North Dakota State University students (from left) Bailee McEvers, Thomas Marcouiller and Michael Sullivan worked together to obtain a soil sample Saturday, May 4 in Sanders Township. They are studying Lake Agassiz, which was located here at the end of glacial times. Not pictured is fellow NDSU student Annalie Peterson. Video is online at www.trftimes.com.

by April Scheinoha
Reporter

Four North Dakota State University students were digging into the past Saturday, May 4 in Sanders Township.

No, they weren’t digging for fossils. The students were researching Lake Agassiz, which was located in this area at the end of glacial times.

“We’re at this specific spot to try to learn more about this ridge and to get a geologic age for this ridge because we’re trying to get a better understanding of when the lake was here and how it changed over time,” said Dr. Ken Lepper, NDSU geology professor.

The geology students are taking eight soil samples along a ridge spanning from near Newfolden south to Fertile. The Pennington County site was the sixth dig they’ve completed since starting their research. Earlier on May 4, they completed a dig in Fertile. Similar digs have been completed in the past, and more are planned next year.

For each sample, the students dug about three feet into the soil and collected about a pound of sand. Optically Stimulated Luminescence dating will be used to determine the age of the sand. “Very few people are familiar with it, even trained geologists,” Lepper said.

The group hopes to have the results by September. “We have a certain hypothesis that we think that there might have been another body of water present, so that would be cool to either confirm or deny that,” said Annalie Peterson, an NDSU freshman participating in the project.

Classmate Thomas Marcouiller noted that they also plan to see if the geologic ages from their soil samples correspond with soil samples collected last year.

The students plan to present the results at the national meeting of the Geological Society of America in Arizona in late September.

No matter what they find, the students enjoy the project. Marcouiller said, “It’s a good opportunity to actually get field experience.”

Peterson noted it’s more work than she expected, but she’s had fun digging and also meeting new people.