Photos
and Videos
Ecology of Lake Superior aboard the
EPA Research Vessel Lake Guardian
Sponsors
* Western U.P. Center for Science, Mathematics
and Environmental Education
* Michigan Technological University Departments
of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Biological
Sciences, Chemistry, and Education
Research
Vessel Lake Guardian provided by the Great Lakes
National Program Office of the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency
Story by Dr. Martin Auer
Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering
Michigan Technological University
Photos and Video by Emil Groth, "Tiger," College of Engineering
Houghton,
MI to Stannard Rock
8
July, 1530 hours to 9 July, 0200 hours: Michigan Tech
to Stannard Rock - with a gentle touch of the
bow thruster, Captain Bob Christensen nestles the 180-foot
R/V Lake Guardian alongside the dock at Michigan Tech;
the adventure begins; loading starts immediately; we
have more gear than the Barnum & Bailey Circus and
the Rolling Stones Pacific Rim Tour put together; spirits
are high; an 0200 departure is scheduled so that we
can be on station at Stannard Rock early in the morning;
some vow to stay up and enjoy the trip out; the old
and the wise go to bed.
Lead Instructor,
Dr. Martin T. Auer, MTU Professor of Civil & Environmental
Engineering and RV Lake Guardian Captain Bob Christensen Spotlight on: The Ship’s Crew
9
July, 0200 hours to 1200 hours: On Station at Stannard
Rock - left Michigan Tech behind in the night;
awaken in the middle of nowhere, well not exactly, we're
off of Stannard Rock; other worldly; the lake bottom
rises to near the surface from nearby depths of almost
700 feet - a needle of rock in this great lake;
abandon ship drill starts the day at 0700; gumbi suits
are really hard to get into; humility levels the playing
field; after breakfast, course materials are distributed;
we break into groups for class - lectures in the
galley, the lounge and one of the labs.
See more pictures and videos of the rosette in action
Across Lake Superior
9
July, 1200 hours to 1800 hours: Across Lake Superior
- we finish up at Stannard Rock with optics measurements;
head across the lake for Ashburton Bay and our first
PONAR dredge transect; bad weather coming in; we later
find out that friends and relatives on shore watching
this storm expected us to be hiding in port; not so;
Captain Bob forges ahead; sensing the spirit of the
day, the lead instructor decides to lecture to the class
in the lounge; no portholes; is that cabbage cooking
in the galley; students are lifting up off of the couch
as we pass over and through the waves; the operative
color is green.
9
July 1800 hours to 10 July 0500 hours: On Station at
Ashburton Bay - we arrive off Pic Island near
Ashburton Bay at sunset; our goal is to collect bottom
sediment samples, in triplicate, at nine stations along
an onshore-offshore transect with depths ranging from
15 to 200 meters; we're in the lee of the Canadian
north shore here and the waves have calmed considerably;
the moon is up in the hills to the east; this is going
to be a long night; in the morning we head off to our
second transect at Point La Canadienne near Pukaskwa.
See more pictures and videos of the ponar dredge in action
Pukaskwa
10
July 0500 hours to 1900 hours: On Station at Pukaskwa
- spectacular shoreline vistas; Michipicoten
Island is visible in the distance; this is a busy
station with plankton, optics and box-core sampling;
classes are running in parallel; this is also our
second PONAR transect; long day and into the night;
tomorrow its back across the lake to Marquette to
exchange some of our faculty.
Dr.
Martin Auer, Lead Faculty for the course, Department of Civil
& Environmental Engineering: looking at a mason jar with
the contents captured by the plankton net.
See more pictures and videos of the plankton net in action
Class discussion on Deck of RV Lake Guardian
Rosette on Deck of RV Lake Guardian
Marquette
10
July 2300 hours to 11 July 1300 hours: Shore Stop at Marquette
- back across the lake; much nicer weather then for
the trip over; we're bound for Marquette where we will
exchange faculty and scientists; also an opportunity for an
ice cream, to talk with visitors and to briefly meet family
and friends that have come down to the docks.
