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Clues in the Core

Sarah Jayne, a guest student from Northeastern University working in the lab of WHOI biochemist Amanda Spivak, breaks down a piece of core sampled from the Kennebec river watershed in Maine. Removal of dams from some parts of the river recently resulted in the restoration of river herring populations. Herring have an important role in the food web, but have previously been unable to migrate to freshwater due to human activities like damming. Spivak is collaborating with biologist Joel Llopiz on an interdisciplinary project to determine the impact of dam removal on biological, geological, and chemical cycling in these environments. (Photo by Gwen Schanker, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)