Hubbard Brook REU Program

Studying lava flows on Hawaii's Big Island.

I'm Carly Ellis, and I'm from the South Hills of Pittsburgh, PA. I go to Hobart and William Smith Colleges on Seneca Lake in New York. I am a Geoscience and Environmental Studies double major with a minor in math. I started doing water quality research last summer on eight of the Finger Lakes in New York.

This summer, at Hubbard Brook, I have three research mentors and two projects to keep me busy. My mentors are Dr. Gene Likens, Don Buso, and Tammy Wooster. For one project, I am calculating the salinity that enters the Northeast Inlet of Mirror Lake. This salt comes from the road salt applied to I-93. I plan to determine whether or not the berm between the lake and I-93 is properly diverting the salt. For my second project, I am comparing the water chemistry of four different seeps throughout the summer. A seep, similar to a spring, is a place where groundwater comes to the Earth's surface. We are hoping that my temporal seep study, paired with Tim Campbell's and Russell Callahan's  spatial seep study, will help us understand why seeps are important to the Hubbard Brook Valley.

Backpacking through the Chugach Mountains, Alaska

Hi there everyone! Welcome to the 2013 Hubbard Brook REU blog! My name is Aubrey and I’m from good ol’ New Hampshire. I am a rising senior at St. Olaf College out in Northfield, Minnesota majoring in both Environmental Studies (social science) and Studio Art with a minor in Middle Eastern Studies. I love to hike, so one of my goals for the summer is to hike as many weekends as possible. I’m also a big fan of peanut butter cookies, wool socks, and ultimate Frisbee.

REU Project: Socioeconomic and Lake Ecosystem Services on Mirror Lake

This summer I will be spending my time researching how the residents and users of Mirror Lake value its services economically. My goal is to get an estimate on peoples’ willingness to pay for ecosystem services (ranging from recreation to climate regulation, etc.) and how willingness to pay is related to knowledge of the lake, length of time spent living in the watershed, and other demographic information. Gaining an understanding of how watershed residents and lake users value the space monetarily would assist future researchers in determining the overall economic value of the lake and also would help town legislators determine what sorts of economic aid programs would help in supporting Mirror Lake. When it comes to gauging public opinion, survey techniques are the most effective way to get large quantities of data from a population. Along with Liza Tetley, another REU student, I will be creating and administering a survey for local residents over the next few weeks. Together we will be working to create a foundation of socioeconomic and cultural research to be used in the future. I will be working under the mentorship of Dr. Gene Likens, Dr. Joe Boyer, Dr. Shannon Rogers, and Don Buso. I’m excited to get to know the lake, its residents, and to do some good research!

The 2013 Hubbard Brook REU program has begun! This year we have nine students working out of Pleasant View Farm on a variety of research projects. Throughout the summer, they will use this site to post information about their research and other aspects of the program.

Thank you to everyone at Plymouth State University,  PSU's Center for the Environment, the Hubbard Brook Research Foundation, and all the research mentors that help to make this program a success.

This program is made possible through funding from the National Science Foundation's REU program and the NH EPSCoR program.

Wow...summer went by fast! The REU's have been done for about a week now, and are enjoying a bit of time off before starting school again.

As a wrap-up, here is the program from the Undergraduate Research Conference that was held on August 10th. The students gave presentations on their research projects, and their communication projects.

Click the link below to access the Word Document:

Hubbard Brook Undergraduate Research Conference

Enjoy friends!

Oh dear...

Check out this video created by REU student Maegan Gagne, about proper stream crossings:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SBFuodqv7A[/youtube]

Enjoy!

The man, the legend, Geoff Wilson.

How did you originally get involved with Hubbard Brook?

Geoff started working at Hubbard Brook as an undergraduate in 1992, working with his advisor Tim Fahey. After graduation he worked here for a couple years, and then left to work on his graduate degrees. Several diversions later, he started working as the Manager of Pleasant View in 2002.

What's your favorite part of your job?

He honestly loved creating the REU program (no lie!)

Any advice for future REU interns?

• Students who are keen on research
• Psyched out communicating science to various audiences
• Students from broad backgrounds, and perhaps want to go into fields other than science but related (education, journalism, etc.)

And finally...what's your favorite piece of gear?

His skis ("they get me through the winter while I wait for the summer")

Oh...and his boots too (another one!)

Major and Home University: Biology and Environmental Studies at St. Olaf College, Minnesota

Research Mentors: Ruth Yanni and Tim Fahey

Why/how did you get involved with the program?

He was looking for a some sort of ecological/environmental research this summer. The National Science Foundation website was reccommended to him and he started his job search. He stumbled upon the Hubbard Brook program, and applied because he wanted to gain research experience.

What is your project?

Roots!

Tyler investigated the effect of forest age and stand fertility on root and leaf biomass. He also helped several graduate students with their research at Bartlett Experimental Forest in Bartlett, NH.

Why is it important?

Not much work has been done in this area, and little is known. Not very much is known on how the fertility of a site effects root and leaf biomass.

And finally....what is your favorite piece of gear?

Podcasts!

(All those hours picking roots start to get to you after awhile....)

Check out a sweet video made by REU students Cayce Salvino and Cord Dorcey!!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MD7xw95KRyc[/youtube]

Research Mentor:Dr. Michele Pruyn

Why/how did you get involved with the program?
I knew Dr. Pruyn from having classes with her and she told me she was planning on continuing/improving last year REU project. She knew I was interested in tree physiology and asked me if I would be interested in working with her. So I applied because it seemed like an interesting study and I wanted to get some more research experience.

What is your project?
We're comparing water properties (sapflow, root conductivty, and stem relative water content)in Yellow birch across 3 elevations on the Mt. Kineo trail.

Why is it important?
Yellow birch have been declining most likely because of thaw-freeze events. We're looking at water availability and determing if it plays a role in their distribution.

And finally....what is your favorite piece of gear?
The increment corer, used to take core samples from trees.

Major and Home University: Natural Resources Conservation Management major, Sustainable Agriculture minor, University of Kentucky

Research Mentors: Scott Bailey and Kevin McGuire

Why/how did you get involved with the program?

She wanted to gain insight into the world of natural resources research, and Hubbard Brook is a Long-Term Ecological Research site which she found interesting. She wanted to participate in this kind of research program, because it's a valuable opportunity to be a part of a renowned research team.

What is your project?

Soil!

More specifically, investigating near-stream soil development, and trying to characterize the riperian zone in Watershed 3 at Hubbard Brook.

Simply, she is trying to define what soils near streams are like.

Katie (at right), digging a soil pit with fellow REU Student Maggie Zimmer

Why is it important?

Riparian zones serve important functions in watersheds because they are the "final frontier" before the water reaches the stream. Little is known about them at the moment, and more so about riparian zones in the Northern Hardwood forests.

And finally....what is your favorite piece of gear?

"Her sharp-shooter", aka. her shovel.