INTRODUCING THE DUNE UNDERGRADUATE GEOMORPHOLOGY AND GEOCHRONOLOGY (DUGG) NSF-RESEARCH EXPERIENCE FOR UNDERGRADUATES SITE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-PLATTEVILLE AND UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN

DUGG is a new NSF-REU project focusing on Quaternary eolian landscapes in Wisconsin. The project includes an eight-week field and laboratory study through the University of Wisconsin-Platteville and University of Nebraska-Lincoln. DUGG students will focus on a central question, “Which geomorphic and climatic factors have impacted the formation of dunes in Wisconsin?” Students will be directly involved in identifying the links between changes in climate and concomitant landscape response by studying Wisconsin's dunes through field studies and the use of OSL dating. On a local scale, the study of Wisconsin's dunes is of direct importance in unraveling the state's recent geologic and climate histories. In Great Lake coastal settings, students will study the response of dune systems to changes in Holocene lake levels. In inland settings, studies will focus on dunes and the underlying deposits that hold key information for better constraining the state's deglacial history. Students will also be introduced to recent advances in the study of dune geomorphology and the importance of dune activity on a global scale, including the link to global dust production, which has significant impacts on climate, ocean biogeochemistry, ecology, loess, soils and human activity. In addition, this project will provide first-hand experience in modern field and laboratory based problem-solving techniques in the earth sciences. These include conducting hypothesis-driven field based research coupled with laboratory analyses such as optically stimulated luminescence dating and modern techniques in sedimentology such as ground penetrating radar. By working on this project, students will gain an appreciation for how geologists formulate hypotheses and answer basic research questions.