By Adam Schaubroeck
During my first semester here at South Dakota Mines, I thoroughly enjoyed my atmospheric science introductory class. In this class my professor would often discuss current weather events and use a wide variety of information to back up what he was saying. One such source of information was atmospheric models. These atmospheric models caught my attention and have fascinated me ever since. This has led me to a bigger interest in our atmosphere from a computational perspective.
By Alex Makarchuk
Imagine you are having dinner with your family, and suddenly a warning from the National Weather Service (NWS) blares on your phone: “TORNADO WARNING ISSUED FOR YOUR AREA.” Your first response to the loud noise and a scary message may put you and your family in a panic or leave you in a state of confusion, as the words used in the warning make you unsure how to keep your family safe. Public communication is one of many jobs of a meteorologist, and one of the hardest.
NWS sends out just over 50,000 warnings a year across the country (Erdman 2022) to protect the public from damage that Mother Nature can cause. These warnings and messages only work if the reader can understand the message. If someone doesn’t understand what is happening right now, how are they supposed to take shelter and make informed decisions on what to do next? Sharing these warnings with millions of people across the country is a difficult job, which is why it is so important that we can build these messages so that everyone can understand the dangers and take proper action. It starts with understanding how people interpret these messages and why they interpret them that way.
By Emily Hubmer
Before coming to school at South Dakota Mines, I was interested in environmental science from a different lens than I am now. I used to love learning about and watching documentaries focused on sustainability, mostly related to agriculture and other practices in the production of goods. As a college student, my courses have focused on other topics related to environmental science. I’ve studied chemical and biological processes, community science and communication, water and wastewater treatment, among other fields. The courses I’ve taken and the fields I’ve studied have inspired my capstone project. Like most, I want to help as many people as I can and leave a positive impact on my surroundings. One way that I can help our planet, and what I will be doing my capstone project on, is composting.
Composting is the process of breaking down materials into compost, which is a nutritionally dense substance. Typically, in landfills, when food breaks down, it is in a low-oxygen environment. The resulting byproduct of that decomposition is methane. When composted properly, the waste is exposed to oxygen, resulting in the emission of carbon dioxide. I know, an environmental science student promoting the release of carbon dioxide? While carbon dioxide is a harmful greenhouse gas, methane is also a greenhouse gas, and it is much stronger than carbon dioxide and can have a greater impact with the same amount of gas produced (Howarth, 2014). The breakdown of material into compost can benefit communities. The product can be used to help crops grow better in gardens, among other uses. Essentially, composting food waste reduces the amount of trash going into landfills, prevents methane emissions, and makes a useful end product.
By Kendra Rounds
Snowstorms and blizzards can have immense impacts on human infrastructure, create hazardous travel conditions, and shut down cities due to snow and ice accumulation. Many people know this in general about snowstorms but have never considered if there’s any difference between snowstorms at different times of the year.
During midwinter – in, say, January – temperatures are colder overall with less sunlight during the daytime to diminish snow accumulation. Snowflakes that form around this time may be smaller and more powder-like. This can reduce visibility more quickly during snow events such as blizzards, which makes traveling conditions more hazardous. During early spring – in, say, April – temperatures are generally warmer with more sunlight throughout the day. While this typically means the effects of a snowstorm won’t last quite as long, the snow that falls is usually thicker and heavier, often called “wet snow.” This snow is much harder to clear from roadways and can cause power outages more easily due to the weight of the snow on powerlines. Many people probably wouldn’t consider that these storms can be so different if they don’t look at the underlying meteorological properties of these storms.
By Hannah Gehlsen
Over the course of my college career, I have come to realize, like many others, that there is a gap that exists between not only scientists and the public, but within varying scientific disciplines as well. As a result, many ecologically valuable elements are continually in need of research to support their existence. This issue is currently being faced in regard to the riparian vegetation/macrophytes of the Kootenai River, with some finding them problematic to stream flow and others simply seeing them as a nuisance while fishing. To clarify, riparian vegetation is known to grow along the edges of water bodies, whereas macrophytes are aquatic plants that are typically rooted underwater, and they can be fully or only partially submerged.
Historically speaking, the Kootenai River is considered to be low in nutrients such as phosphorous. This is primarily a result of the installation of the Libby Dam in 1972, which originates in Southeastern British Columbia, Canada, and flows through northwestern Montana and northern Idaho (Hardy et al., 2022). These low nutrient levels are what put aquatic species, such as the white sturgeon, under threat due to a shift in the ecosystem balance. Nutrients such as phosphorous, nitrogen, and even carbon are critical to maintaining the balance within both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. They also work to uphold a proper functioning food-web.
By Jack Knighton
Globally, wildfires are becoming more common. Research indicates that peak wildfire season has lengthened for over 25% of the Earth’s vegetated surface, causing an 18% increase in global mean fire season length (Jolly, et. al, 2013). In an October 2024 report, the Montana Legislative Fiscal Division found that 70% of the acres burned in Montana history have occurred after the year 2000. The report also found that Montana spent over $500 million dollars suppressing fires between 2002 and 2023, with a further $1.8 billion having been spent by federal agencies. With wildfires becoming more common, it is increasingly important that we understand local wildfire behavior to aid with suppression efforts.
Wildfire behavior is driven primarily by weather, topography, and the availability of fuel. Fuel availability varies throughout the year, and is primarily a function of moisture, vegetation type, and vegetation density. Vegetation type and density are driven by the amount of annual precipitation and average temperature. Drought impacts fuel moisture, allowing for more easily combustible fuel and increased rate of fire spread. Previous research (Clabo, 2018, Westerling et. al, 2003) has indicated that there may be correlations between local climate variables and increased wildfire activity, however no dedicated study has been conducted for Montana.
By Dorothy Snowden
Imagine babysitting children when the police bang on the door, guns drawn, to arrest you for allegedly robbing several banks four states away. That is exactly what happened to a Tennessee grandmother, Angela Lipps, in July 2025. Based on a match using facial recognition technology and bank surveillance cameras, police charged Lipps with eight felony counts and extradited her to Fargo, North Dakota, where she was held on a $100,000 bond for months. She was released and the charges were dropped after she produced records proving she had never been to North Dakota. She was in Tennessee at the time the bank thefts occurred. Lipps is suing the Fargo Police Department (Thompson, 2026).
This is just one instance of misidentification and mishandling of facial recognition technology when applied to law enforcement investigations. Similar problems exist with the use of Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPRs), which provide artificial intelligence (AI)-enhanced analysis of vehicles, location, date, time, make, model, and color in real-time databases. For law enforcement agencies, ALPRs can scan thousands of license plates daily, comparing them to “hotlists” of vehicles tied to criminal activity, assisting in recovery of stolen vehicles, and locating criminals or missing persons. Software errors and human misinterpretation of data has led to innocent motorists being pulled over or arrested based on mistaken identity when there is a system “hit” (Alibasic, 2026).
By Asher Malaschak
In the summer of 2017, the Northern Great Plains experienced one of the worst droughts of recorded history. At the time of recording, 2017 was ranked as the second driest year since the start of the 20th century (Wang 2019). This drought had devastating economic and environmental impacts, including the decimation of the local agriculture industry, loss of tourism in excess of $240 million, and multiple record-breaking wildfire breakouts (Hoell 2020). The surprising thing about this drought is that, in May, 2017 was considered to be an excellent agricultural year. By the middle of July, the drought was already deemed one of the region’s worst in recent history.
As it turns out, this phenomenon is not uncommon. This is what is known as a “flash drought,” or a rapid intensification of drought within a short time period, typically a month or less. It is generally associated with very high temperatures and clear skies lasting over a long time. Flash droughts can occur during a number of circumstances but are most dangerous when combined with drought conditions that are already present. This can cause significant harm to land that has already proven vulnerable, making the jobs of farmers, wildfire management, and others much more difficult.
I have decided to conduct research regarding flash droughts in the Northern Great Plains. The goal is to analyze the amount of coverage and the intensity of flash droughts in the past 40 years to identify how these patterns are changing. Given Earth’s ever-changing climate, it is vital to identify how climate change is affecting the frequency and severity of flash droughts. This research can also help identify the specific variables involved in climate change that are most responsible for changing the drought scene.
By Gavin Bird
Wildfires are a common and dangerous threat throughout the western United States, including in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Many of these wildfires are ignited by lightning during the summer months, which make up the primary fire season across much of the western United States. Between 1987 and 2016, more than 2,500 fires occurred in the Black Hills during June, July, and August, with over half attributed to lightning (Clabo 2018). These wildfires threaten lives, property, and natural resources while requiring significant and costly emergency responses and resources.
For our fourth annual STS Halloween costume contest, we got some great entries representing a range of approaches! We selected winners in a variety of categories: Best Monster/Creature, Best Team Costume, Best Science-Related Costume, and Best Simple-But-Effective Costume.
We’re looking forward to seeing more creative, fun, and spooky costumes next Halloween!
