2012 Lake Huron Cooperative Science & Monitoring Initiative

Jul 9: During July and September, scientists on board a half dozen research vessels will crisscross Thunder Bay, Saginaw Bay, and the open waters of Lake Huron, collecting samples of sediment, water, mussels, microscopic organisms, and fish. The NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL) is joining an international effort to study invasive species, water quality, fisheries and climate change. Much of the research is taking place in the NOAA Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary.

    GLERL is partnering with several Federal, state, and provincial agencies in the 2012 Lake Huron Cooperative Science and Monitoring Initiative, a joint U.S.-Canadian program, led by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Great Lakes National Program Office and Environment Canada. The initiative examines one Great Lake per year on a rotating basis and supports the goals of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, signed in 1972 by the United States and Canada, in which each country commits to protecting the Great Lakes.  

 

    Research cruises began in April and will continue through September. Researchers are using an impressive fleet of research vessels, including EPA's 180-foot Lake Guardian, GLERL's 80-foot Laurentian and 50-foot Storm, and two large U.S. Geological Survey research vessels, the Sturgeon and Grayling. Sampling missions will also be conducted aboard Environment Canada's Limnos across Lake Huron.

 

    Access a release from NOAA with more details, and multiple links to related information including the project website (click here).

 

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