“It remains unclear how much oil spilled into the lake or how long the discharge continued. Workers at the refinery reported an oil sheen on the water about 4:30 p.m. Monday, and an official from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said the leak was plugged by the time he arrived at 9 p.m.Mike Beslow, the EPA’s emergency response coordinator, said there appeared to be no negative effects on Lake Michigan, the source of drinking water for 7 million people in Chicago and the suburbs. The 68th Street water intake crib is about eight miles northwest of the spill site, but there were no signs of oil drifting in that direction.Initial reports suggest that strong winds pushed most of the oil toward a sandy cove on BP’s property between the refinery and an Arcelor Mittal steel mill. A flyover Tuesday afternoon revealed no visible oil beyond booms laid on the water to prevent the oil from spreading, Beslow said.‘There is no known impact to wildlife or human health at this time,’ Beslow said.Frigid temperatures caused some of the oil to harden into a waxy consistency that made it easier to collect, said Scott Dean, a BP spokesman. Crews used vacuum trucks to suck up any liquid oil that washed ashore.”
Category:
In the news: Refinery malfunction allows some oil to spill into Lake Michigan
March 27th, 2014 by iisg_superadminNew aquatic ecology specialist joins IISG
March 21st, 2014 by iisg_superadmin![](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZKFaPvNPnNg/UysEJlH8EzI/AAAAAAAAClk/bgYPJwgAap4/s1600/Jay.jpg)
U of I course combines social science, urban planning, and sediment remediation
March 20th, 2014 by iisg_superadmin![](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-J5Ahv-7pYqI/Uyr31iQp9zI/AAAAAAAAClM/Nyh6IhgFJFk/s1600/Photo+A.jpg)
![](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K8zdpVLt59c/Uyr314ZA7SI/AAAAAAAAClQ/6b6k7ITn1_M/s1600/Photo+B.jpg)
Photo A: Natalie Prochaska, Juliana Wilhoit, Andrew Greenlee, Annie Contractor, Vinisha Doshi, Nancy Smebak, and Rachel Wilson take a break from their work in Milwaukee. (Not pictured: urban planning graduate student and workshop member Carolina Chantrille.)
Photo B: U of I students take part in a “Ski the AOC” event to learn more about ongoing remediation efforts and the community.
Work continues on unraveling the Lake Michigan food web
March 17th, 2014 by iisg_superadminThe meeting kicks off April 1 with presentations on several Sea Grant- and EPA-funded studies. IISG’s Tomas Hook, Sergiusz Czesny, director of the Lake Michigan Biological Station, and Bo Bunnell of the USGS Great Lakes Science Center will discuss the state of Lake Michigan fish populations, including the results of a three-year investigation of the differences in nearshore food webs across the lake. Harvey Bootsma, a researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and NOAA’s Henry A. Vanderploeg will also be onsite to talk about recent findings on the diets of phytoplankton, algae, and other species at the bottom of the food chain. Additional presentations, orchestrated by IISG’s Paris Collingsworth and featuring IISG-funded scientist Cary Troy, will talk about research on the physical dynamics of the lake and steady flow of nutrients brought in by stormwater runoff—two important factors affecting food web structures. Paris will also introduce plans for upcoming monitoring and field activities in Lake Michigan as part of the Cooperative Science and Monitoring Initiative.
In the news: Grass carp found to be making their way into the Great Lakes
March 12th, 2014 by iisg_superadmin“Grass carp, a plant-eating species of the invasive Asian carp family, have also been found spawning in Lake Erie and its many tributaries…Though fears over invading Asian carp have largely centered on bighead and silver carp — which gulp down large amounts of plankton, the all-important food-source foundation for a healthy aquatic ecosystem — the new study suggests conservationists should pay attention to grass carp too.Grasses are also an important nutritional source for native fish species, and as its name suggests, grass carp could prove detrimental in that department.The U.S. government has already spent upwards of $200 million trying to slow the encroachment of Asian carp into the Great Lakes. Many worry their growing presence will turn the Great Lakes into one giant carp pond — ruining ecological diversity and the multi-billion dollar fishing industry in the region. Regional authorities remain in discussion with federal agencies over further mitigation efforts.”
In the news: Lakes Michigan, Huron on the rise
March 11th, 2014 by iisg_superadmin“This winter, the abundance of snow and near-record ice cover are the reasons for the rebound in water levels, according to Keith W. Kompoltowicz, a meteorologist with the Corps’ office in Detroit.
Snowfall around Lake Michigan is 30% higher than any time in the last decade, and ice cover on the lake is flirting with a record.On Tuesday, ice on Lake Michigan reached 92.45%, according to the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory in Ann Arbor, Mich. That’s the second highest level since the record of 93.1% in 1977…But the winter of 2013-’14 can only have so much effect on the lakes. Water levels are cyclical and rise and fall due to a series of events over many months and years, Kompoltowicz said.Even if the next six months mirrors the rainy spring of 2013, Kompoltowicz said, Lake Michigan and Lake Huron might reach within a few inches of the lakes’ long-term average. The Corps doesn’t make predictions beyond six months.”
Najwa Obeid, IISG-sponsored Knauss Fellow, shares her work with the National Science Foundation
March 7th, 2014 by iisg_superadminHer greatest exposure to policy came while participating in an ecosystem-based management working group with representatives from agencies like the Department of the Interior, NOAA, the U.S. Navy and EPA. Ecosystem-based management is a type of resource management that focuses on whole ecosystems instead of individual species or resources and is one of nine policy recommendations included in the National Ocean Policy Implementation Plan. The group – officially known as the National Ocean Council ecosystem-based management interagency subgroup – was charged with determining what this recommendation meant for each agency and identifying work priorities and pilot projects. In her role with the National Science Foundation, Najwa identified science and knowledge gaps and connected the group with academic experts.
In the news: Targeted bacterium could be the solution to invasive mussels
March 6th, 2014 by iisg_superadmin“Now the mussels may have met their match: Daniel P. Molloy, an emeritus biologist at the New York State Museum in Albany and a self-described ‘Bronx boy who became fascinated by things living in water.’Inspired by Rachel Carson’s ‘Silent Spring’ in high school, Dr. Molloy, now 66, has long been a pioneer in the development of environmentally safe control agents to replace broad-spectrum chemical pesticides.
Leading a team at the museum’s Cambridge Field Research Laboratory in upstate New York, he discovered a bacterium, Pseudomonas fluorescens strain CL145A, that kills the mussels but appears to have little or no effect on other organisms.As a result, New York State has awarded a license to Marrone Bio Innovations, a company in Davis, Calif., to develop a commercial formulation of the bacterium. The product, Zequanox, has been undergoing tests for several years, with promising results. (Dr. Molloy has no financial ties to the company.)Zequanox killed more than 90 percent of the mussels in a test using tanks of water from Lake Carlos in Minnesota, said James A. Luoma, a research biologist with the United States Geological Survey in La Crosse, Wis. A control group of freshwater mussels, unionids from the Black River in Wisconsin, were unharmed.”
Shortest month of the year was long on social science accomplishments
March 5th, 2014 by iisg_superadminFebruary was a busy month for those interested in improving coastal outreach and education with social science. The topic took center stage at national and regional conferences. And IISG’s Caitie McCoy—along with other members of the Great Lakes Social Science Network—was onsite for each to discuss new research and provide tips for engaging the public, collecting reliable qualitative data, and evaluating projects.
It all started with the NOAA Social Coast Forum in South Carolina. During the two-day event, Caitie talked with representatives from academia, government agencies, non-profits, and the private sector about everything from how social science has improved risk communication to the best ways to engage Great Lakes tribes in sediment removal projects. The biggest draw, though, was her presentation on the effectiveness of a new severe weather warning system with fellow Sea Grant social scientists Jane Harrison and Hilarie Sorenson along with University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee student Katie Williams.
![](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BD9_SWeJc7A/UxdQZ-WMeCI/AAAAAAAACj0/fAwUF_Bv0ug/s1600/Picture3.jpg)
The St. Louis River cleanup and Caitie’s work to improve public engagement here and at other AOCs is possible because of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and the Great Lakes Legacy Act.
(Photo credits: Photo 1: St. Louis River AOC, courtesy of EPA
Photo 2: Caitie McCoy and former intern Emily Anderson near the St. Louis River AOC)
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