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Tech, EPA Scientists Provide Ship Tours
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JUNE 23, 2004 -- The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Michigan Technological University will sponsor an open house on the research vessel, Lake Guardian on Saturday, July 10, from 6-8 p.m.
EPA and Michigan Tech scientists will lead tours of the 180-foot ship for 20 persons each half-hour. Tours will take place at 6:00, 6:30, 7:00 and 7:30 pm. Tour spaces will be on a first-come basis. The ship will be docked on the Houghton waterfront beside the Portage Lift Bridge.
The Lake Guardian has six laboratories and a variety of navigational and monitoring equipment used to gather data on the chemical and biological conditions of the five Great Lakes. Lake Superior sediment and plankton samples will be on display in the lab. Michigan Tech's Isle Royale Institute will demonstrate its new Remotely-Operated Vehicle used to investigate shipwrecks.
The EPA uses the Lake Guardian to gather data concerning the chemical and biological conditions of the five Great Lakes and to monitor pollutant concentrations. It is fitted with state-of-the-art navigational, laboratory and mechanical equipment.
EPA and Michigan Tech researchers will be on hand to display and explain the variety of monitoring devices used aboard the vessel. As part of its long-term trends program, the EPA conducts monitoring surveys of the Great Lakes every two years. During each survey, samples are taken at eight to twenty pre-established locations (stations) per lake.
The Lake Guardian will have just completed a week on Lake Superior as part of the "Ecology of the Great Lakes" Teacher Institute attended by 20 science and math educators from throughout Michigan.
The Institute is designed to enhance the ability and motivation of educators to teach about the Great Lakes, and is sponsored by the EPA, Michigan Tech and its Isle Royale Institute, and the Western Upper Peninsula Center for Science, Mathematics and Environmental Education.
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