and papers. Students will then share their posters at the SAFL summer research symposium and at a larger interdisciplinary poster session on campus.

View the REU flyer.

Team Delta participates in research related to coastal restoration of the Mississippi River Delta. NCED’s Wax Lake field laboratory presents an excellent opportunity to examine linkages between geomorphology and ecology in a coastal restoration context. Additional historical field research areas in the deltaic plain provide students the opportunity to integrate short term projects into a longer-term perspective of geomorphic, biogeochemical, and ecological processes. (http://www.wbi.lsu.edu)

Team Marmot participates in an ongoing campaign to document the geomorphic response of the Sandy River to the 2007 removal of the Marmot Dam. NCED research staff, in collaboration with state and federal agencies, use high resolution measurements to compile a detailed record of how the river redistributes sediment formerly trapped behind the 50 ft tall Marmot Dam. Sediment redistribution of this magnitude has important implications for ecological habitat and in this case for salmonid species in particular. This project provides a real-world experiment critical to the development of more effective river management and restoration practices. See the work of Summer 2007 Team Marmot participants here.

Application and Eligibility
The program is open to undergraduate students majoring in civil engineering, geosciences, ecology, mathematics, or related fields. We encourage applications from students who have been historically under-represented in their discipline and from first-generation college students. The program provides transportation, food, and housing plus a stipend to all participants.

The 2008 application form is available for download (PDF format) or by writing to the address below. Application deadline has passed.

Program dates:  June 1 to August 9, 2008

Questions and completed applications:
Dr. Kimberly Hill
612 626-0311
kmhill@umn.edu

Dr. Diana Dalbotten
REU on River and Coastal Restoration 
National Center for Earth-surface Dynamics
St. Anthony Falls Laboratory
2 3rd Avenue SE
Minneapolis, MN 55414
612 624 4608
or send by email to:
dalbo001@tc.umn.edu