“Take a dip in lakes Erie, Huron, or Superior and you will be swimming in more than just water. According to a recently published study, these lakes contain an unexpectedly large amount of floating plastic debris. Even more surprising, much of what the researchers found were microplastic fragments and pellets like the kind used in toothpastes and facial and body scrubs. At less than one millimeter, these tiny pieces of plastic are too small to be filtered out at wastewater treatment facilities before the water is released into the lakes.

Researchers from 5 Gyres Institute and State University of New York (SUNY) Fredonia made the discovery in 2012 after collecting a total of 21 samples from the lakes. They found plastics in all but one sample. Of the three lakes, Lake Erie had the highest concentrations of plastics, roughly 90 percent of the total amount measured. The authors speculate that the high concentrations may be the result of currents carrying the plastics from the cities of Detroit, Cleveland, and Erie. Back in the lab, further inspection revealed that along with the microplastics, eight of the samples contained coal ash and coal fly ash (produced by coal-burning power plants).”

The Illinois Science Education Conference, recently held in Tinley Park, featured more than 150 presentations, symposiums, and exhibits aimed at providing resources and professional development opportunities for science teachers throughout the state. Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant’s education team was among the many exhibitors participating, and offered materials and presentations to help introduce Great Lakes literacy principles to the teachers present. 

IISG’s Robin Goettel and Terri Hallesy led two presentations to give teachers information and guidance on getting their students interested in Great Lakes science and stewardship. Several educational resources were also made available for the teachers to utilize in their classes. 

Anjanette and Corrie staffed two tables in the exhibit hall. One focused on AIS and featured “Nab the Aquatic Invader” information, invasive species watch cards, games, and suggested alternatives to releasing classroom pets into the wild (the Habitattitude^TM project). The second table focused on several different curricula and stewardship programs offered by IISG. CDs of Fresh and Salt and Greatest of the Great Lakes were available, as well as flash drives with The Medicine Chest and Sensible Disposal of Unwanted Meds. Teachers were very excited to receive these because they were so compact and comprehensive, with several asking if they could give a second one to their colleagues.

Two Great Lakes Restoration Initiative projects were highlighted in our displays – Great Lakes Organisms in Trade Initiative-Research, Outreach and Education and Undo the Great Lakes Chemical Brew.

“Höök’s research focuses on fish and fisheries ecology in the Great Lakes. Fish communities and populations—species numbers and their traits—change a great deal from year to year, he explains. Höök studies past, current and projected future conditions to examine the factors that lead to these changes over time and across habitats. He uses a variety of research methods, including lab experiments on how fish respond to different situations, field studies and computer modeling.”

“Last Sunday, Oct. 13, American astronaut Karen Nyberg tweeted this excellent photograph of the Great Lakes taken on Aug. 23 from her vantage point orbiting the Earth aboard the International Space Station.

She posted the image on Twitter about 4:40 p.m., generating a cascade of re-tweets. As spectacular photos are wont to do, the image has spent the meantime making rounds on Facebook and other social media platforms.

The image shows four of the five Great Lakes. The sun’s glint brightens lakes Erie and Ontario to the east, while lakes Michigan and Huron are seen in shades of deeper blue. Lake Superior and most of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula are not in the frame.”

“As an indecisive, undeclared sophomore I enrolled in a course titled Environmental Sustainability. Though I registered with low expectations, I found myself completely captivated by the readings and discussions we had in class. By the end of the semester I knew environmental sustainability was a passion I wanted to pursue, and I declared a major in Earth, Society, and the Environment. I also added a Geography and GIS Major and Business Minor along the way. Studying and working in these fields has afforded me the opportunity to engage in a wide range of academic and extracurricular experiences that have truly shaped my outlook on the world and secured my commitment to responsibly addressing environmental issues.

My internship with the Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant this summer has been the most rewarding experience of my collegiate career thus far. As the Great Lakes Education Intern I worked under the leadership of my mentor Kristin TePas to develop a website for the U.S. EPA research vessel Lake Guardian that effectively communicates the ship’s research and educational activities to the general public. The Lake Guardian is a unique and extremely valuable resource that has facilitated Great Lakes research for over 25 years, which in turn promotes better understanding and awareness of environmental issues affecting the lakes.

Kristin and I, through the creation of a user friendly Lake Guardian website, hope to expose teachers, students, and the general public to current Great Lakes research projects and inspire communication between scientists and their communities. By interviewing our target audience we determined what people wanted to see on the website and then developed some of the items they requested, including a ship specifications chart, science equipment videos, an ‘Ask a Scientist’ form, FAQ page, Science and Marine Career videos, as well as a YouTube channel and Flickr gallery to give a sense of life and work on the ship. The overarching goal is for the Lake Guardian site to be a fun and engaging way to compel people to be invested in the health and vitality of the Great Lakes.

“According to the National Weather Service, there were seven fatalities and 14 rescues on the Great Lakes caused at least partially by currents in the water. Lake Michigan had the most incidents as is typically the case. There are a few reasons why Lake Michigan is the most dangerous year after year. First is the combination of highest population and one of the warmer waters. Second is the shape of the lake which makes it conducive to rip currents.

 

This year did not have as many fatalities and rescues as compared to past years. The main reason for this was the colder summer keeping the number of swimmers down.

 

While currents caused by rip tides are dangerous, the most often cited reason for a rescue is structural. Piers and other structures make dangerous currents and create locations for injuries.

While the swimming season may be over, another very dangerous time on the Great Lakes is here. Fall is a season I’ve found to be most dangerous, especially on Saginaw Bay. Some duck hunters and fishers take unwise risks just to shoot a duck or catch a fish.”

“This summer I interned with Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant as the Human Dimensions of Natural Resources Intern. When I found the listing for the IISG Internship position I knew right away it was right for me. I was ecstatic to find a position that aligned with my interests in both psychology and environmental science, so I excitedly submitted my application and then waited nervously. Days after I walked across the stage as a 2013 graduate from Northern Illinois University, I relocated from DeKalb, Illinois to my new office on the University of Illinois’ campus. 

Throughout the summer I traveled around the Great Lakes with my mentor Caitie McCoy and collected data on people’s perceptions of contaminated sediments. One of Sea Grant’s missions is to conduct research across the Great Lakes; as such, my job was to assist Caitie in conducting a study on two contaminated rivers slated for cleanup. In order to restore the health of the Great Lakes ecosystem and restore benefits to the local communities, the GLLA funds sediment remediation and habitat restoration in connecting waterways. The purpose of our research was to gain an understanding of how people in these communities relate to their river so that this information could be used to guide outreach efforts at these and other contaminated sites. We were also interested in the different benefits that communities receive from these waterways and how cleanup efforts might enhance those resources. In order to get a site-specific understanding we traveled to different locations and interviewed local leaders. 

 

After learning about the background and purpose of the GLLA program, my first task was to recruit interview participants. I am rather shy normally, but conducting the recruitment communications and helping with the interviews was a great experience to break me out of my shell. I was pretty nervous during my first recruitment call, but after speaking with an extremely nice and generous person who invited us to go fishing during our interview I became much more comfortable. With help from our local outreach teams, we ended up with nearly 45 interviewees between our two sites (Duluth, MN and Sheboygan, WI). 

 

I really love to travel, see new places, and learn new things so I have to say conducting the interviews was my favorite part of the internship. Both cities were beautiful in their unique way, and I’d definitely visit again if I got the chance. (In fact I’d consider living in Duluth despite an average of 80 inches of snowfall per year.) It was so interesting to get to listen to people’s stories and learn about the environmental issues in the Midwest. After the site visit I got right to work at transcribing the interviews which I will admit was not my favorite part of the experience but was a very valuable task and an opportunity to develop a new skill. 

 

Before this internship most of the research I had been involved in was quantitative so the idea of data analysis guided by intuition was sort of foreign to me. At first I stumbled through the process but I found conceptual ground and eventually was able to enjoy qualitative analysis. Because of my concern for the health of the environment and my interest in social science it really gives me a great feeling to know that research like this is being conducted. In the end I feel accomplished; the study I helped with this summer will guide future outreach at the sites we visited and add to our understanding of the benefits of river cleanups. And ultimately that will help prove the real-world value and impact of programs like GLLA. This internship reaffirmed my passion for research and exposed me to a multitude of career options that are directly in line with my interests. I leave this position with a little more direction and a lot more hope for the future of the Great Lakes.”