1. The Geomorphology of Dunes Along the
Western Shoreline of Lake Michigan:
Disseminating NSF-REU Data in the
Classroom
J Elmo Rawling 3rd UW-Platteville
Paul Hanson UN-Lincoln
Dave Hart WGNHS
National Science Foundation Grant #EAR-0850024
Research Experience for Undergraduates Grant

2. Study Area
All LiDAR Courtesy of Door County, WI

3. Dott and Attig

4. Baedke and Thompson 2000

5. ~1Km

6. Clark Lake
•~0.75 km wide
•Small parabolic dunes (3-7 m)
•Large parabolic dunes (18-24 m)

9. Kangaroo Lake
•~0.8 km wide
• 0.35 km separating
•Large Beach Ridge/Parabolic
Dune Complex
•Lower Relief Dunes

10. Europe

11. Europe Lake
•~0.3 km wide
•Large Beach Ridge
• Smaller Beach Ridges
•No Parabolic Dune Forms

12. Elevations from LiDAR

13. GPR Ground Penetrating Radar

16. Dave Hart WGNHS

18. Bucket Augering
for Particle-Size
Analysis and
Stratigraphic
Interpretation of GPR

20. Laser Diffraction PSA

22. Optically Stimulated Luminescnce Age Estimate
• Estimating burial ages based on the abundance of
energy stored in sand grains.
Methods following Rawling et al 2008

24. Optical Ages
samples from the same site
UNL Lab Depth U Th K2 0 In Situ Dose Rate De (Gy) Aliquots Optical Age
a b
# (m) (ppm) (ppm) (wt %) H20 (%) (Gy/ka) ± 1 Std. Err. (n) ±1σ
UNL-2755 1.3 0.4 1.5 1.2 4.1 1.27 ± 0.09 5.2 ± 0.4 22/27 4.1 ± 0.5
UNL-2760 1.3 0.6 2.1 1.8 4.1 1.84 ± 0.13 3.6 ± 0.2 20/27 1.9 ± 0.2
UNL-2873 2.7 0.8 2.0 1.7 4.2 1.75 ± 0.12 4.2 ± 0.2 23/37 2.4 ± 0.2
UNL-2758 1.4 0.4 1.8 1.6 5.4 1.59 ± 0.12 4.1 ± 0.5 23/34 2.6 ± 0.4
UNL-2863 2.5 0.6 2.6 1.8 4.1 1.80 ± 0.12 4.7 ± 0.5 20/24 2.6 ± 0.3
UNL-2763 1.9 0.5 1.5 1.0 4.3 1.27 ± 0.17 6.0 ± 0.6 24/42 5.2 ± 0.6
UNL-2759 1.4 0.5 1.9 1.4 3.3 1.50 ± 0.10 6.4 ± 0.4 27/40 4.3 ± 0.4
UNL-2761 1.3 0.3 1.1 0.7 7.0 0.83 ± 0.06 6.4 ± 0.4 21/39 7.8 ± 0.9
UNL-2756 1.2 0.6 1.6 1.3 7.7 1.35 ± 0.11 7.0 ± 0.4 35/53 5.2 ± 0.5
UNL-2864 1.5 0.5 1.8 1.2 3.5 1.33 ± 0.12 5.3 ± 0.3 26/34 4.0 ± 0.4
UNL-2865 1.1 0.7 2.0 1.5 4.9 1.60 ± 0.11 7.7 ± 0.7 21/26 4.8 ± 0.6
UNL-2866 1.1 0.4 2.0 1.2 4.2 1.28 ± 0.08 4.8 ± 0.3 28/32 3.8 ± 0.4
UNL-2867 1.7 0.6 2.1 1.1 3.8 1.30 ± 0.08 5.7 ± 0.4 20/26 4.4 ± 0.4
UNL-2868 1.6 0.6 2.2 1.2 4.0 1.33 ± 0.08 5.9 ± 0.4 22/31 4.4 ± 0.5
UNL-2869 1.5 0.6 1.9 1.5 3.9 1.57 ± 0.10 5.4 ± 0.4 21/29 3.4 ± 0.3
UNL-2870 1.4 0.6 2.0 1.4 4.7 1.50 ± 0.10 6.2 ± 0.3 20/26 4.1 ± 0.4
UNL-2871 1.7 0.5 1.9 1.7 3.7 1.68 ± 0.11 2.5 ± 0.6 20/39 1.5 ± 0.4
UNL-2872 1.5 0.6 2.1 1.3 3.5 1.42 ± 0.09 3.8 ± 0.5 20/34 2.7 ± 0.4

25. Probability Plot From Clark Lake

26. Vibracoring to reach underlying lake sediments below the water table

28. Dissemination…..

29. What’s the best format to get this information in the classroom?
Is the data provided here a good template for a future website?

30. Europe

32. Potential Assignment Topics =
Determining the Elevation of Past Lake Levels
Tracing Shorelines with LiDAR/Using LiDAR to get elevations
Combining LiDAR, PSD and GPR Data
Others?
OSL Dates

33. DUGG 2010 Crew

34. DUGG 2011 Crew

35. DUGG 2012 Crew

36. Baedke, S.J., Thompson, T.A., 2000.
A 4,700 year record of lake level and isostasy for Lake Michigan. J. Great Lakes Res. 26, 416– 426.
Dott, R.H., and Attig J.W. 2004.
Roadside Guide to the Geology of Wisconsin. Mountain Press.
Rawling III, J. E., P. R. Hanson, A. R. Young, and J. W. Attig. 2008.
Late Pleistocene dune construction in the Central Sand Plain of Wisconsin, USA. Geomorphology 100 (3-4): 494–505.
Thanks for listening.