“Chocolate Milk” Sediment Plumes Featured in Next River Talk

The River Talk series continues at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 14, at the Lake Superior Estuarium (3 Marina Dr., Superior, Wis.).

Elizabeth Minor, a professor with the University of Minnesota Duluth’s Large Lakes Observatory, will present: “Lake Superior Storm Stories: A Biogeochemist’s View of the Plumes.”

Storms can turn the Duluth-Superior Harbor and Lake Superior brown like chocolate milk as water, sediment and nutrients run off from the land. Professor Minor will describe what we know about storm plume contents and how the plumes affect plants and animals. Her examples will include the Solstice Flood of 2012 and the Wisconsin storm of July 2016 — two recent “500-year” flood events.

The Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve and the Minnesota and Wisconsin Sea Grant programs offer this series of informal evening talks about the St. Louis River Estuary. Everyone is invited and refreshments will be available.

Check the River Talk website  for details. If you miss a talk, visit Wisconsin Sea Grant’s “Great Lakes Takes” blog for a summary.