Strong winds uncover spectacular features and long-lost structures

People on the western shore of Lake Erie witnessed strange sights after a winter storm came through on January 13. Parts of the lake that are usually under water were suddenly dry and visible, after wind gusts up to 55 mph pushed large volumes of water east. At least one long-lost human-made structure and striking natural features were revealed.  

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Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/01/strong-winds-uncover-spectacular-features-and-long-lost-structures/

Sharon Oosthoek

Science Says What? Pitcher plants feast on salamanders, unveiling a brutal side of botanical carnivory

Science Says What? is a monthly column written by Great Lakes now contributor Sharon Oosthoek exploring what science can tell us about what’s happening beneath and above the waves of our beloved Great Lakes and their watershed.

In the summer of 2017, Teskey Baldwin, a student at Ontario’s University of Guelph, was studying whether pitcher plants near water capture more insects than those farther away.

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Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/12/science-says-what-pitcher-plants-feast-on-salamanders-unveiling-a-brutal-side-of-botanical-carnivory/

Sharon Oosthoek

Science Says What? Global worming and the Great Lakes (yes, you read that right)

Science Says What? is a monthly column written by Great Lakes now contributor Sharon Oosthoek exploring what science can tell us about what’s happening beneath and above the waves of our beloved Great Lakes and their watershed.

Invasion of the earthworms! It sounds like a bad Hollywood movie, but science can be stranger than fiction.

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Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/11/science-says-what-global-worming-and-the-great-lakes/

Sharon Oosthoek

Coastal erosion researcher appeals for help in finding her remote-control boat

Chelsea Volpano’s coastal erosion study began drawing attention on social media last week, but not for the reasons you would expect.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison student was gathering the final data set for her Ph.D. on October 30 when her small boat stopped responding to the remote control.

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Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/11/coastal-erosion-researcher-appeals-for-help-in-finding-her-remote-control-boat/

Sharon Oosthoek

Science Says What? How eDNA research is evolving to create a new era in conservation

Science Says What? is a monthly column written by Great Lakes now contributor Sharon Oosthoek exploring what science can tell us about what’s happening beneath and above the waves of our beloved Great Lakes and their watershed.

Thirteen years ago, a live bighead carp was caught within swimming distance of Lake Michigan.

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Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/10/science-says-what-how-edna-research-is-evolving-to-create-a-new-era-in-conservation/

Sharon Oosthoek

Science Says What? How an airlift of wolves saved Isle Royale’s ecosystem and sparked a conservation controversy

Science Says What? is a monthly column written by Great Lakes now contributor Sharon Oosthoek exploring what science can tell us about what’s happening beneath and above the waves of our beloved Great Lakes and their watershed.

The wolves of Isle Royale recently came within a hair’s breadth of dying out — victims of years of inbreeding.

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Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/09/science-says-what-how-an-airlift-of-wolves-saved-isle-royales-ecosystem-and-sparked-a-conservation-controversy/

Sharon Oosthoek

Science Says What? The weight of the world rests on a small Canadian lake

Science Says What? is a monthly column written by Great Lakes now contributor Sharon Oosthoek exploring what science can tell us about what’s happening beneath and above the waves of our beloved Great Lakes and their watershed.

A tiny lake just an hour’s drive from Toronto made headlines earlier this summer as the best place in the world to illustrate the dawn of a new geological epoch – the Anthropocene.

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Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/08/science-says-what-weight-world-rests-small-canadian-lake/

Sharon Oosthoek

Great Lakes microplastics concentrations exceed safe levels for wildlife

Nearly 90 percent of water samples taken from the Great Lakes over the last ten years exceed safe levels for wildlife. Researchers from the University of Toronto and the Winnipeg-based International Institute for Sustainable Development came to this conclusion after conducting a comprehensive review of microplastics studies.

At the levels surveyed, the researchers say fish and other aquatic wildlife are at risk of ingesting enough microplastics to fill their guts, diluting their regular food and its nutritional value.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/08/great-lakes-microplastics-concentrations-exceed-safe-levels-for-wildlife/

Sharon Oosthoek

Science Says What? Lessons learned from a deliberate dilbit spill

Science Says What? is a monthly column written by Great Lakes now contributor Sharon Oosthoek exploring what science can tell us about what’s happening beneath and above the waves of our beloved Great Lakes and their watershed.

On July 26, 2010, people living along Talmadge Creek in Marshall, Michigan awoke to a sharp, sickening smell.

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Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/07/science-says-what-lessons-learned-from-a-deliberate-dilbit-spill/

Sharon Oosthoek

Science Says What? Bacteria in Lake Huron sinkhole do a daily tango

Science Says What? is a monthly column written by Great Lakes now contributor Sharon Oosthoek exploring what science can tell us about what’s happening beneath and above the waves of our beloved Great Lakes and their watershed.

Earlier this year, a group of Michigan scientists published a study in The Journal of Great Lakes Research entitled “Extant mat microbes synchronize vertical migration to a diel tempo.”

Got that?

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Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/06/science-says-what-bacteria-lake-huron-sinkhole-daily-tango/

Sharon Oosthoek

Science Says What? Looking for love as northern forests heat up

Science Says What? is a monthly column written by Great Lakes now contributor Sharon Oosthoek exploring what science can tell us about what’s happening beneath and above the waves of our beloved Great Lakes and their watershed.

The last couple decades have been good to southern flying squirrels in the upper reaches of the Great Lakes.

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Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/05/science-says-what-looking-love-northern-forests-heat-up/

Sharon Oosthoek

Book Club: Celebrating environmental success stories in the Great Lakes

In his book “Great Lakes Champions: Grassroots Efforts to Clean Up Polluted Watersheds,” John Hartig looks at how 14 Great Lakes residents are working to restore some of the region’s most degraded areas. While significant challenges remain, there is much to celebrate, including the return of sentinel fish and wildlife species, lower contaminant levels in fish and wildlife populations, and greater public access to these waters.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/05/book-club-celebrating-environmental-success-stories-in-the-great-lakes/

Sharon Oosthoek

Science Says What? How 5th-graders counting plants can lead to positive change

Science Says What? is a monthly column written by Great Lakes now contributor Sharon Oosthoek exploring what science can tell us about what’s happening beneath and above the waves of our beloved Great Lakes and their watershed.

As spring comes to Saginaw Bay, a group of elementary school students are preparing to play an important role in a long-term scientific study.

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Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/03/science-says-what-how-5th-graders-counting-plants-can-lead-to-positive-change/

Sharon Oosthoek

Science Says What: How worried should we be about microplastic pollution?

Science Says What? is a monthly column written by Great Lakes now contributor Sharon Oosthoek exploring what science can tell us about what’s happening beneath and above the waves of our beloved Great Lakes and their watershed.

Microplastic pollution has been building up in the Great Lakes since at least the 1970s.

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Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/02/science-says-what-how-worried-should-we-be-about-microplastic-pollution/

Sharon Oosthoek

Science Says What? Climate change, deluges and snow days

Science Says What? is a monthly column written by Great Lakes now contributor Sharon Oosthoek exploring what science can tell us about what’s happening beneath and above the waves of our beloved Great Lakes and their watershed.

The Great Lakes contain a whopping 5,500 cubic miles of freshwater, making them one of largest sources of freshwater in the world – large enough in fact to influence the region’s weather which impacts the 40 million people living around the lakes.

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Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/01/science-says-what-climate-change-deluges-snow-days/

Sharon Oosthoek

How will tire chemicals affect Great Lakes fish? Some scientists hope to find out

Just a couple years ago, nobody had heard of 6PPD-quinone, a chemical by-product of car tires. Until it was discovered that it can kill fish, including species in the Great Lakes.

Researchers with the University of Washington discovered in late 2020 that 6PPD-quinone was washing off roadways and into Seattle’s urban creeks during rainstorms – a death sentence for coho salmon.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/tire-chemicals-great-lakes-fish/

Sharon Oosthoek

Nonprofit report points to outdated Clean Water Act for the miles of polluted rivers across the U.S.

In 1972, the federal Clean Water Act proclaimed an ambitious goal – “fishable, swimmable” waters across the U.S. by 1983. Today, just over half of assessed river and stream miles across the U.S. remain too polluted for swimming and recreation, aquatic life, fish consumption, or as drinking water sources.

That assessment comes from a newly released report from the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP), a non-profit group founded in 2002 by former EPA enforcement attorneys.

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Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/outdated-clean-water-act-polluted-rivers/

Sharon Oosthoek

Surfing the Great Lakes: ‘What? People do that here?’

On a cool fall day in 2007, Robin Pacquing slipped on a wetsuit, grabbed a surfboard and headed into Lake Ontario.

As a teenager, Pacquing had been a huge Baywatch fan and learned to love surfing during a family trip to Hawaii. As an adult, she went on to surf the waves off Tofino, British Colombia, never dreaming she might do the same just outside her door.

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Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/03/surfing-great-lakes/

Sharon Oosthoek

Great Lakes Water Authority monitoring Detroit River for algal bloom threat

As the Great Lakes experience more harmful algal blooms due to climate change, real time monitoring of drinking water for toxins is becoming increasingly urgent.  

Warm water temperatures, increased rainfall and fertilizer run-off from farm fields are providing fuel for blooms that can taint water. 

This spring, a floating sensor for monitoring drinking water drawn from the Detroit River will begin giving real-time data on potentially toxic blue-green algae, along with other water quality data such as temperature, pH and dissolved oxygen.  

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Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/01/detroit-river-algal-bloom-threat/

Sharon Oosthoek

The next source of trouble for Great Lakes fish populations: tires

For 20 years, the mystery behind what was killing coho salmon in Seattle’s urban creeks seemed unsolvable.  

Every time it rained, fish would begin swimming in circles, floating belly up just a few hours later. Scientists looked at heavy metals, various chemical contaminants, water temperature and oxygen levels, but none of these things were the problem.

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Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/01/great-lakes-fish-populations-tires/

Sharon Oosthoek

Filter Fix: Study shows washing machine filters keep harmful microfibers out of the Great Lakes

Great Lakes communities on both sides of the border have diversion and reclamation programs for plastics, hoping to keep the trash out of the lakes.  

But how everyday people can deal with microscopic pieces of plastic is a more challenging question. Now a two-year-long study into washing machine filters in an Ontario community shows something can be done.  

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Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/12/study-washing-machine-microfibers/

Sharon Oosthoek

Animal Check: New project to monitor aquatic species that live near proposed nuclear storage sites

One of the main concerns opponents have to two of the proposed underground sites for storing Canada’s spent nuclear fuel, one of which is in the Lake Huron watershed, is the potential impact on the environment. A group of Ontario researchers is setting the groundwork to answer that question with a new project.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/10/monitor-aquatic-species-nuclear-storage/

Sharon Oosthoek

Lake Superior Summer: Blue-green algal blooms come to a lake once believed immune

On a calm morning in late summer 2019, Jim Bailey was kayaking on Lake Superior near Thunder Bay, Ontario, when he found himself paddling through thick green scum, the likes of which he’d never seen in those waters. Puzzled, he headed into the open bay where he could see green patches stretching out about 3 kilometers.

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Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/08/lake-superior-summer-algae-bloom/

Sharon Oosthoek

Duckling Docks: Toronto installs floating docks to save drowning birds

Ducklings struggling to stay afloat in Lake Ontario’s Toronto harbor now have a safe place to rest with the installation of low, floating plywood docks.

PortsToronto installed duckling docks at water level in four shipping areas in June after reports of drowned waterfowl unable to climb out of the water to rest.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/08/duckling-toronto-floating-docks/

Sharon Oosthoek

Plastic Impact: Canada launches multi-year study of microplastics in water and soil

A four-year research project looking into the impact of microplastics on freshwater ecosystems and on agricultural soils will have important implications for the Great Lakes, said its principal researcher.

Funded by the Canadian government, the $1-million project was announced in May. It will measure microplastic levels in wastewater from treatment plants draining into Ontario rivers and streams that feed into the Great Lakes.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/06/canada-microplastics-study-wastewater-impact/

Sharon Oosthoek

Chemical Impact: Microplastic pollution more complex than we think, says new research

Microplastics act like a chemical sponge, soaking up contaminants such as persistent organic pollutants and heavy metals.

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Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/05/chemical-impact-microplastic-pollution/

Sharon Oosthoek

Bolder Fish: New study looks at how pandemic antidepressant use might affect freshwater ecosystems

As the pandemic wears on, antidepressant use is on the rise.

Claims for selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors increased by 17% in Canada between 2019 and 2020, according to one report. In the United States, the number of prescriptions filled per week for antidepressant, anti-anxiety and anti-insomnia medications increased 21% between Feb.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/04/fish-study-pandemic-antidepressant-freshwater-ecosystems/

Sharon Oosthoek

Salt Levels: The effects of wintertime de-icing linger in Toronto-area rivers in the summer

As spring comes to the Great Lakes region and icy roads and sidewalks become a distant memory, a new study shows the salt we apply over the winter can linger in summertime rivers at alarming levels.

The University of Toronto study measured chloride in four Greater Toronto Area rivers and found it was high enough in many locations to put at least two-thirds of aquatic life at risk during early stages of their development.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/03/salt-levels-wintertime-de-icing-toronto-rivers-summer/

Sharon Oosthoek

Lake Superior Winter: Researchers belatedly turn their eyes to the impact of warming winters

Deep below the cold, dark surface of Lake Superior, sensors strung like pearls along a vertical steel cable sway with the currents. Recording the lake’s dropping temperatures as winter sets in, their gentle rhythm belies their worrying readings: the lake is getting warmer.

Jay Austin heaved several of these science experiments off a boat last fall – tossing concrete blocks into the deep water to anchor the cable of sensors stretching down from floating platforms just below the surface.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/03/lake-superior-researchers-impact-warming-winters/

Sharon Oosthoek

Plastic Trap: New project pulls plastics out of the lakes, one floating garbage can at a time

An estimated 9,887 metric tonnes (22 million pounds) of plastics make their way into the Great Lakes every year. Now a new project aims not only to suck out some of that plastic but stop it from getting into the lakes in the first place.

It began last summer with Toronto Harbour’s installation of three Seabins – devices that look like trash cans in the water but behave like vacuum cleaners, said Christopher Hilkene, CEO of Pollution Probe.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/11/seabins-trap-plastics-great-lakes-canada/

Sharon Oosthoek

Summertime Spike: Great Lakes parks a source of balm and vexation for many during COVID-19

Great Lakes parks have always been popular among outdoor enthusiasts. This summer, however, pandemic-weary residents on both sides of the border flocked to them – many for the first time – just as services such as campsites, visitors’ centers, washrooms and interpretive programs were closed to help contain COVID-19.

The spike in summertime numbers was doubly challenging this year as the lakes’ record-high water levels have washed away some beaches and trails.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/10/summertime-spike-great-lakes-parks-covid-19/

Sharon Oosthoek

Canada Water Agency: Government hopes to consolidate water data and management

Canada is home to the third largest renewable supply of fresh water in the world, spread across a vast swath of lakes, rivers, aquifers and glaciers. Fresh water is critical to the country’s economy and health, and a key part of the nation’s identity – paddling a canoe through northern waterways is a rite of passage, and more than 30% of Canadians live surrounded by water in the Great Lakes region.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/10/canada-water-agency-government-consolidate-water-data-management/

Sharon Oosthoek

Blue Jeans Blues: Researchers find denim microfibers in Great Lakes

At any given moment about half the world’s population is wearing blue jeans or other denim clothing. And every time we launder our jeans, tiny string-like particles called microfibers come loose, flow out of our washing machines, down sewers and into lakes and oceans.

Now researchers at the University of Toronto say they have found denim microfibers in sediment taken from the Great Lakes.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/09/researchers-denim-microfibers-great-lakes/

Sharon Oosthoek

Sewage Check: Great Lakes researchers look to wastewater for data on COVID-19

The virus can be detected in infected people’s feces – sometimes even before they begin exhibiting symptoms.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/05/sewage-check-researchers-look-to-wastewater-for-data-on-covid-19/

Sharon Oosthoek

Taking It in Stride: How Great Lakes islanders are weathering the COVID-19 storm

The tourism that usually rises around this time is on hold, but residents are battening down with ease.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/03/great-lakes-islands-ferry-coronavirus-covid-19/

Sharon Oosthoek