A team of scientists and students from Clarkson University in Potsdam and Paul Smith’s College gathered recently on the eight-inch-thick frozen Lower St. Regis Lake ice to deploy a high-tech ground penetrating radar in an exploration of the ancient history, formation, and evolution of the lake.

The research group includes Clarkson University Civil Engineering PhD candidate Gladys Pantoja Flores, Civil Engineering Master of Science candidate Malvern Dongo, and Civil Engineering Senior, Dylan Carlson and Dr. Allen Gontz of Clarkson University and Dr. Curt Stager of Paul Smith’s College.

The group is investigating how the lake formed and if the Lower St. Regis is a kettle lake formed when the glaciers retreated, or if it was formed by over-deepening and ‘plucking’ which is when glaciers tear off giant blocks of rock as they advance, leaving large depressions behind. The research team is also seeking evidence of past lower lake levels and former shorelines that suggest periods of dryer climate and drought.

The lake has been studied extensively by Dr. Jay Curtis ‘Curt’ Stager, professor of natural sciences and endowed Chair in Lake Ecology and Paleoecology at Paul Smith's College. Dr. Stager’s research in Africa and in the Adirondacks focuses on the use of lake sediment cores to reconstruct past climates, evolution, and human impacts on ecosystems over thousands of years. Stager studies diatoms, which are single-cell algae that have cell walls made of silica. Diatoms are important because they have light-absorbing molecules which collect energy from the sun and turn it into chemical energy through photosynthesis. Diatoms produce 20-30% of the air humans breathe.

While Stager has done numerous studies of sediment cores in the Lower St. Regis Lake, it was not until international paleo-climate senior researcher and geophysicist Dr. Allen Gontz of Clarkson University came to the North Country, that the equipment and geophysical expertise was available to study the lake with high-tech geophysical techniques. Dr. Gontz is an expert in shallow earth geophysics and Quaternary geology with research applications in paleoengineering and geoarchaelogy. He works with geophysical tools including ground penetrating radar (GPR), earth resistivity tomography (ERT), Seismic Reflection Profiling (SRP), UAV photogrammetry, LiDAR, and side scan sonar, coupled with traditional methods in sedimentology and stratigraphy. His techniques allow for site assessment and understanding how landscapes change in response to natural and societal pressures.

“We pulled our Guideline Geo MALA 80MHz ground penetrating radar across the ice on the Lower St. Regis to see how the lake has evolved over time and what changes in sediment input we can see from nearby streams,” said Gontz. He added, “We’re also looking at shoreline erosion and conversion of a former lake into a wetland and then back into a lake again.” “This gives us an idea of past climates in this region,’ Gontz added. “The best thing about GPR is that it’s like an ultrasound for Mother Earth, it’s non-invasive and not harmful for the environment,” said Gontz.

The research team plans to present their initial results at the Geological Society of America (GSA) in Anaheim, CA in October 2024.