EPA’s Floating Laboratory Lake Guardian Sails Again

 (from Great Lakes News)


Contact: Taylor Gillespie, 872-276-3635, Gillespie.taylor@epa.gov

CHICAGO (April 8, 2021) – After a year in lockdown due to COVID-19, the Environmental Protection Agency’s largest research vessel Lake Guardian has set sail. Eleven scientists supported by a 15-member crew will live and work aboard the ship this month. The work on the Lake Guardian is EPA science at its best. Among other activities, these scientific sailors are lowering nets, sleds, bottles, cameras, and other types of equipment into the Great Lakes to collect water, sediment, and lower food web organisms. Scientists will use the three on-board laboratories to examine and evaluate the collected samples, which will shed light on many of the pressing and urgent issues affecting the Great Lakes.

EPA’s Great Lakes National Program Office has conducted water quality surveys every spring and summer since 1983, with the exception of the 2020 surveys which were canceled due to COVID-19. These surveys help EPA fulfill environmental monitoring and assessment commitments specified in the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement between Canada and the United States and in the U.S. Clean Water Act. The Lake Guardian is funded by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, launched in 2010 to accelerate efforts to protect and restore the world’s largest system of fresh surface water.

In recent years, EPA monitoring programs reported the first detections of three additional non-native zooplankton species in the Great Lakes. These species are still considered rare and, thus far, are not demonstrating a threat to the Great Lakes. On this survey, scientists are monitoring the long-term changes in phytoplankton at offshore stations where the conditions are shallower and closer to nearshore regions of Lakes Michigan and Superior. Nearshore data is closer to the stress associated with human activities on land and may tell a story that directly reflects human-Great Lakes interactions.

During the past two centuries, over 180 species of aquatic plants and animals not native to the area have been introduced into the Great Lakes resulting in significant changes to  the ecosystem. These changes have greatly affected the economy, health, and well-being of the people that rely on the system for food, water, and recreation. Zebra and quagga mussels were first discovered over 30 years ago and have coincided with major changes to the Great Lakes water quality and food health, especially in Lakes Huron, Ontario, and Michigan. The mussels eat up the offshore algae which leaves less food for the lower food web. EPA Lake Guardian scientists use these surveys to study these effects.

When the scientists on the Lake Guardian are not searching for new species or evaluating the lower food web, they are often promoting STEM education on videocalls with students in a program called “Students Ask Scientists”, where classrooms get an inside look into the daily life of the scientists on-board. Among other activities, the scientists demonstrate to the students the impacts of water pressure in a fun and visible way by shrinking styrofoam cups in the depths of the Great Lakes. Students send decorated cups to the Lake Guardian scientists, who drop them into the deepest reaches of the Great Lakes, retrieve the much smaller but undeformed cups, and send them back to the students. This program was developed in partnership with the Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant.

EPA’s Lake Guardian is 180 feet in length, with a gross tonnage of 959 GT, and a cruising speed of 11 knots. It has a berthing capacity of 41 people.

For images please view the press release on the EPA newsroom.

 

Instructions for joining the sci-vessel email group:

1. Sign in to (or create) your Google Account (see important note below)
2. Visit the sci-vessel email group page on the web:
   https://groups.google.com/a/great-lakes.net/g/sci-vessel
3. Click “Join Group” button
4. Note: The “Join Group” button is only visible if you are signed in to your Google Account.

Important: Our email groups are managed via Google Groups. Users must be signed in to a Google Account to join/subscribe to any email group. To create a new Google Account with your existing email address, click here:

https://accounts.google.com/signup/v2/webcreateaccount?flowName=GlifWebSignIn&flowEntry=SignUp&nogm=true

*********************************************************************************

 

The U.S. Coast Guard Chief Petty Officers Association, https://www.uscgcpoa.org/ has Chapters located all over the United States. The USCG CPOA website has a tab where job openings can be posted.  Direct Link to Job Posting Form. They are an excellent source for qualified candidates for Great Lakes research vessel captains and crew.

Link: https://www.uscgcpoa.org/

Please participate in the February 18th 2021 Virtual Science Vessel Coordination Workshop! - The workshop will be conducted on-line using Microsoft Teams.  An agenda can be found on this website on the reports page at the following link to agenda

The agenda contains links that will enable you to join the workshop and has a morning session that starts at 9 am eastern time and an afternoon session that begins at 1 pm eastern time.

The 2019 Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Fisheries Division, Vessel Program Newsletter is now available on the CanAmGlass Reports page. - Direct Link to MDNR Newsletter

The meeting record for the 2020 Science Vessel Coordination Workshop has been posted on CanAmGlass under "Reports" the workshop agenda and presentations are also available to review.

Link: https://canamglass.org/storage/reports/RYhyvdKAJnV7FbOxKepnRa2y9oAxZ8DaRGkdAr1M.pdf

Please attend the Open House at the Northwester Michigan College Marine Center on Wednesday, January 8, 2020 from 6 to 7 pm.  The Marine Center is located at 2600 Aeropark Drive, Traverse City, Michigan.  NMC offers several unique training and professional development opportunities for personnel working in the Marine Industry.

The Marine Center open house is being held in conjunction with the 2020 Science Vessel Coordination Workshop to be held at the Great Wolf Lodge in Traverse City on January 9th.

Link: https://canamglass.org/storage/reports/p6qIjEKXqXwowxhC8OAnanG9q1UWPQClE5ly4o0K.pdf

The 2020 Science Vessel Coordination Workshop was held at the Great Wolf Lodge in Traverse City, Michigan on January 9, 2020.  There was also an open house sponsored by the NMC Great Lakes Waters Studies Institute held from 6-7 PM on January 8th.  We have uploaded the presentations from the workshop to CanAmGlass and have linked them to the items on the agenda.

Download thedraft agenda at: https://canamglass.org/storage/reports/Q2KUxOiPFOS5VZ2ds2fSNN5XTbvZCWBbNn6UizHy.pdf

 

 

Link: https://canamglass.org/storage/reports/Q2KUxOiPFOS5VZ2ds2fSNN5XTbvZCWBbNn6UizHy.pdf

The R/V Gaylord Nelson is on the market Please see the description below:

OPERATOR: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Sturgeon Bay Fisheries, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin

HOME PORT: Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin

HISTORY: The Gaylord Nelson was built in 1992 in Prince Edward Island, Canada and was originally used to harvest lobster in the Atlantic Ocean. The Department purchased the boat in 1999 and brought it to Lake Michigan. Over the next several years, the boat was retrofitted with a Crossley gillnet lifter, trawl wheel, trawl winches and a new engine so that we could complete our fisheries assessments on Green Bay and Lake Michigan. In 2011, the Department built a new fisheries research boat, the RV Coregonus, that was capable of all the functions of the Gaylord Nelson. Between 2011 and 2018, the boat was used by the US Fish and Wildlife Service to complete assessments in Green Bay and Lake Michigan but now the Department has decided to sell the boat.

DESCRIPTION: The RV Gaylord Nelson is a modified lobster boat. It is aluminum hulled, 45 feet long, a beam of 15 feet, a draft of 5 feet, and a displacement of 12 tons. The work deck is very large and encompasses most of the boat aft of the pilot house. The vessel is fully operational and has been put up for sale due to a new vessel being built.

Propulsion: The vessel is powered by a 350 hp Cummins diesel engine 6CTA8.3-M1 with Twin Disk MG-507-1 that was installed in 2002. Total engine hours are 2,849.

Other Equipment: • Azimuth digital compass and Ritchie magnetic compass • Icon IC-M45 and Icon IC-M604 radio and loud hailer • Raymarine 430 loadhailer • Davis Weatjer Wizard III • Simrad AP28 autopilot • Furuno Navnet VX2 Radar / Chartplotter / Sounder • Garmin 2006C GPS • Lowrance LMS 350A GPS / Chartplotter / Sounder • Crossley 12” gill net lifter with roller assembly • Hawbolt model 3636 trawl reel • Hawbolt trawl winches (HSF-0616) • Dual fuel tanks • Viking DK+ Solas A, 8 man lift raft • 8 type 1 life jackets

The boat is currently out of the water. Inspection of the boat and fisheries equipment is highly encouraged before bidding. To schedule an inspection or questions about this boat should be directed to Bradley Eggold, Bradley.Eggold@Wisconsin.gov, 414-303-0138, Monday - Friday 8am - 4pm. **Please note at least a 48 hour notice is required for inspections** 

A new job posting for R/V Seawolf Deckhand Technician at Stonybrook University School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences has just been posted on the CanAmGLASS jobs page - please check the complete position description, or to apply online, at:  www.stonybrook.edu/jobs (Req. # 1901916)

Link: http://www.stonybrook.edu/jobs

A new Autonomous Surface Vessel (ASV) was demonstrated for the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Governors and Premiers Leadersip Summit in Milwaukee, Wisconsin this weekend.  June 14-16th. These remotely controlled robotic ships  are seen as an important "Force multiplier" to assist conventional research vessels to cover more area in a shorter time.  Picture a mother duck and ducklings sailing in formation.



Photo provided by Capt. Greg Stamatelakys, R/V Neeskay

For more information go to the following link to a report from Michigan NPR:

https://www.michiganradio.org/post/how-autonomous-vessels-could-change-great-lakes-commerce-research

Please see the Jobs page for a new job posting for Captain, R/V SEAWOLF

Link: http://www.stonybrook.edu/jobs

Research Vessel LAKE GUARDIAN left her berth near UWM’s School of Freshwater Sciences on Wednesday (4/3) and headed for the Lakes.

Owned by the US Environmental Protection Agency, LAKE GUARDIAN does an annual spring cruise to collect and analyze water samples from all five Great Lakes. Over the next 30 days, her crew will retrieve samples from a variety of depths at 80 locations. “The spring survey monitors lake health during a time of low biological activity, when the lakes are well-mixed.” This will be repeated in August. “The summer survey monitors lake health during the season of high biological activity, when the lakes are stratified.”

R/V LAKE GUARDIAN was launched in 1981 and worked as a supply ship for offshore oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. The Environmental Protection Agency bought her in 1988. She is 180 feet long and has accommodations for 41 people: 14 crew and 27 visiting scientists. She is also equipped with three laboratories: general purpose, chemistry and biology. 

 

Tied up at Milwaukee’s Heavy Lift Dock are tugs REBECCA LYNN (left) and G.L. OSTRANDER (right).

PHOTO CREDIT:  Captain Gregory Stamatelakys, R/V NEESKAY

CanAmGlass.org has been overhauled with security enhancements, bug fixes and improvements to enable registered users to post news, jobs and keep their vessel data up to date.  Registered users are encouraged to log in and check it out.  It is highly recommended that users change their passwords and update/validate their contact information. 

UNOLS Great Lakes Chief Scientist Training Cruise 

Application deadline: March 29^th, 2019 

New to planning shipboard field work?  Wondering how to request research vessel time, or specific pieces of equipment? Need samples or data to initiate a research project? If so, take part in the National Science Foundation funded “2019 UNOLS Great Lakes Chief Scientist Training Cruise.” This cruise and pre-cruise information workshop will instruct early career marine scientists (including PhD students, post docs, and 1^st or 2^nd year faculty members) on how to effectively plan for, acquire, and utilize time at sea for multi-disciplinary research. The program will occur from June 16^th to June 22^nd, 2019, and will include a 4 day cruise on the University of Minnesota’s R/V Blue Heron on Lakes Superior and Michigan, as well as a pre-cruise workshop.  The program will start in Duluth, Minnesota, home port of the R/V Blue Heron, and end in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.    Small stipends are provided for participant travel costs, research supplies and shipping.  Space is limited.  To apply you must be an employee or student at a U.S. institution or a U.S. citizen working abroad. To be considered, applications must be received by March 29^th, 2019.  The application form is available at the following link:

Link: https://goo.gl/forms/o33Q4YTciBafAR0F3

The 2019 Science Vessel Coordination Workshop scheduled for January 10, 2019 has been cancelled due to the U.S. Government shutdown. Unfortunately the shutdown had a big impact on the program, so we will try to re-schedule it later in 2019. Please visit CanAmGLass.org for the latest updates. 

The Marine Center at Northwestern Michigan College is offering its Level 1 Fundamentals of Marine Technology Course on January 21-25, 2019. The course will be held at:

Northwestern Michigan College
Parsons-Stulen Building
2600 Aero Park Drive
Traverse City, MI 49686

Overview - Fundamentals of Marine Technology focuses on the basic understanding of systems, applications, troubleshooting, calibration and safety requirements specific to marine technology and marine environments. Details of the course offering, cost and logistics can be found at the following link CLICK HERE --> link. 

Contact The Marine Center at (231) 995-2500 or marinecenter@nmc.edu for questions or further details.

Applicants must register by January 7, 2019.

Link: https://www.canamglass.org/storage/reports/events/FundamentalsofMarineTechnologyCourseDescription.pdf

The 2019 Science Vessel Workshop is being held on Thursday, Jan 10, 2019 at the Great Wolf Lodge in Traverse City, Michigan - please plan to stay after the GL Captains Association Industry Days Conference for the workshop - A draft agenda is posted at:
http://www.canamglass.org/online/events/2019GLASSAgenda_draft.pdf

Link: https://www.canamglass.org/storage/reports/events/2019GLASSAgenda_draft.pdf

Updated March 29, 2019 -  We have successfully fixed the display of the locations of ports on the CanAmGlass map locator tool and have also fixed some other bugs and have updated the site to improve security and maintenance. Thanks for your patience while we completed this work! 

Welcome to the Orange Apex! a new addition to CanAmGlass - Check out the details on the featured ships listing on the home page.  Please note the vessel is home ported in Port Stanley, ON on Lake Erie.  We will update the location as soon as the mapping tool is back on line. 

Link: http://www.orangeforcemarine.com