Ash leachate test on Redoubt ash

Undergraduate student Janelle Dyer (USGS ARRA student appointment) performs an ash leachate test on Redoubt ash in the Alaska Tephra Laboratory and Data Center in Anchorage, Alaska. This test is done to analyze the geochemical reaction between volcanic ash and drinking water sources during eruptions. This photograph shows Janelle mixing deionized water with an ash sample so that adsorbed chemicals can be leached from the surfaces of the ash samples by agitating the water/ash solution.