Data Collection
Undergraduate students, along with respective faculty members, traveled to the St. Johns River, Florida’s largest and longest river (~500 km). Managed by the St. Johns River Water Management District, this river is the primary target source for the future water resource needs of the expanding community of central Florida. The research team traveled to different areas along the river to sample Bald Cypress trees for lab analysis, using incremental bores to take samples without damaging the trees. To preserve the tree core samples during transportation, they were stored in paper straws, then labeled and dated for use in the lab.