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Interactive Map
Interactive Map

Photos and Videos (Part 2)
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

Marquette locator

Granite Point

11 July 1500 hours to 12 July 0200 hours: On Station at Granite Point - we depart Marquette and head west over toward the Huron Mountains, on station at Granite Point, our next PONAR transect; we'd like to try out the benthic sled here but are fearful of getting hung up in the rocks, so we'll wait for the sandier waters of AuTrain Bay; another spectacular spot and a successful transect; things are going well.

Box Corer
Granite Point Box Core

 

Late night sampling
Rosette

Marquette Granite Point rosette
Marquette Granite Point rosette
core from the Box Corer
Dr. Noel Urban inspects a core from the Box Corer, note how the core captures and preserves the sediment layers and the surface.

Au Train locator

Au Train

12 July 0200 hours to 13 July 1000 hours: On Station at AuTrain Bay - from the cold, rocky shores of Granite Point, we head to the shallow, sandy, warmer waters of AuTrain Bay; we expect this to be a productive region, excellent for observing Diporeia, and a perfect environment for working with the ROV. We have a great deal of work to do here in addition to ROV deployment. We will be doing work with fish and will be towing the benthic sled. This will be our longest time on station for the cruise.

Au Train Island
Au Train Island

Zooplankton high density at 88 ft
Zooplankton high density at 88 ft

Benthic sled on fantail
Benthic sled on fantail

Video Ray underwater robot camera
Dr Nancy Auer and Mark Gleason: Video Ray underwater robot camera

Munising locator

Munising

13 July 1000 hours to 13 July 1200 hours: Shore Stop at Munising - another quick stop to exchange faculty and scientists; a beautiful ride in around the islands between AuTrain Bay and Munising; visit with folks walking the docks and a few family and friends, then we head out to the east; the Pictured Rocks are fantastic, a first look for many of us; then down to AuSable Point, Grand Sable Dunes and on to our next station off Little Lake Harbor.

Munising harbor
Munising Harbor

Pictured Rocks movie clip



Pictured Rocks Video from Youtube

Muning Bay - Pictured Rocks lighthouse
Munising Bay - Pictured Rocks lighthouse

Pictured Rocks
Pictured Rocks

The ecology course included classroom sessions, shown here with Dr. Green
The ecology course included classroom sessions, shown here with Dr. Green

Participants are busy working in one of the ship's labs
Participants are busy working in one of the ship's labs, their research to see that whitefish and lake trout have enough biomass food to prosper.

 

Au Sable locator

Au Sable

Just passing through, but what a wonderful view!

Grand Sable Dunes
Grand Sable Dunes

Au Sable Point Lighthouse
Au Sable Point Lighthouse

Ship's Galley
Ship's Galley

Fish Class on Deck
Fish Class on Deck

Locator map

Little Lake Harbor

13 July 1200 hours to 13 July 2330 hours: On Station off Little Lake Harbor - one of our most beautiful rides and one of our busiest stations; PONAR transect, box cores and benthic sled tows; the first sled tow was nice and clean (no bottom hang-ups), but didn't catch much; captain thinks it was too far above bottom; deck hands work to modify the collection height; disaster; we catch a ton of sand and tear the net in two places; deck hands do a magnificent job of mending the net and it is re-adjusted to an intermediate collection height; now we're talking; a bountiful collection of Diporeia and Mysis!

Offshore Little Lake Harbor
Offshore Little Lake Harbor

Offshore from Little Lake Harbor, Lake SuperiorArea Box core at night
Offshore from Little Lake Harbor, Lake SuperiorArea Box core at night

Rosette collects water samples
Rosette collects water samples at various levels for chemical analysis, data sheet shows the descent and when bottles open to collect sample at a specific depth

Benthic Sled offshore
Benthic Sled offshore from Little Lake Harbor area

spot

 

Cape Gargantua locator

Cape Gargantua

13 July 2330 hours to 14 July 2330 hours: On Station off Cape Gargantua - on the way from the Little Lake Harbor station, we run three air sampling transects, each about 2 hours in duration; the winds are favorable for air sampling and the scientists are pleased; on station at Cape Gargantua we experience another dramatic change in the character of the shoreline; we're back to rocks; beautiful topography; it's so rocky though that we can't get a PONAR sample at our first three stations; the dredge just bounces off of the rock; eventually we're successful in collecting PONAR samples and it's off to the Deep Hole!

Near Cape Gargantua
Near Cape Gargantua

Cape Gargantua Benthic Sled
Cape Gargantua Benthic Sled

Dr Judith Perlinger class session aborad the researtch ship
Dr Judith Perlinger class session aborad the researtch ship

David Tobias checking air monitoring
David Tobias on the ship's mast checking air monitoring equipment

 

Near Devil's Wharehouse Island movie clip

Lake DSuperior deep hole locator

Deep Hole

14 July 2330 hours to 15 July 0800 hours: The Deep Hole - Superior is the largest lake in the world by surface area, and contains over 13% of the freshwater presently held in the world's lakes; at over 1300 feet, it is also among the deepest lakes; we're going to have some fun here, sending a bag of Styrofoam coffee cups, adorned with original art, down to the bottom of the ‘deep hole'; pressure does its work, forcing the air out of the styrofoam and the cups come back to us much smaller than when they went down; we also do a PONAR grab here to see who might be living in the ‘hole'; great fun and thanks to the captain for the idea!

Ship is over deepest soundings in Lake Superior
Over the deepest soundings in Lake Superior, on the chart as 222 fathoms (1320 feet)
Movie shows view on the bridge and view of rosette coming up from deep hole.

Over the deepest soundings in Lake Superior
Over the deepest soundings in Lake Superior
deepest sounding in Lake Superior mud
Over the deepest sounding in Lake Superior the ponar was used to scoop up a sample

Locator map

In transit

15 July 0800 hours to 15 July 1900 hours: Heading Home - scientists and faculty are wrapping things up and packing; final exams up on the bow; lots of sightseeing as we move past the Huron Islands and enter Keweenaw Bay; home is in sight; it's been an incredible week, the experience of a lifetime for most of us; we have collected a great deal of data and look forward to processing and publishing it back home; unload; pictures; say goodbye; feel sad to see the Lake Guardian steam toward Duluth; hey, wait for me.

Huron Island lighthouse
Huron Island lighthouse

South Portage Entry
Leaving Lake Superior after a seven day voyage, entering the protecting channel of South Portage Entry

 

Michigan Tech dock
The captain eases the ship towards the Michigan Tech dock

Spotlight On: Shipboard Life - well, we did a lot of work and we taught hard and listened well; but there were lighter times as well; and heavier times that had little to do with science; the food was great, the accommodations comfortable and the captain and crew as welcoming and helpful as could be imagined; a journey enriching to the spirit of those dedicated to the life aquatic!




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

Copyright © 2015
Civil & Environmental Engineering Department at Michigan Tech
Last Modified:July 5, 2015

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