Today dawned with promise of a more relaxed pace. The day began with another fabulous breakfast by our kitchen staff. Next we worked on various projects while we waited for our turn to take the ship’s small boat, Vega, to the port at Alpena on Thunder Bay.


Upon arrival we walked a few blocks into town to the NOAA National Marine Sanctuary. There Dave took his socks off to let them dry after the wet trip over. They seem to be happy with the break from Dave as they ran off but have been sending pictures. More about Dave’s missing socks in the days to come.

At the Maritime Heritage Center we listened to Angie Bowen from the US Fish and Wildlife Service discuss aquatic invasive species. Many found the variety of aquatic invasive species surprising. A staggering average of 2 invasive species are introduced to the Great Lakes every year!! The preserved specimens that were handed around helped everyone understand distinguishing features for each. There was uncertainty about the differences between the tastes of leaches and lampreys until we learned that sea lampreys attach to cold blooded hosts while leeches only attach to warm blooded hosts. We also learned that they have teeth on their tongues!

Next Mike Wagner from MSU discussed the research that has been taking place in regard to sea lampreys and cleared up more questions about this complex creature. We learned that pheromones seem to be one of the major bases of decision making in the lives of sea lampreys (and other creatures).

Cathy Green led the group through the National Marine Sanctuary Museum for the next segment. Most of us were not aware of the shipwreck sanctuary or even the need for one. Cathy answered our many questions about the legal issues involved in protecting sunken ships and shared the history of several of the most interesting in the Thunder Bay area. One particularly interesting case involved a cargo ship that sank in the late shipping season presumably as a result of ice coverage over the ship itself. The ship can be found today with the mast still standing and hull without damage standing straight up at the bottom of Lake Huron.

Here we enjoyed a different view of the ship wreck simulation in the museum as we tunneled through the hull.

After the museum we were allowed free time in Alpena. Many of the group enjoyed dinner in a local Steak House then roamed around town until it was time to ride back to our home ship. Some activities enjoyed included a walk down the Maritime Heritage Trail, and a visit to the local Dairy Queen and Dollar General.

53.4 Meters: the depth we dropped anchor today in search of a prize greater than oligochaetes or plankton. According to Guy Meadows, PhD. Director of the Marine Hydrodynamics Laboratories at the University of Michigan, who joined us today, the ridge that cuts through the lake may have been home to hunter-gatherers over 10,000 years ago. The Alpena-Amberly Ridge, once a causeway that connected Michigan to Ontario, is nearly 100 miles long and about forty miles east of Thunder Bay.

New high resolution bathymetry and progess in 3D modeling makes it possible for Dr. Meadows and his team to revisit this ancient community. Evidence of these early settlers is buried in the sediment and rocks covered with mussels and algae that line the lake. Using state of the art technology, surface towed side scan sonar and a remote operated vehicle (ROV), Dr. Meadows took us on a power point tour of the world below.

The waves were too high to set the ROV in, so our Lake Guardian techies set up the surface towed scanner.

After two attempts at using the scanner, our system went down, and we had to be satisfied with Professor Meadow’s photos. True to scientific inquiry, we were patient, disappointed and ready to look at this from another angle. We turned to the PONAR grab and abox core to investigate the ridge.

What a treat to find some fantastic samples of clay pieces in our sediment. The vertical samples were perfect and showed the layers found in this ancient ridge.

Log onto some of these websites to see more articles about Dr. Meadows’ work at the bottom of Lake Huron.

www.nytimes.com/2009/06/23/science/230blake

www.jsonline.com/news/Ancient hunting site may rest under Lake Huron

www.freep.com/2009/07/05/Signs of Human Settlers

Pick your favorite quote for one of today’s photos.

a.]”I bleed for science…”
b.] “Science is in my blood…”
c.] “We eat, live, breathe, sleep and bleed science…”
d.] “Science never sleeps…”
e.] “We’re hurting to do science…” OR
f.] “I am a nerd…”

Eating - Thanks to Carl and Donna, we never are hungry!

Research Inquiry Aboard the Vessel

Even UW’s Bucky is deep into inquiry aboard the Lake Guardian.

Win A Free Flea-How Many Water Fleas in this Catch?

Will the Real Lobster Gumby Please Sit Down…

Quote of the Day: “Hunting caribou can be done with a baseball bat,” advised Professor Meadows.

Editor’s Note: In regards to the misspelling of the bathymetry in the first edition of this blog post, we have come up with the new technology of a Barfometer. As of today, it has yet to be used. We invite you to submit your owns designs for this device to the blog team. The winner will receive a well traveled pair of socks—courtesy of David.

Last night ended with a small shore leave for both participants and crew in Port Huron. After everyone had settled back in, the crew took shifts for staying on watch, and we enjoyed out first night in the little cubby holes we’re calling home for the week. While most of us slept like a rock, Ron woke up at 3:30. When he ventured out as the sun was rising, he saw a pink and orange sky with dark grey clouds looming overhead. He pondered for a moment and asked himself if this could “be a metaphor for the relationship of humans with the Earth system.” The rest of us started moving about 7:00 to watch the ship leave port at 7:45, but we had to wait for a freighter. One thing we’ve learned on this trip is that the schedule is always changing. As we traveled from the Seaway Terminal into Lake Huron, we passed several landmarks such as the Huron Lightship, the Bluewater Bridges, and the Fort Gratiot Lighthouse.

It was a little later than we had planned, but we finally got to do scientific sampling today. Group A started at Station 1 and did a Secchi disk measurement, sent down nets to collect phytoplankton and zooplankton, collected water samples in the Rosette, and tried to collect sediment from the bottom of the lake using a PONAR. They were only able to pick up sand and rocks, but they did find a few cute Quagga Mussels we could use as examples of invasive species in the Great Lakes. Group B meanwhile was hanging out on the O2 deck and making bets on how far down the Secchi measurement would be. Most thought it was less than 5 m, but Chuck was closest to the 8.3 with his guess of 7 meters.

When the sampling was over, we set sail for our next sampling area—Station 9. While we waited for the ship to make its destination, Jim Lubner gave an excellent presentation on the limnology of the Great Lakes. He gave us a brief glimpse of the geology, physics, chemistry, biology, and ecology of the lakes.

Dr. Greg Boyer walked through some of the cool creatures we’ll be finding under our microscopes. I think even with the handouts he gave, we’ll still be calling him over every time we see something new and exciting through the lens.

By now it was time for Group B to suit up and get their hands muddy. They collected the same samples as the first group, but at Station 9 they brought up some very cool mud from the lake bottom instead of rocks and sand. While this half played field scientist, the others worked in the laboratory analyzing water data and hunting for phytoplankton and zooplankton under the microscopes.

We took some time between samples to hear about the contaminants that are threatening our lakes system from Todd Nettesheim. He was very knowledgeable about the effects these pollutants have on the waterways. It was interesting to find out that chemicals such as DDT that have been banned for decades are still found and affect our water life. Beth Hinchey-Malloy, a Marine Biologist, delved deeper into the effects of these chemicals and other factors such as invasive species and cited how the marine organisms have changed over the years. The place of the most common creatures in the Great Lakes ecosystem twenty years ago have been replaced by others.

Dr. Boyer spoke on toxic cyanobacteria blooms. It was interesting to see the different factors that lead to these blooms. Even though most of the blooms are not dangerous to humans, Dr. Boyer mentioned a food chain that will make most of us think twice about seafood for a while. It was along the lines of “mussels eat the algae, the people eat the mussels, the people die.” Seems pretty concise and definitely an eye opener as far as how people are treating these blooms. Global warming was touched on in the lecture, but I think that the best tongue-in-cheek quote from the lecture was “The climate change is going to give us bigger pumpkins.”