Michael Luehmann - Soils
Broadly stated, my research interest centers on reconstructing the evolution of landscapes using data from soils and surficial sediments. Specifically, my thesis focuses on mapping loess at the northern edge of the North American loess sheet in western Upper Michigan where loess has never been studied. Studying the margins of a deposit like this can proved valuable information about its formation and 
depositional environment, perhaps more than data from the core, or central, parts of the loess sheet. The historical loess “model” assumes loess is mainly derived from large silt-laden, meltwater streams, which when dry release silts to strong winds. However, contemporary research has shown that not only are meltwater streams a source for loess, but dried-up lake basins, outwash plains, and moraines are also sources of eolian sediment. These glacial landforms are often located at the margins of retreating ice-masses, where winds are strong and chaotic, and where unconsolidated drift is widespread. Strong multidirectional winds can winnow out the fine-silt and sand fraction and later deposit these sediments on early exposed, flat, stable uplands. However, in my study area these loess deposits have proven to be thin (30-60cm) and therefore coarser materials are easily mixed (e.g. bioturbation) into the soil profile. The purpose of Michigan loess research and my research is three-fold: (1) it recognizes multiple sources for loess, (2) it emphasizes thin silt deposits that would otherwise go unnoticed, and (3) provides data on environmental characteristics at the margins of a retreating ice-mass.
Brad Miller - Mapping of Soil Properties with GIS
Soil is the thin layer of the earth where geology, biology, environmental quality, food production, and history all intersect. Studying soil provides us insights to the processes that have formed the earth as we know it and how it might change in response to our future actions. Our understanding of the spatial distribution of soil properties, combined with how we communicate those spatial relationships, will be essential as humans manage this precious resource.
Digital technologies have changed the way we view our world and offer new means for representing and analyzing the intricacies of the physical landscape. In my research, I endeavor to build on the remarkable work of soil scientists and utilize the tools available in GIS technologies. Specifically, I am interested in developing mapping methods that enhance both the efficiency and detail of current soil survey efforts. Major soil properties are understood to vary due to differences in climate, organisms, relief, parent material, and time. At the very local scale, changes in soil properties are primarily driven by processes related to relief. These types of processes include erosion/deposition and hydrology, which cause differences in soil properties at different landscape positions. With the assistance of aerial photographs, the modern soil survey can infer changes in landscape position to a scale of approximately 1:15,840 for most of the United States. This scale relates to soil delineations that generally have a minimum size of 1 hectare.
In GIS, a popular way for representing the physical landscape is the use of a digital elevation model (DEM). Currently, DEMs are available at a 10 meter grid cell resolution for a large portion of the United States. This resolution is equivalent to 0.01 hectares. With a landscape model at this scale, it would appear that landscape features smaller than 1 hectare can be represented. In consideration of this higher resolution base map plus the added benefits of the spatial analysis and automation available in GIS, many potential opportunities present themselves. However, these opportunities are complicated by the potential errors in the elevation dataset and the natural gradients of soil properties.
Jovanka Nikolic - Climatology
Low-level jets (LLJs), streams of fast-moving air in the lower atmosphere, have a strong impact on the weather and climate of the Great Plains of the United States. Southerly LLJs are known to play an important role in transporting moisture and heat from the Gulf of Mexico northward and are primarily responsible for the summertime nocturnal convection in the Great Plains region. Northerly LLJs have been linked to blizzards and large spread of wildfires. While numerous studies have examined the properties and forcing mechanisms of southerly LLJs, little is known about the formation and characteristics of the NLLJs. My research employs the Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) model to improve the understanding of the structure and evolution of NLLJ. I have had great help and support in my work by my advisor Dr Sharon Zhong, as well as Dr Julie Winkler (MSU) and Dr Claudia Walters (UM).
Perdinan - Climate Change, Energy/Carbon, Economics
Agriculture is particularly susceptible to climate change, as inferred from large historical variations in crop production in response to past climate variability. My research project, under the supervision of Professor Julie Winkler, explores adaptation options for crop production under future scenarios of climate change. Corn and soybean production in the Upper Great Lakes region (Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota) serves as the case study. These two crops have two different photosynthesis pathways, namely: C3 (soybean) and C4 (corn). Possible adaptation
s to climate change are identified based on a literature review and from secondary sources including a farm management survey conducted for the region. Inter-disciplinary models for corn and soybean yields will be developed that integrate estimated yields obtained from a crop simulation model called DSSAT with economic variables chosen to capture important contributions to crop production that are not included or modeled well in DSSAT such as pest, disease and weeds. The primary inputs for the DSSAT simulation are climate data, soil parameters, crop management and technology. Regionalization and spatial analysis methods are being employed to handle the different spatial scales of the input variables (e.g., point scale climate data and county-level economic information). Climate change projections are being derived from an ensemble of simulations from regional climate models run under the SRES A2 emission scenario and available from the NARCCAP (North America Regional Climate Change Assessment Program) Project. Empirical methods are used to downscale the regional simulations to the point level. Additionally, alternative approaches are evaluated for estimating solar radiation, an important variable for the DSSAT simulations but one which is infrequently recorded. The overall goal and expected outcome of the research is a methodology for assessing spatial variations in the suitability of climate change adaptation options for agriculture.
Jaimen Waha - Michigan Coastal Geomorphology
Lake Michigan coastal dunes have been extensively researched in the last 25 years, establishing a chronological record of periods of dune stability and mobilization. Recent studies demonstrate that coastal dune growth is episodic; periods of dune mobilization and stability are primarily effected by the water level of the Great Lakes. Dune mobilization is thought to be coincident with periods of high lake levels, which erode the shore and increase sedim
ent supply. The many large islands of northern Lake Michigan contain varying dune systems and theoretically would be affected by forces similar to those along the eastern shoreline. Although extensively studied along the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, no research has looked at the dune systems of the many large islands of northern Lake Michigan. This study will fill in a significant spatial gap in the ongoing research of coastal dune complexes in the Lake Michigan basin, the islands of northern Lake Michigan provide an ideal laboratory for the testing of current theories of coastal dune mobilization. The goal of my research will be to describe eolian systems along the coasts of the Beaver Island archipelago and other islands of northern Lake Michigan and attempt to analyze the spatial and morphological characteristics under the current theoretical framework established in coastal dune studies.
Phil Wernette - Coastal Geomorphology
I am a geomorphologist interested in coastal change along the shore of Lower Michigan during the historic period. Coastlines are highly dynamic systems with a wide range of influencing factors, such as wind direction, waves, and longshore processes. Identifying and quantifying the relative importance of each of these factors is key to better understanding coastal dynamics. Ultimately, our understanding of coastline change impacts how resources are allocated in coastal 
management.
I am particularly interested in comparing the rate of coastal change on both the eastern and western shores of Lower Michigan. Given prevailing westerly winds, and associated wave intensity the western coast of Lower Michigan should be more dynamic than the eastern coast. I plan to test this hypothesis by assessing geo-rectified aerial photographs (beginning in 1938) of coastal reaches on either side of the peninsula. The goal of my research is to (1) map coastline change since 1938 at selected east and west locations, (2) track changes, and (3) identify and rank the relative importance of boundary conditions on coastline change as a way of explaining observed variations.
David Young - Climatology
As energy demand and concern regarding the impacts of fossil fuel burning in the United States grows, the need for energy derived from renewable plant biomass has become more important. Production of corn ethanol has become quite common in many Midwestern states in recent years, but with concerns about the environmental and economic sustainability of such production, new feedstock crops are being investigated by researchers. In this context, hybrid poplar clones have 
been identified as a potential feedstock crop for the developing cellulosic ethanol industry. In cellulosic ethanol production the lignocellulose, the non-edible part of the plant, is mechanically and chemically broken down to produce ethanol. Throughout the forest producing regions of the upper Midwest, universities and other research agencies are conducting genetic and yield trials to determine the biomass productivity of various hybrids of poplar. Hybrid poplars are very fast growing, but climate and soil type are known to constrain tree growth in the Upper Great Lakes states of Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.
Climate projections suggest that the climate may become warmer and wetter in this region with increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide during the upcoming century. The objectives of my research are to identify how climate and soils have impacted hybrid poplar growth historically across the upper Great Lakes region and how these trees may respond to projected climate changes in the future. A plant growth model is being used to simulate tree growth and to estimate biomass yields of hybrid poplar plantations at several representative locations in the region. These simulations take local climate, soil, management practices, and plant growth parameters into account and provide an estimate of the amount of biomass that could be produced under these conditions. These results will hopefully aid future decisions regarding the development of the cellulosic ethanol industry in the Great Lakes region.