Welcome to the National Sedimentation Laboratory

The Staff of the National Sedimentation Laboratory (NSL) is very pleased that you have taken the opportunity to pay a visit to the NSL and to become familiarized with our research program, personnel, and research environment. We hope that this visit will be informative, instructive, and helpful in furthering mutual interest in problems of soil erosion, sedimentation, and soil and sediment related water quality and ecology research.

The National Sedimentation Laboratory is comprised of the Watershed Physical Processes Research Unit and the Water Quality and Ecology Research.  The National Sedimentation Laboratory (NSL) is one of over one hundred locations of the USDA-Agricultural Research Service (ARS). The program of the NSL is part of the national program of the ARS in natural resources, and it is dedicated to study and find solutions to problems associated with soil erosion and sediment delivery from upland areas, erosion and sedimentation in stream channels, the impact of sediment and other agricultural contaminants on the biological well being of streams, and the loss of nutrients and agricultural chemicals from agricultural activities on the landscape.

We hope that your visit is enjoyable, informative and meaningful. If you see possibilities for scientific cooperation, exchanges, and interaction with scientists at the NSL, we would welcome this opportunity to work with you. The staff at the NSL very much appreciates having the opportunity to share our research with you, and we hope that your visit will be an enriching experience.