Research

The research program of the SCWRS has two major facets: in-house research by staff scientists and independent investigations by visiting scientists.

Resources and Opportunities

The SCWRS can provide plots for long-term studies, access to the St. Croix River, facilities, lodging, field equipment, laboratory analyses and other services to visiting researchers. In addition, graduate students at area universities are welcome to utilize the research station in their work. User fees may be waived or reduced for students by applying for a research scholarship.

Educational Field Site

College and university classes use the SCWRS as an educational field site. We host ongoing research projects for undergraduate and graduate students and can provide sites for college classes to experience field methods and conduct habitat studies.

SCWRS Research Program

Staff research at the SCWRS focuses on scientifically and environmentally important questions on regional, national, and global scales. The research program emphasizes aquatic-based studies involving land-water interaction, biogeochemistry, hydrology, restoration ecology, and aquatic biology. Relevant issues include eutrophication, toxic pollutants, climate change, erosion and sedimentation, and biodiversity.

On-going projects maintained by the research staff include the following:

Hydrobiological Survey of Western Mongolia
Lakes, springs, and streams in western Mongolia were surveyed in the summers of 2004-2005 to determine existing aquatic biodiversity and water quality in this rarely visited corner of the world. Taxonomic groups targeted were chironomids (non-biting midges), diatoms (a type of algae), and ostracodes (a type of crustacean). (Staff contacts: Mark Edlund and Jim Almendinger)

TAPwaters (Technical Assistance Program for Watersheds)
The project focus is to use computer models of watershed hydrology to answer management and research questions. Currently the project is using the SWAT modeling program to model tributary watersheds in the St. Croix Basin, Minnesota and Wisconsin. (Staff contact: Jim Almendinger)

The research staff consists of:

Dr. Daniel R. Engstrom, Director (limnology, geochemistry, and atmospheric deposition)
Dr. James E. Almendinger, Senior Scientist (hydrologic modeling and wetland ecology)
Dr. Shawn P. Schottler, Senior Scientist (environmental engineering, fate and transport of organic pesticides)
Dr. Mark B. Edlund, Senior Scientist (diatom ecology and evolution)
Dr. Suzanne Magdalene, Assistant Scientist (environmental geology and hydrodynamics)
Joy Ramstack, Assistant Scientist (diatom ecology and evolution)
Jill Coleman Wasik, Lab Manager (biology)
Erin Mortenson, Lab Technician II, (environmental science)

Research associate:

Dr. Brenda Moraska Lafrancois, National Park Service, Regional Aquatic Specialist (aquatic ecologist)