Precambrian Research Center
Duluth Township Watershed Online Tool
Metal Cast Parts
Rapid Prototype Metal Cast Parts
Drip Trap(tm)
Clean Plus Inc.
Algae
Great Lakes results
University of Minnesota President Bruininks
Coleraine Lab
Fly Ash Industrial Waste Reused
Valuable minerals lie beneath our feet, but if we don't know where to dig, they will stay locked underground. NRRI economic geologists have done extensive mapping of Minnesota's bedrock terrain for minerals exploration. Now, however, they are looking to the future and hoping to train the next generation of skilled field geologists.
Our beginning of time starts in the Precambrian era, including the formation of the earth itself, and stretches ahead some four billion years to the Cambrian era.
Bedrock that formed during Precambrian time holds valuable minerals, and Minnesota is rich with this mineral-laden rock, but it's a challenge for geologists to map it. The young earth was quite volatile and volcanic back then, causing melting, shifting, uplifting and eroding of the bedrock. It left behind a complex mix of rock and minerals. More often than not these ancient rocks aren't even included in field projects for U.S. geology students.
Globalization of the world's economy and a spectacular rise in the standard of living of millions of people means we need to be smart with how we use our earth's resources. The minerals industry is entering an anticipated era of expansion, but that growth is slowed by a need for trained field geologists, especially in the Precambrian terrains that hold much of the world's ore deposits. More than ever, geoscientists skilled in modern mapping and map-making are in high demand.
NRRI economic geologist Dean Peterson has teamed up with Jim Miller of the Minnesota Geological Survey to form the Precambrian Research Center at NRRI and UMD's Department of Geological Sciences. This center will provide training and support to upper-level college students, as well as professional geologists, in modern methods of geologic mapping of glaciated Precambrian terrains. It has received strong support from UMD's College of Science and Engineering and is a collaboration between the NRRI, UMD's Department of Geological Sciences and the Minnesota Geological Survey.
"This is a new way we geologists can help NRRI meet its mission of supporting natural resource-based industries," said Peterson. "Iron ore is in high demand world-wide and is expected to continue to rise. We just need more specially trained geologists to map the geology, interpret geological processes and predict where potential ore deposits may be found."
This summer, the Precambrian Research Center at NRRI will launch a 6 credit, 6 week Precambrian field camp for both undergraduate and graduate students from throughout North America, which will include a week of mapping and primitive camping in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. The Center will provide research assistantships and grants to qualified students, as well as continuing education and field experiences in advanced mapping courses for professional geologists. Digital geologic mapping and upper level courses on field mapping will also be offered.
The Center will rely on expert advice and direction from a preeminent board of advisors with members from minerals exploration and mining industries, the U.S. Geological Survey, State and Provincial Surveys, and U.S. and Canadian colleges and universities.
"Geologic mapping is quickly becoming a lost art," said Miller. "We simply have not been mentoring students in this experience-intensive activity. This Center will hopefully help reverse that trend by creating well-trained mappers who can pick up where we leave off in unraveling the mysteries of the Precambrian."
Towns perched along the north shore of Lake Superior are in a lovely location. But the shallow bedrock, steep slopes, clay-rich soils and delicate wetlands mean residents have to be extra careful to protect their watershed, and ultimately protect the great lake.
Duluth Township, just up the shore from the city of Duluth, is facing this issue head-on by requiring stormwater management plans before any new construction begins within its boundaries. And to make this new zoning ordinance as easy as possible, NRRI helped to develop a user-friendly Internet Map Server "tool." It allows landowners to easily generate working base maps of their property by showing where they sit in a watershed, important geologic and soil data, and also provides guidance for sketching their proposed changes.
"This is better than anything homeowners have had before to be good stewards of their land," said John Geissler, a UMD graduate student who did the primary development of the server. "It starts the dialog for any changes they want to make and what makes sense for their property."
Gerry Sjerven did a lot of the "behind the screen" work on the server to connect the homeowner's parcel ID number with an online map that appears on the computer. As one of NRRI's Geographical Information Systems specialists, Sjerven was able to layer map information (roads, wetlands, lakes and parcel boundaries) over color aerial photos provided by Minnesota's Land Management Information Center. Homeowners can see their house and their driveway and any sensitive areas to help them decide on construction changes.
"The technology has been around for a long time and it's well used by GIS technicians," said Sjerven. "We just needed a venue for making it practical and useful to other people. This map server shows them how to use this technology."
The map server received extensive input from folks living in Duluth Township during and after its development to make sure it was user-friendly. It allows easy access to basemaps of property that contain multiple layers of the best existing data, such as aerial photographs, topography and wetlands.
"It's vitally important that people realize our streets, our ditches, our streams, even the flow of water from our driveways, all ultimately send pollution to Lake Superior," said NRRI GIS Lab Director George Host. "We're hoping this new tool will simplify the planning process for homeowners and become a model for other north shore communities. It protects these sensitive ecosystems, and hopefully will save the cost of fixing things down the road."
This project was funded by grants from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources' Lake Superior Coastal Program and UMD's Center for Community and Regional Research.
Swale conveyance: a grassy ditch to catch water which is cheaper than pipe systems or gutters, some claim by as much as 80 percent.
Long-term maintenance costs for conservation-style landscaping is considerably less expensive than conventional landscaping, a difference of $3,950 to $4,583 per acre, per year, over 10 years.
At the neighborhood level, significant cost savings can be achieved from clustering houses, including costs for clearing and grading, stormwater and road building, and utilities.
Pervious pavements that allow water to run-through instead of run-off can reduce total costs by up to 30 percent.
Source: "Changing Cost Perceptions: An analysis of conservation development," Conservation Research Institute, 2005.
In building-related industries, a working prototype of a new or improved widget is often required to get code approval. But the cost and time put into the prototype alone will often make or break the project.
No more. NRRI's rapid prototyping center can make molten aluminum and zinc cast parts faster and more finely detailed than ever. Steve Kossett, chief engineer in the Northern Lights Technology Center, used the high definition Z Corp 3D printer technology to make a mold, then cast prototype hardware parts for a local manufacturing company. The result was a working zinc part that got the company the building code approval needed for their new product.
"The material used to make the molds in the 3D printer isn't usually used for casting, but we found that it works exceptionally well," explained Kossett. "It's quicker than traditional sand casting with greater detail."
A great benefit to industry is the fast turnaround time. Kossett was able to get the local manufacturer their prototype parts in 3-4 days. That's much more efficient than the weeks it used to take. Traditional casting is also more expensive because of the time involved in the labor intensive process. Using rapid prototype technologies, the molds are designed on the computer and built effortlessly by the 3D printer. Modifications are also easily made if the first prototype doesn't work.
Kossett has had success casting both zinc and aluminum parts for different prototypes. He found that while aluminum is stronger and lighter, it doesn't flow as easily through a highly detailed mold. Zinc picks up details well and works best in small molds where strength isn't a primary requirement.
The Northern Lights Technology Center at NRRI provides CAD design and modeling services, stereolithography, selective laser sintering, fused deposition modeling, 3D printing and metal casting for industry and university research. Their goal is to assist companies with product introductions into the marketplace to help retain and create new jobs. For more information visit their website at www.nrri.umn.edu/NLTC or call 218-720-4294.
George Coy was under the gun. His company, Clean Plus, Inc., (CPI) had to produce 30,000 items in a new product line for one of his best, and most demanding, customers in a matter of months. It was bit nerve wrecking for this small business of 22 employees because they faced a lot of challenges when developing the product that no one has manufactured before, pulling it together through trial and error.
Coy was grateful that NRRI's Forest Products group had the experience and enthusiasm to help them move the product from the lab to production.
The new product is called Drip Trap(tm). It's an oil absorbing mat made of corn leaves and stalks after harvest that NRRI initially developed and patented through the University of Minnesota. CPI purchased the rights to the license and their first customer is very excited about selling it. Maybe too excited. Thirty thousand is a tall order, but Coy is pleased with the promising success of Drip Trap(tm).
"We're about one-third of the way there," Coy said in mid-December. "NRRI has been very important to getting us off the ground with this. They know plywood, oriented strandboard and particle board and we really leaned on their experience."
CPI president Matt Coy, George's son, agrees. "The staff at NRRI applied their knowledge of wood fiber manufacturing technology to establish production methodology for making the absorbent board from corn fiber." Brian Brashaw, NRRI wood products program director, held a 3-day course he called "Cornboard 101" for CPI employees to work out the details of making the Drip Trap(tm) corn boards. And later when they had problems blending adhesives, NRRI technician Matt Aro went to their plant in West Concord, Minn., with a batch blender so they could work on the problem.
These efforts helped CPI ramp up production of this new product in a way that minimized the overall financial drag on the company, George Coy explained.
Once this first order is complete, the company would like NRRI's help to quantify some of the variables they face in making the boards, moisture in the corn fibers, temperature, adhesive quality, pressure on the press, etc. Coy said he doesn't like to rely on trial and error and would like to be able to predict the outcome of the boards. They're hoping for funding from the Environmental Assistance Grant Program to do this research.
"I can't articulate how helpful it is to know that we can call Brian and get a response. But I don't know where he was when we had to bale, move and stack 600 bales of cornstalks!" George Coy added with a laugh.
Lake of the Woods. The name alone conjures peaceful images that attract urban-weary folks to its northern Minnesota shores. The local conservation district wants to keep it that way, including keeping fish populations healthy for the anglers who come year-round.
Unfortunately too many people can bring urban problems with them. One especially well-loved area of the lake, Zippel Bay, was recently identified as impaired with low oxygen levels, excessive sediments and nutrients that can cause problems for the fish and other aquatic critters living there.
"Local residents tell us that there are times when the bay becomes a pea soup of algae and sediments, and some areas become choked with aquatic plants every year," said NRRI scientist Euan Reavie. "They say it wasn't like that decades ago."
To scientifically determine the bay's water quality history, back more than 150 years, Reavie conducted a paleolimnology study of Zippel Bay for the Lake of the Woods Soil and Water Conservation District. How? By studying stress-sensitive algae (diatoms) preserved in lake sediment to reconstruct historical information. Understanding how the lake has changed since European settlement in the area reveals what problems are man-made and what occurs naturally in the lake.
To do this, core samples were collected from sediment deep in the bay. Diatoms preserved in the sedimentary profile tell the story of the changes that have taken place over the centuries. Diatom species each have their own environmental tolerances, and respond quickly to changes in water quality. Because of these qualities, shifts in their preserved remains in the sediment layers reveal concurrent, historical shifts in water quality.
What Reavie and his colleagues found was that human activities have accelerated nutrient loading and periods of l ow oxygen concentration in Zippel Bay. Sediment accumulation has also increased to the point where it inhibits boating activities.
"Basically, Zippel Bay is filling up," said Reavie. "Expensive dredging is becoming increasingly necessary to maintain boat channels. There has been significant ditching in the watershed, which has probably contributed the most to the increased sediment load."
Combine that with shoreline development, agriculture, septic systems, and all the other things humans have done since European settlement of the area and the shallow bay is filling up fast. Knowing what is causing the impairment of this popular fishing and resort area will give the decision-makers around Lake of the Woods the information they need to slow down any further degradation, and hopefully avoid even worse problems in the future.
Definitions Paleolimnology is the study of the histories of aquatic systems using materials preserved in their sediments. The photo (above) shows Reavie standing next to a sediment core that contains sedimentary materials going back some 300 years. These sediments contain the remains of billions of diatoms that are used to interpret ecological history.
Diatoms are yellow-brown algae used extensively as indicators of water quality conditions. Diatom species respond readily to "pressure" indicators such as nutrient and salinity loading, excessive sediment and other factors affecting water transparency. Diatom remains preserve well in sediment, so they also provide opportunities to reconstruct historical information at a site. There are thousands of diatom species occurring in virtually any aquatic environment allowing broad applications to environmental issues worldwide.
Great minds focused on keeping our Great Lakes healthy gathered on the shores of Lake Michigan in November for SOLEC, the State of the Lakes Ecosystem Conference.
SOLEC is hosted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Environment Canada to share research on the lakes. NRRI Center Director Jerry Niemi gave a plenary address on a summary of Great Lakes coastal zones and aquatic habitats, including some of the results of NRRI's Great Lakes Environmental Indicators project. The knowledge gained about these sensitive resources will benefit many decision-making agencies around the lakes that impact water quality.
The Canadian government is already putting to use the Stressor Gradient developed at NRRI to link human-caused stresses (like agriculture or population density) to water condition. NRRI Geographic Information Systems specialist Tom Hollenhorst coordinated a project to describe comparable watersheds for both sides of the Great Lakes and unify the classifications each country uses to describe land use around the lakes. By using common land use classes and comparable watersheds the two governments can relate information more accurately about what's happening on either side of the Great Lakes and study remediation efforts more effectively.
SOLEC began in 1994 in response to the reporting requirements of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement which aims to "restore and maintain the physical, chemical and biological integrity of the waters of the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem." Agency decision-makers learn about the factors impacting the lakes and exchange information about effective programs to protect them. The focus of SOLEC 2006 was chemical integrity.
By Dr. Robert Bruininks, University of Minnesota president
My trip to the Coleraine lab was part of a very productive visit to the Grand Rapids area and the University's facilities that serve it. I was quite struck by the strong connection our employees and our projects have with the people of North Central and Northeastern Minnesota. Everywhere I went, I saw people closely involved with projects linked closely to the economic vitality of the region and the state, from our internationally known "Beef Team" cattle operation and our horticulture programs [in Grand Rapids] to our applied mining research at Coleraine.
When I spoke with community leaders and alumni, I emphasized the University's important role as the state's only major research university, and how we helped provide the advanced knowledge and the human capital (i.e., the educated people) that our state and its regions need to thrive in a global economy. I indicated that we would continue to need state partnerships in order to meet the lofty goals we've set for ourselves, and to help Minnesotans "meet the future" in the 21st Century.
At Coleraine, I learned a great deal about NRRI's most promising projects, including the amazing fast growth poplar trees and their potential to provide biomass energy, efforts by [Endowed Taconite Chair] Dr. Iwao Iwasaki and others to prototype iron "nodule" production, and new uses of tungsten composites as a replacement for lead (this last item being particularly close to my heart as an angler concerned about the effect of lead sinkers on our environment). Our visit was short but absolutely packed, and I know that in taking our tour we followed a delegation from one of the world's largest mining companies.
When I spoke to University employees and leaders, I told them how impressed I was by their work, and how much I appreciated their dedication to the University's work-particularly in this time of changes to some of our programs and colleges. I also pressed them to ensure that we are making the best use of our resources and finding new partnerships between our own programs and outside, in the community. The path we are taking to become one of the world's top public research universities will require more rather than fewer community connections, and a dedication to continuous improvement.
I want to thank all the great folks I met on my trip for their hospitality and for taking time out of their busy week to tell me about their work.
When researchers from NRRI's Market Oriented Wood Technology program go abroad, they bring home ideas that strengthen Minnesota industries.
A trip to Sao Paulo, Brazil for the 10th Inorganic Bonded Fiber Composite Conference in November resulted in ideas that could turn industry waste, fly-ash from coal power plants and gypsum from mining, into company profits. Both fly ash (an inorganic mineral) and gypsum (hydrated calcium sulphate) are used to supplement cement in many construction applications. Program director Pat Donahue will continue with research in this area with the hope that it can save companies money as well as reduce the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) produced during the cement-making process. Cement manufacturing represents about seven percent of the world's CO2 production.
Ultimately, Donahue would like to develop a mineral bonded oriented strand board for the North American market.
"The inorganic bonded fiber composite industry is quite old," Donahue explained. "Many of the products made with these technologies have been a staple in Third World construction practices over the past half-century. It's time for Minnesota to explore the possibilities in this potentially profitable niche market."
Michael Lalich, director
Center for Water and the Environment, Gerald Niemi, director
Center for Applied Research and Technology Development, Donald Fosnacht, director
Center for Economic Development, Elaine Hansen, director
NRRI Now
Nora Kubazewski, managing editor
June Kallestad, editor/writer
Trish Sodahl, graphic design
The Natural Resources Research Institute was established by the Minnesota Legislature in 1983 to foster economic development of Minnesota's natural resources in an environmentally sound manner to promote private sector employment.