Growing Strong Industries
Developing New Ideas
Nurturing Natural Resources
Developing New Ideas
Nurturing Natural Resources
University of Minnesota Duluth
Tug and barge shipment of Iron Range taconite rock to Chicago on May 28th is hoped to be the first of many.Taconite rock, found in overabundance on Minnesota’s Iron Range, makes an extremely durable and high-performing aggregate, according to research at the University of Minnesota Duluth’s Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI). It has been used extensively in the northland, but this week it was transported from Duluth to Chicago via the Great Lakes, testing its “shipability” and potential as a new, readily available aggregate product for other areas.
Chicago’s local aggregate sources are primarily limestone-based, a softer rock than taconite. Iron Range aggregate could meet their needs for a tougher surface treatment on roads. That could mean longer lasting roads for the greater Chicago area, less road construction and less overall cost. NRRI’s research also shows that hard taconite rock has excellent friction characteristics for safer driving conditions when applied to the road surface. Read the full story
Bridge number 5961 was a 120 foot-long problem. Steam on the river and from a nearby paper mill result in an icy bridge deck when the cold air hits, causing accidents. And with almost 6,000 vehicles crossing the bridge daily, that’s a real problem.
NRRI researcher Larry Zanko offered a local solution—taconite tailings. This waste rock from the taconite pellet making process is being tested in a new, high-friction bridge deck surface treatment on 5961 to improve its “grip-ability.”
When it rains, it poursThis is obvious: homes, buildings, roads and driveways don’t absorb rainwater. Not so clear to people is that those impervious surfaces cause rainwater to flow like a deluge in to nearby streams. The streams get over filled, the banks erode, the dirt muddies the water and the water critters struggle. To help scientists—and the rest of us—understand this problem better, NRRI is conducting an experiment to figure out exactly what homeowners can do to reduce stormwater runoff.
As far back as 900 B.C., the Vikings of Norway kept fence posts from rotting by burning the surface of the wood. The best ideas, it seems, stand the test of time. Today, NRRI research on heat-treating Minnesota red pine could mean that regional window and door manufacturers don’t have to truck in wood from the western U.S.—with additional environmental advantages, as well.
Sloshing around in streams is all in a day’s work for research assistant Brian Black. But the work is serious—Black is finishing up his Master’s degree in Integrated Biosciences and his thesis research examines how stream temperatures respond to local conditions and changes in the landscape in the Lake Superior basin.
“To examine these relationships, we integrate GIS (Geographical Information Systems) mapping with stream temperature profiles and habitat assessments,” he explained. Black is hoping his research results will help city planners and natural resource managers mitigate the negative impacts of development.
Hear interviews with two NRRI researchers as played on KUMD's Sea Grant Files radio program. The program host is Steve Bortone.
These Sea Grant Files episodes are produced by the University of Minnesota Sea Grant Program and KUMD Radio (103.3FM). The entire series can be found at: www.seagrant.umn.edu/radio/sgf.