A beautiful day for collecting mud

As part of the Geology major at Gustavus, all students are required to conduct original research culminating in a senior thesis.  For his thesis, Nick Alverson (’12, Geology and Environmental Studies double-major) is investigating how sediment particles and arsenic, a toxic pollutant, are transported through streams and lakes.  Last week, Nick, Emily Seelen (’13, Biology and Environmental Studies) and Prof. Triplett collected stream and lake sediments from the Dark River and Dark Lake near Hibbing, MN.  Above, Nick is holding an Ekman sediment sampler, while Emily paddles.