After much preparation we finally took our first core sample yesterday. It took up to 4 people to get core samples through the thick and hard sediment of Gete-niso-bajishkaa-Zaaga’igan (the ancient triangular lake). It was exciting and fascinating to see the samples change from a rich dark reddish brown to a glistening grey from the anaerobic environments. The anticipation for information contained within the samples still lingers.

Today was a more relaxing day after two consecutive days in the field. The REU students were greeted with a problem solving challenge early in the morning by Christa. Later in the afternoon we received lessons on things that can be found in site descriptions by Emi.  A small group of us went to the community center right after to relieve some stress and workout our bodies after using our minds all day. 

Adrienne Warmsley

The first core we took was an exploratory one.