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Summer of Science

University of Miami student Julia Paine prepares sediment samples from Canada’s Fraser River for analysis in WHOI’s Plasma Mass Spectrometry Facility. By measuring concentrations of strontium isotopes—radioactive chemical forms of the element—in the samples, researchers can trace where the sediments came from within the river basin and better understand how the river influences the coastal ocean. Paine is one of about 30 undergraduates participating in this year’s Summer Student Fellowship program, which gives students from around the world the opportunity to come to WHOI, work with a mentor—in Paine’s case, geochemist Bernhard Peucker-Ehrenbrink—and get hands-on research experience. (Photo by Tom Kleindinst, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)