Lake Michigan Coastal Dunes
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Lake Michigan Coastal Dune Home
Introduction to Lake Michigan Coastal Dunes
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Research Methods - Sediment Size


We collect samples of beach and dune sediments for grain-size analysis.

We bring the samples to the lab where they are dried and weighed. The samples are then dry-sieved using a mechanical shaker and a set of sieves with different mesh sizes.

The shaker separates the sediments into class sizes determined by whether grains can pass through the mesh of a sieve or not. We record the weight of the material left on each sieve and use the results to describe the mean grain size and size distribution (sorting) of the sediments.

 

 


Mechanical shaker with sieves.



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Last updated 03/23/10.