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NOAA to Host Public Forum on Future of the Great
Lakes - May 18, 2009
(5/04/09)
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is hosting
a Great Lakes Public Forum to discuss setting a course for the Great Lakes
for the next 25 years on Monday, May 18, at the University of Toledo in
Toledo, Ohio. Join NOAA for what promises to be an enlightening discussion
of our Lakes and our future over the next 25 years.
The public forum will discuss the issues, opportunities and challenges
faced by the Great Lakes region, now and in the future. What trends may
we witness from external forces such as climate change, the economy and
new technology? What are the major issues that we as a region need to
focus on -- weather, habitat, ecosystem health? When it comes to the Great
Lakes, what do you care about? NOAA wants to know.
The NOAA Great Lakes Public Forum is free of charge and being held at
the University of Toledo immediately prior to the kickoff of the IAGLR
Great Lakes Research Conference. Join us on Monday, May 18, 2009 from
3 – 5:30 p.m. in the University of Toledo’s Student Union,
Ingman Room. The University of Toledo is located at 2801 W. Bancroft,
Toledo, Ohio.
Please RSVP to Jennifer Day, NOAA Great Lakes Regional Coordinator, at
Jennifer.Day@noaa.gov or 734-741-2266.
Space is limited so sign up now if you would like to participate.
Great Lakes Google Earth Tour Launched
(4/23/09)
The NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory teamed up with
the NOAA National Geophysical Data Center to produce a Google Earth tour
for the Great Lakes. The bathymmetric data for the five Great Lakes provided
to Google Earth by NOAA are the result of 75 years of U.S. and Canadian
soundings. To highlight some of the distinctive coastal and subsurface
features of the largest freshwater system on earth, the Ann Arbor-based
GLERL developed a narrated Google Earth tour.Google
Earth Great Lakes Tour
GLERL Hosts Multistressors Workshop
(4/9/09)
GLERL is leading a 5-year, multi-agency effort to study the environmental
problems of Saginaw Bay. A workshop entitled "Multiple Stressors
in Saginaw Bay: Navigating the Issues" was held to share progress
made in 2008 and to coordinate and gather feedback on sampling plans for
2009. Proposed activities to address management objectives on water quality,
fish production and economic metrics that were identified at an earlier
workshop were shared with managers and agency representatives.
Multi-stressor
project website
Great Lakes Marine Forecast Workshop held at GLERL
(3/17/09)
GLERL hosted a meeting on March 11-13th for NWS marine forecasters. Attendees
included representatives from all 11 Great Lakes forecast offices, NWS
regional/national headquarters, NOS Center for Operational Oceanographic
Products and Services (CO-OPS), the National Data Buoy Center, and GLERL
scientists. Discussion focused on NOAA forecast capabilities, procedures,
and customer service. A highlight was a customer service discussion including
panelists from the Coast Guard and Great Lakes shipping companies.
New GLERL Laboratory Dedicated; Acting Director Named (1/7/09)
GLERL's new facility was dedicated with a ribbon cutting ceremony involving
NOAA administrators and many agency partners. The new 40,225 square-feet
facility has modern wet and dry laboratories, conference facilities, a
library, marine instrumentation shop, and office space to accommodate
about 120 federal and cooperative institute employees. NOAA will lease
the building for 20 years. It is located south of Ann Arbor in Pittsfield
Township. Rick Spinrad, NOAA Assistant Administrator for Oceans and Atmospheric
Research, also introduced Dr. Marie Colton as the acting director of the
lab and acting lead of the NOAA Great Lakes regional team, succeeding
Stephen B. Brandt who is leaving Michigan to be the director of Oregon
Sea Grant in Corvallis, OR. Dr. Colton has been with NOAA since 2005 as
technical director of the National Ocean Service, and has also held positions
at NASA and the U.S. Navy’s Office of Naval Research
First Harmful Algal Bloom Bulletin Issued (9/4/08)
GLERL issued its first ever bulletin warning of a toxic algal bloom in
the western basin of Lake Erie. A Microcystis aeruginosa bloom
was identified on August 26, 2008 through the use of MERIS imagery. Sampling
proceeded two days later, confirming that the bloom contained toxic strains
of algae capable of causing illness to humans and animals. The area affected
extended from the Maumee Bay eastward and along the southern shore of
western Lake Erie. Concentrations ranged from very high to low, with the
greatest concentration at the Maumee Bay in the far southwestern corner
of the western basin. Further sampling was recommended, as wind and storms
can alter the bloom's development. See the Harmful
Algal Bloom Bulletin (pdf).
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.
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