University of Georgia Athletic Director Vince Dooley (left) takes a tour of the Cypress Swamps with Whit Gibbons, a staff member of the Savannah River Ecology Lab. The lab, run by the university, studies everything from radioactivity levels to wildlife. FILE/STAFF

Learning experiences

Environment makes Savannah Lab natural for schooling scientists

Web posted Saturday, November 18, 2000

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 Timeline

By Robert Pavey
Staff Writer

Whit Gibbons got his first glimpse of Savannah River Ecology Lab in 1967 when he arrived as a postdoctoral student to conduct a little research.

``I planned to stay a year, because it was an opportunity to have unlimited research activities and publish a few papers,'' he said with a laugh. ``Then I thought maybe I'd stay two years.''

Thirty-three years later, Dr. Gibbons is still there. So are many of his colleagues whose paths have taken them to the sprawling nuclear-weapons materials complex over the decades.

The laboratory, a part of the University of Georgia, traces its origins to 1951, when an ecologist and university professor named Eugene Odum came up with the idea of using Savannah River Plant as a living research facility.

The objective, as first envisioned, was to evaluate the impact of radiation and various types of contamination in the broader context of a controlled natural environment.

The lab now enjoys an international reputation as one of the leading research sites for matters pertaining to radioecology - the specialized study of the effect of radionuclides in the environment.

Early studies focused on the effects of radiation on plants and animals within the site, which contains diverse habitats ranging from Carolina bays to swamps to planted timber and natural hardwoods.

Jacquez Donaldson gets to know a 3-week-old baby alligator from the lab during SRS Family Days 2000. The ecology lab is known across the country for its research into marine life. JONATHAN ERNST/FILE

``It is all tied up in the irony that you have a place with a number of relatively natural habitats, and they're right in the same matrix with contaminated areas - or areas that have different forms of pollution,'' Dr. Gibbons said.

The mix of pollution and nature creates the ultimate setting for research that can help create strategies that are useful in resolving problems elsewhere in the world.

``The advantage to that in this case, as in here at SRS, is that the pollution is controlled,'' he said. ``It's localized; it's regulated; it's measurable. So you have a comparative situation. What should a natural habitat be like compared to what it's like when affected by an environmental impact? We have all that right here.''

Scientists also have decades of data to draw from when reaching their conclusions. The site has been off limits to all but the most controlled activities since the Atomic Energy Commission created the secure area.

``It's changed a lot since 1967,'' Dr. Gibbons said. ``There were a lot more old field habitats and abandoned agricultural areas. I go back and look at photographs of places I work now. There's a lot of difference.''

Ellenton Bay, for example, is a swampy, wet area that is home to many aquatic animals and plants. In 1976, it was surrounded by cleared cotton fields and cornfields.

``Now we're looking at it after almost 50 years,'' Dr. Gibbons said. ``The things we've learned are incredible.''

Scientists also have had decades to observe the effects of heated cooling water from the reactors as it passes through creeks to the Savannah River.

``The hot water is gone now, but we've had decades of opportunities to study the impacts,'' he said. ``It was the best research setup you could possibly have: You had streams with hot water right next to streams that did not.''

Whit Gibbons (left) arrived at Savannah River Plant in 1967 as a postdoctoral student, planning to stay one year for research. SPECIAL

Because of the early efforts by the lab in the late 1960s and early 1970s, much more is known today about the effects of thermal pollution, he said.

``SREL was right on the front edge of that,'' Dr. Gibbons said.

Today, the research that originates at the lab is broader and more diverse, and it explores far beyond the effects of the nuclear materials factory on the environment.

Scientists and students who pass through the doors of the unique think-tank spend years studying everything from the reproductive habits of wood ducks to flight data for turkey vultures.

Over the years, research also has focused on other topics, including the spread of coyotes; the northward migration of armadillos; new species of mussels and insects; diseases that threaten waterfowl and bald eagles; even the genetic typing of American alligators.

Lab personnel also focus on more serious missions. Disposal of nuclear waste from Department of Energy facilities remains a major topic of study. Research remains under way to evaluate the effects of lingering radiation from the Chernobyl nuclear plant accident.

In 1991, an environmental outreach and education division was established to allow the expertise of Savannah River Ecology Lab staff to help educate the community about wildlife and the environment.

Those programs, which include everything from seminars on nuclear waste to traveling programs on snakes, are among the lab's most popular and visible features.

Faculty members such as Dr. Gibbons say the lab is one of the finest places on Earth to be a scientist.

``The most memorable thing in my career was getting out into the field,'' he said. ``We're all explorers at heart. Every time you go into the field, you're exploring nature. I never go out - never - when I don't find out something new, or wonder what something is, or what makes it do what it does.

``It's a constant learning experience, and that's what makes it exciting. It's the unpredictability of nature. It's overwhelming; it's stimulating and always guaranteed to be exciting. I don't feel the same way walking down a sidewalk in the city.''

Timeline

Here is a look at the history of the Savannah River Ecology Lab, with data provided by the lab:

1951: University of Georgia offered the Atomic Energy Commission a proposal to conduct ecological research at what then was called Savannah River Plant. A young professor, Dr. Gene Odum, and a small group of colleagues received $10,000 that first year, and the research began.

1952: Dr. Robert Norris, an ecologist by training, was the lab's first scientist to conduct full-time research at Savannah River Plant.

1955-61: Researchers who concentrated their studies mainly on radiation ecology published more than 30 scientific papers. One of those papers earned Dr. Norris the Mercer Award give by the Ecological Society of America.

1961: The Atomic Energy Commission assembled two old Army barracks that were converted into laboratories. Those structures were the first permanent laboratory facilities on the site.

1962: A full-time staff, many with doctoral degrees, were hired by the university to expand research programs. Dr. Frank Golley became the first director of the facility, then known as the Laboratory of Radiological Ecology. The annual budget grew to $60,000, with a staff of 15.

1962-67: Growing research programs and interest from other institutions helped push the lab's annual budget up to $170,000. The number of technical papers published by faculty and staff grew to more than 100.

1967: The University of Georgia appointed Dr. Robert Beyers lab director. Under his leadership the staff grew to 45, including seven resident doctoral-degree scientists and numerous graduate and undergraduate students.

1967-73: Researchers published more than 200 scientific papers in national and international publications, and the lab's operating budget more than doubled.

1972: Savannah River Plant was designated as the nation's first National Environmental Research Park. The intent was to allow scientists from many areas to evaluate the sprawling preserve's natural resources in the context of their existence within a nuclear weapons materials factory.

1973: Dr. Michael Smith became lab director, and research programs were expanded significantly through a contract with the Atomic Energy Commission. The lab also began a thermal ecology program to evaluate the impact of hot water from SRP reactors on the flora and fauna of the area.

1973: The first scientific symposium held by Savannah River Ecology Lab gave international attention to the field of thermal ecology. Since then, the lab has sponsored more than a dozen such meetings and published more than 20 technical books on topics of national environmental significance.

1977: SREL moved into its current 30,000-square-foot research building near the site's Department of Energy headquarters. Other buildings and research facilities were added later.

1984: The lab was reorganized into three primary research initiatives: bio-geochemical ecology, stress and wildlife ecology and wetlands ecology.

1991: A fourth division, environmental outreach and education, was established, which helped the lab become a leading educational force in the local and regional communities. After 40 years, the lab had 170 employees, with 18 research scientists and 15 postdoctoral fellows on staff. The annual budget had grown to more than $9 million.

2000: The lab has expanded to become a leading force in environmental research, with an expanded campus that includes the SREL Conference Center, used for symposiums and outreach programs. Scientific papers produced by faculty and staff number more than 2,000. The lab now has 150 employees - down from the early 1990s because of budget constraints - and an annual budget of $10 million.

Reach Robert Pavey at (706) 868-1222, Ext. 119.

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