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In: Brandon Krumwiede, Collaborative Benthic Habitat Mapping in the Nearshore Waters of the Great Lakes, Great Lakes, Lake Superior, lidar, Lily Cartier, Michael Anderson, NOAA, River Talks, sonar, St. Louis River Estuary, underwater mapping

Brandon Krumwiede describes mapping projects during his River Talk. Image credit: Michael Anderson

By Lily Cartier, University of Minnesota Duluth

Knowledge of the oceans is more than a matter of curiosity, our very survival may hinge on it.

–President John F. Kennedy

While this inspiring quote is about the oceans, the same could be said about two waterbodies that we know and love locally: the St. Louis River and Lake Superior.

But how much do we really know about these waters? Brandon Krumwiede, a Great Lakes geospatial coordinator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), told listeners at the March River Talk held at the Lake Superior Estuarium in Superior that what lies at the bottom has largely been unknown and unmapped.

Krumwiede said that full-fledged mapping of the St. Louis River Estuary was not undertaken until 1943, driven by World War II and the importance of local ship-building and steel production.

“It was really important to map out the river and the estuary so that we had safe navigation, commerce could commence, and all the vessels that were being built in the Twin Ports could be shipped overseas,” Krumwiede said.

After that, estuary mapping efforts languished. Currently, there is not a comprehensive modern picture of the St. Louis River Estuary or the Great Lakes. It is difficult to know the health of the plants, animals and water in the area without knowing what lies below the surface. 

Along with an assortment of government and local agencies, NOAA gained funding from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative in 2020 for a project called the Collaborative Benthic Habitat Mapping in the Nearshore Waters of the Great Lakes. The team uses benthic habitat mapping to measure the water levels in the Great Lakes. The goal is to map any part of the Great Lakes that has a depth of 80 meters or less. As of now, the project has mapped about 13% of the Great Lakes. 

This underwater mapping is done through two different methods. The first is called “sonar,” a process that uses sound waves to map the area. This uses small survey boats that move up and down the area that is mapped. The second is called “lidar,” which stands for light detection and ranging. This mapping technique uses green lasers on vessels or drones to map the substrate.

“At night, with a bathymetric lidar survey, you[‘ll] see this plane spinning around a green laser all over the beach. It looks like a UFO,” Krumwiede said.

Both types of underwater mapping come with pros and cons – the main one being the reliance on good weather while the data is taken. As you can imagine, lake conditions in northern Minnesota and Wisconsin are not often optimal for boats and small vessels. This study has a short season of about May to early November, at the latest. 

Krumwiede wished they would have prepared better for the warm weather we had this winter. “This season would have been amazing. We should have had survey boats here year-round because we were ice-free,” he said.

Why is mapping the river and Great Lakes vital? 

“It’s really important to think about, how do we ensure that we get the data that’s needed to make sure we make the right decisions and manage these natural resources into the future. For our generation and future generations down the road,” Krumwiede said.

The final River Talk for the season will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 10, at the Lake Superior Estuarium. Keith Okeson with the Lake Superior Chapter of Muskies Inc., will present, “Muskies and the St. Louis River.”

 

The post Underwater mapping expands knowledge spanning from the St. Louis River to the Great Lakes first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

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Blog | Wisconsin Sea Grant

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/blog/underwater-mapping-expands-knowledge-spanning-from-the-st-louis-river-to-the-great-lakes/

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In: Duluth's Lost Industries, fur trading, grain shipping, industrial history of the St. Louis River, iron ore, Jay Cooke, Lily Cartier, logging, Ojibwe, railroads, River Talks, shipbuilding, Tony Dierkins

By Lily Cartier, University of Minnesota Duluth

Tony Dierckins shared his knowledge of the history of the industries surrounding the waterways of Duluth, Minnesota, and Superior, Wisconsin, for the October River Talk. He focused on businesses that have been lost or changed along the way.

Tony Dierckins. Image credit: Michael Anderson

Dierckins began his talk with the disclaimer that he is not a scientist or an environmentalist, but a writer. He is currently working on a book about the railways of Duluth and Superior.

The Ojibwe people in the area based their economy on fur trading with the French during the 16th and 17thcenturies. But by the mid-1800s, the fur trade died, and with it came the collapse of the Ojibwe economy.

The year 1856 marked the establishment of Duluth; a great vision for a shipping center and copper mines. This was followed closely by the economic panic of 1857, however. The search for copper was unsuccessful and most of the population moved away. It wasn’t until 1869 that the population began to boom again with the establishment of the first “lost” industry: the railway.

These railways, sponsored by Jay Cooke, brought a construction boom to the Duluth area that lasted almost thirty years. Even throughout the boom and busts that fluctuated throughout this century, the railways continued to thrive and connect this northern area. Railroads continued to spread and grow, becoming the peak industry bringing in money and a larger population to Duluth and Superior. This industry continued to thrive until the 1970s.

The railways created a commerce division in Duluth and Superior. Through the late 1980s, industries continued to pop up along the shore of Lake Superior. Leather tanneries, wholesalers and slaughterhouses are just a few of the many industries that moved the economy along.

These railroads were fueled by the coal industry, which was making great headway in this area throughout this century. It is from this industry that we are able to see today how the east and west divide of Duluth formed. Those who were poorer were forced to continue to live in the coal-polluted area where the factories were, while the rich moved east to escape the smoke and particulate matter in the air.

Individuals around the area were displaced due to the growing number of industries and a lack of space. The Ojibwe people took the hardest hit. Since European settlement, Dierckins said there has never been a larger percentage than two percent of Ojibwe people in the population.

The next lost industry was lumber milling, which came closely after the making of the railways. As trees were not a quickly renewed resource, industries in the east United States moved to Duluth to find lumber after cutting over their supplies. Duluth and Superior became the center of this industry until the early twentieth century, when the equipment was sent to the West Coast to continue the pursuit of big lumber. The legacy of this industry can be found in piles of waste wood lining the bottom of the St. Louis River, which has been the focus of several habitat restoration projects.

The next lost industry of Duluth and Superior that Dierckins discussed was the grain shipping industry. At its peak, Duluth was home to around 24 grain elevators and the first-ever concrete grain silo. Though there is not much pollution from grain production itself, the coal that was used to manufacture the products created immense emissions.

The grain shipping industry made way for the shipping of iron ore and taconite out of local harbors. Ore docks were built all around Lake Superior, each bigger than the last.

Shipping cannot be done without boats. The shipbuilding industry was a wartime creation, shipping boats and different metals to various places in the country to support WWI and WWII efforts. This created many jobs for the local economy but also created a plethora of pollutants such as carbon monoxide and the “icky stew” of slag runoff into the water.

Most of these industries were boom and bust, moving on with the depletion of natural resources. Today, Duluth and Superior’s economies have turned to environmentalism and tourism. Millions of dollars have been spent to clean up the river from the legacies of the past.

The next River Talk will be held on Nov. 8. Euan Reavie with the Natural Resources Research Institute will talk about harmful algal blooms in the estuary.

The post Lost Industries on the St. Louis River first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

Original Article

Blog | Wisconsin Sea Grant

Blog | Wisconsin Sea Grant

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/blog/lost-industries-on-the-st-louis-river/

Wisconsin Sea Grant