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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

US EPA
GLNP-EPA

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

Stannard Rocl\k locator

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.

Lake Superior Research Video

Watch as one 62 minute movie on Engineering Michigan Tech Channel on Vimeo

Ship in Keweenaw waterway
Arrival of RV Lake Guardian in Houghton, Michigan

Watch as a Video Playlist and select from video clips on the Lake Superior Video Channel on Youtube.

 

Arrival of ship at Michigan Tech Dock Youtube Video

Lake Superior Research as a Flickr Photo Slide Show Link UPDATED

Loading the ship
Loading the ship

Ship at Michigan Tech Dock
Loading the ship at Michigan Tech Dock   

Dr. Martin T. Auer, MTU Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering and RV Lake Guardian Captain Bob Christensen
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

RV Lake Guardian cruising past Michigan Tech
RV Lake Guardian cruising past Michigan Tech

EPA RV Lake Guardian Website

spot

Stannard Rock location

Stannard Rock

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.

Faculty Photos   Students

Room on ship
Up at daybreak

Stannard Rock
Stannard Rock, lonely lighthouse on rocky shoal

Early morning survival drill group photo
Early morning survival drill group photo

View another shot

Class materials
 Dr Alan Weidenman Class
Dr Alan Weidemann Class about relationship between inherent and apparent optical properties

Dr. Auer's class
Dr. Auer's class

Plankton Net
Plankton Net

Studying on Deck
Studying on Deck

Stannard Rock Plankton Net
First Station plankton

Plankton net use on RV Lake Guardian

CTD and Rosette Sampler
Spotlight on: The CTD and Rosette Sampler

 


See more pictures and videos of the rosette in action

Pic Island locator

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.

 


Crossing Lake Superior 1st Day aboard RV Lake Guardian Youtube Video
Spotlight on Optics of Lake Superior
Optics: Spotlight on Optics
Class Meeting
Class Meeting

north lake superior locator

Pic Island - Ashburton Bay

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.

Sunset near  Pic Island
Sunset, looking NW, 7 nautical miles SSW of
Pic Island, Ontario, Canada

Sunset in pilot house
Sunset near Pic Island view from the bridge

Moon over pic island
Research Vessel Lake Guardian
Somewhere in far north of Lake Superior . . . .



Ponar Dredge research on Lake Superior Youtube Video

See more pictures and videos of the ponar dredge in action

Pukaskwa Coast  locator

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.


Pukaskwa Coast of Lake Superior
Pukaskwa
Coast

Otter Island light lake superior
Pukaskwa Area, Otter Island light
Another coastal view 1 or 2

Plankton net catch
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.

Michipicoten Island
Michipicoten island in distance

See more pictures and videos of the plankton net in action

Class discussion on Deck of RV Lake Guardian
Class discussion on Deck of RV Lake Guardian

Sunset Lake Superior
Rosette on Deck of RV Lake Guardian

Marquette locator

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.


 

Picture for in transit movie

 

Marquette light
Marquette light

Lake Guardian at Marquette
At Marquette

SV Denis Sullivan on Lake Superior
SV Denis Sullivan on Lake Superior


To Part 2
Box Corer, ROV, Rosette, Benthic Sled, Deepest Sounding and More!!


These educational videos are served by Youtube from http://www.youtube.com/user/lakesuperiorvideo

Copyright © 2015
Great Lakes Research Center at Michigan Tech
Last Modified: July 5, 2015

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