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Home > News & Events > GLERL News
GLERL News
Sinkhole Exploration in Lake Huron (5/15/08)
NOAA's Office of Ocean Exploration is funding a project to investigate limestone sinkholes under Lake Huron that were discovered in 2001 during a survey of the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary. This innovative exploration will produce a detailed picture of the bathymetry, physical and chemical conditions, and hydrologic processes in Lake Huron surrounding these unfamiliar sinkholes.
Great Lakes Bowl Holds Successful Contest (2/9/08)
Another exciting high school quiz bowl competition was held on Saturday at the University of Michigan's School of Natural Resources and Environment. The Great Lakes Bowl is the regional version of the National Ocean Sciences Bowl (NOSB), a nationwide high school academic competition. Sixteen teams from Ohio and Michigan competed all day for the chance to compete in the national competition in Seward, Alaska. For the second year in a row, Dexter High School won the Great Lakes Bowl.
New GLERL Lab ground breaking (12/17/07)
Federal, state, and local officials helped break ground for the new NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory building in Pittsfield Township that will double the size of the laboratory and bring wet and dry lab spaces up to current specifications. Retired Navy Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Ph.D., NOAA administrator, led the ceremonial ground breaking along with staffers from the offices of Senator Carl Levin and Representative John Dingell, Steve Brandt, GLERL Director, and officials from the University of Michigan and Pittsfield Township.
Saltwater Flushing recommended by Ballast Water Study (7/9/07)
A study funded by the Great Lakes Protection Fund, NOAA, and the U.S.
Coast Guard set out to determine to what extent commercial ships were
applying the 'best management practices' for ballast water adopted for
the Great Lakes in 2000. This research, involving over 70 laboratory experiments
and data from ports in many areas, concluded that saltwater flushing reduces
the risk of new species introductions in the Great Lakes. The full report
can be downloaded at:
http://www.glerl.noaa.gov/res/Task_rpts/2004/aisreid04-1.html
Multi-Stressor Initiative Funded (6/13/07)
A new 5-year project will soon be launched at NOAA/GLERL, the lead agency
in this large effort involving 21 scientists and 8 other institutions
funded by the NOAA Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research. The study
is entitled "MultiStress 07 - Adaptive Integrated Framework (AIF):
a new methodology for managing impacts of multiple stressors in coastal
ecosystems". Program objectives include:
• Develop the Adaptive Integrative Framework (AIF) approach to facilitate
synthesis and prioritization of research and management pertaining to
multiple stressors impacts on coastal ecosystems.
• Provide specific predictions regarding how fish production, human
health, and regional economics, respond to multiple stressors (i.e. land
use, climate change and invasive species) in Saginaw Bay, MI.
A direct link between research and management is a primary goal of this program.
Summer Fellows 2007 (6/7/07)
Our joint institute partner, CILER, has provided funding for 20 summer fellows who will be working closely with 20 NOAA/GLERL principal investigators this summer. These undergraduate and graduate students from many different colleges and universities will be working on various research projects in the field and in the labs. The ideas and fresh perspective of our summer fellows always gives GLERL a summer burst of energy.
Great Lakes Bowl Competition (2/23/07)
On Saturday, February 10th, Dexter High School Team A took first place in the 10th Annual Great Lakes Bowl, one of 25 regional National Ocean Sciences Bowl competitions being held around the U.S. in 2007. The event was held at the University of Michigan School of Natural Resources and Environment on UofM's Central Campus. The Dexter team defeated Huron High School, Team A in the final single elimination round to clinch the victory. Fifteen teams from 8 schools in Michigan and Ohio competed. The first-place finish sends Dexter High School Team A to compete in the NOSB National Finals Competition that will be held in Stony Brook, NY, April 28 - 30.
Harmful Algal Bloom Workshops (2/6/07)
NOAA's Center of Excellence for Great Lakes and Human Health (CEGLHH), based at GLERL will be hosting an Ohio Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) Stakeholder Workshop, on February 7, 2007 at the University of Toledo’s Lake Erie Center. The purpose of this workshop is to bring together Ohio public health, water, and beach/ natural resource managers to discuss and assess the HAB issue in Western Lake Erie. Similar workshops will be held in Green Bay, Wisconsin on March 20, 2007 and Saginaw, Michigan in May 2007.
New Invasive Shrimp Discovered (12/22/06)
On November 7 Steve Pothoven, a biologist at GLERL’s Lake Michigan Field Station (LMFS) in Muskegon, Michigan collected a new invasive Mysid shrimp species that was previously not found in Lake Michigan or elsewhere in the Great Lakes. Subsequent identification of the shrimp indicated that it was Hemimysis anomala, a species native to the Black Sea and a known invader in the Baltic Sea, as well as freshwater habitats in the Netherlands and Britain.
Joint NWS / GLERL Open House September 30th (9/20/06)
On Saturday, September 30th, GLERL in cooperation with the National Weather Service’s Detroit/Pontiac Weather Forecast Office (WFO) and the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary will co-host a Great Lakes Open House at the Detroit/Pontiac WFO in White Lake, Michigan. The Open House will enable visitors to get a behind-the-scenes look at how NOAA meteorologists make forecasts, learn about Great Lakes research on invasive species, human health, waves, and currents, and to learn about the hundreds of shipwrecks preserved in the cold waters of Lake Huron.
NOAA'S New Great Lakes Weather Observation Platforms provide more Data for Forecasters and Boaters (7/7/06)
Thirteen new weather observation platforms have been deployed in the Great Lakes to aid commercial and recreational boaters as well as NOAA meteorologists. Installation of the new platforms was a joint effort between NOAA, NOS, and GLERL. The new platforms are either attached to navigation structures just offshore or attached to towers at the lake shore. These newest platforms were located in Lakes Erie, Michigan, Superior, and Huron. (See NOAA magazine article).
Chemical Tracer used to study Pollutant Movement (6/20/06)
Scientists from the NOAA Center of Excellence for Great Lakes and Human Health will use a non-toxic chemical tracer, Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF6), to study and understand the movement and flow of the Grand River, which extends to the mouth of Lake Michigan. During the three day investigation, SF6 will be bubbled from the river bottom at a constant rate. Drifter buoys will track the surface water flow which will be used in conjunction with the release of the SF6 to track the plume and calculate dispersion. The SF6 tagged water will follow the same path as would pathogens in the water. This type of information helps with the design of predictive models.
GLERL Vessel Wins Department of Energy Award (4/18/06)
The NOAA/GLERL vessel Huron Explorer was awarded by the U.S. Department of Energy for being the first U.S. research ship operating free of petroleum products. Powered by soy biodiesel combined with bio-hydraulic and bio-motor oils, the environmentally-friendly vessel is well suited to working in the eco-systems it is helping to research. In case of a leak or spill, the biodegradable vegetable oils also offer added protection to our environment. The Huron Explorer works in the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary and Underwater Preserve and is part of the fleet managed by NOAA's Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL) in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (See the DOE award poster.)
Great Lakes Bowl Competition Held (2/11/06)
Nine teams from high schools in Michigan and Ohio competed at this year's Great Lakes Bowl - our regional branch of the National Ocean Science Bowl. The NOSB is a nationwide academic competition among teams of high school students. Regional competitions are held around the U.S. in February with the final national competition held in April or May. The NOSB will test students' math and science skills as applied to topics on ocean (and Great Lakes) biology, chemistry, geology, physics, technology, history, and economics. The winner this year was Dexter High School, who will compete at the national level. (NOSB link)
GLERL-CILER Hosts Largest Group of Summer Fellows (5/05/05)
NOAA/GLERL together with CILER , our joint institute partner, is providing summer funding for 28 undergraduate students this summer. 20 of them will be working at GLERL in many diverse areas, from Lake Erie field and lab work to computer programming. The rest of the fellows will be located at the GLERL field station, the NOAA National Marine Sanctuary office in Alpena, and at Michigan Tech. This year's summer fellows come from 19 different colleges and universities. 18 GLERL principal investigators are mentors for these students during their summer fellowships.
IFYLE Project Launched (4/25/05)
A NOAA Press Release (see above) today announced the beginning of a GLERL-led huge collaborative effort involving many researchers and institutions in both the U.S. and Canada. The two-year project is called IFYLE: International Field Years on Lake Erie. The whole-lake research effort will focus primarily on effects of oxygen depletion (hypoxia/anoxia) on food-web interactions and fish production in the central basin, as well as the causes of harmful algal blooms in the western basin. This massive field effort will involve some 10 research vessels, more than a dozen moored observation buoys, and thousands of laboratory samples, all aimed at seeking solutions for this important lake's environmental problems.
GLERL/CILER Host Summer Student Fellowships (5/3/04)
Eighteen summer fellows (college undergraduates) will be housed at NOAA/GLERL and partner institutions this summer. The fellowships are in a broad range of fields, from benthic invertebrate biology to computer programming to communications and outreach. Twelve of the fellows will spend the summer working at GLERL in Ann Arbor. One fellow will be located at GLERL's Muskegon Field Station, one in Alpena at the Thunder Bay Marine Sanctuary Office, one at the University of Michigan, one at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and two at Western Michigan University.
GLERL Hosts Lake Erie Workshop (3/15/04)
An international workshop with over 50 attendees was hosted on March 4-5, 2004 to identify and discuss three important Lake Erie issues:
- Anoxia and hypoxia
- Harmful algal blooms
- Fish recruitment
Invited presentations were given by five major research agencies on both planned and ongoing Lake Erie research programs. Workshop participants were divided into topical workgroups in order to identify research hypotheses for the issues listed above. Current research plans were analyzed for collaboration potential. Research needs and opportunities were identified. It is GLERL's goal to work toward development of an integrated multidisciplinary research program for Lake Erie. The long-term goal would be better models and other tools to forecast changes and better understand the Lake Erie ecosystem with regards to the three identified major issues. A workshop report is currently being compiled.
Great Lakes Bowl Competition Held (2/10/04)
The Great Lakes Bowl, this region's National Ocean Sciences Bowl competition for high school students, was won this year by a 5-member team from Linworth Alternative Program in Worthington, OH. The day-long event held at the University of Michigan's School of Natural Resources and Environment on February 7th featured 16 teams of students competing in quiz bowl matches testing knowledge on ocean and freshwater biology, physics, geology, chemistry, geography, social sciences, and technology. The Great Lakes Bowl was sponsored by GLERL, CILER, Michigan Sea Grant, the USGS Great Lakes Science center, Altarum, the Great Lakes Commission, and the University of Michigan.
Great Lakes Ice Atlas Released (2/2/04)
GLERL scientist Ray Assel recently released the Great Lakes Ice Atlas, prompting much interest among researchers, government agencies, and the private sector. The atlas provides a valuable benchmark of ice cover and ice cover variation in the Great Lakes during the latter part of the 20th century and the early years of the current century. Some of the known users of the Ice Atlas include: regional weather forecast office for improved lake effect snowfall forecasts, the Lake Carriers' Association, the National Ice Center (for use by ice analysts and forecasters), and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, researching problems with ice blockage at water intakes.
Sediment Cores Help Unravel Mystery of Lake Trout Decline (11/24/03)
Lake Ontario's lake trout population decline has been blamed on invasive species, habitat decline, and overfishing, among other theories. In a recent study by a team of scientists, radionuclide sediment core dating performed by GLERL scientist John Robbins shed some light on the problem. By vertically scanning Lake Ontario sediment cores for concentrations of radioisotopes, researchers were able to determine the times at which particular sediment layers were deposited. Contaminant analysis of both sediments and porewaters enabled re-construction of a 'retrospective' sediment contaminant record from 1910-2000. Based on this data, researchers concluded that the primary cause for lake trout decline was high sensitivity of early life stages to chemical contaminants (TCDDs, PCBs, dioxin) in their environment. In the late 1960's when contaminant levels were at their peak, natural trout reproduction shut down completely, forcing managers to stock.
New study reveals social 'compartments' in Food Webs (11/19/03)
An article co-authored by a GLERL scientist published this week in the
journal Nature has revealed the existence of social 'cliques'
in natural food webs. This research confirmed what ecologists have previously
surmised: that plants and animals organize themselves into groupings,
or 'compartments'. Strong interactions exist within compartments, while
weaker interactions are found between compartments. A better understanding
of food web dynamics will help natural resource managers to make better
management decisions. The complete citation for the article is:
Krause, A.E., K.A. Frank, D.M. Mason, R.E. Ulanowicz, and W.W. Taylor.
2003. Compartments revealed in food-web structure. Nature 426:282-285.
GLERL Co-Hosts Great Lakes Congressional Staff Tour (8/14/03)
GLERL co-hosted (with the Great Lakes Commission, USGS Great Lakes Science Center, and the Great Lakes Fishery Commision) a three-day tour of the Buffalo, New York area for sixteen staffers from the House and the Senate. The tour focused on local and lakewide research issues and programs. GLERL Director Steve Brandt updated the staffers on current findings in the effort to better understand and manage aquatic invasive species. GLERL research vessel, Laurentian, took the group on a cruise on Lake Erie to demonstrate the ship's physical, chemical, and biological sampling instrumentation.
GLERL Sponsors Workshop on Ecological Forecasting (8/6/03)
GLERL's Sea Grant Extension Specialist, Rochelle Sturtevant, organized this two-day workshop, attended by Sea Grant extension agents from across the basin. The workshop was designed to help discern what specific ecosystem forecast products were needed by Great Lakes basin constituents. Discussions led to an outline of priority long and short-term needs.
GLERL and Sea Grant present at Rouge River Festival (5/2/03)
GLERL and Michigan Sea Grant partnered in a presentation at the 2003 Rouge River Water Festival on May 2, 2003 at the Dearborn Campus of the University of Michigan. The festival typically draws nearly 3,000 5th graders, many from the inner-city Detroit region. Rochelle Sturtevant, the Great Lakes Sea Grant Extension Agent at GLERL, organized the joint hands-on presentation, which was delivered by GLERL and Sea Grant staff. Students particularly enjoyed the Great Lakes quiz board, looking at live organisms on the video-microscope, Great Lakes wave animations and looking at preserved specimens of ‘alien invaders’.
Great Lakes Issues Workshop (1/20-21/03)
On January 20 – 21, 2003 the NOAA Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research (CSCOR), NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL), and the Cooperative Institute for Limnology and Ecosystems Research (CILER) co-hosted a Great Lakes Issues Identification Workshop at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
The focus of this workshop was to identify major issues within the Great Lakes compatible with CSCOR’s goals and mission and to provide scientific information to assist decision makers in meeting the challenges of managing our nation's coastal resources. Nutrient management complicated by invasive species, the importance of episodic events, land-lake coupling, and fundamental changes in food webs are all issues that the next generation of management tools need to incorporate.
The consensus of this workshop is that a new concerted research effort is needed to examine the impacts of recent ecological changes in the Great Lakes on water quality.
For more information, see the
complete report.
Last updated: 2008-07-11 ahc