Great Lakes Integrated Sciences and Assessments is hosting a fall symposium Oct. 30. The Symposium will be in the Rackham Amphitheater on the fourth floor of the Rackham Building, 915 E. Washington St., Ann Arbor. From 1:30-2:45 p.m., there will be an overview of GLISA and its funded research projects. At 3 p.m., authors from the National Climate Assessment Midwest Technical Input Team will summarize climate trends and anticipated impacts of climate change in the Great Lakes region.
Climate change is expected to increase the frequency of intense spring rain storms in the Great Lakes region throughout this century and will likely add to the number of harmful algal blooms and "dead zones" in Lake Erie, unless additional conservation actions are taken, according to a University of Michigan aquatic ecologist. Climate models suggest that the number of intense spring rain storms in the region could double by the end of the century, contributing to an overall 30 to 40 percent increase in spring precipitation, said Donald Scavia, director of the U-M’s Graham Sustainability Institute.
Great Lakes beachgoers could spend a lot more time in the water if a beach forecasting tool under development by University of Michigan researchers and their colleagues is adopted throughout the region. The new forecasting tool would significantly reduce the number of days that Great Lakes beaches are unnecessarily closed to swimming due to inaccurate assessments of E. coli bacteria levels, according to David Rockwell of the U-M School of Natural Resources and Environment. "My estimate is that 23 percent of the time that swimming is prohibited at Great Lakes beaches due to high bacteria levels, those decisions are actually mistakes," said Rockwell, beach water quality forecasting coordinator at the Cooperative Institute for Limnology and Ecosystems Research (CILER), a collaboration between the U-M and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The first of nine rock reefs is under construction in the St. Clair River delta northeast of Detroit. The goal of the project, which is led by Michigan Sea Grant, is to boost populations of lake sturgeon and other rare native fish by providing river-bottom rock structures where they can spawn. The rock reefs are designed to assist several native species that are considered threatened or endangered in Michigan, including lake sturgeon, mooneye, the northern madtom catfish and the river redhorse sucker. Walleye, a popular sport fish, and commercially important lake whitefish should also benefit. The new reefs will be constructed in the Middle Channel of the St. Clair River delta, near an existing lake sturgeon spawning site.
Research by David Jude, a research scientist at SNRE, is featured in a cable documentary exploring invasive species in the Great Lakes. Jude's work with Gobies is mentioned in the new series "Silent Invaders," created and being aired by Pursuit Channel TV, a cable channel for outdoor enthusiasts.
SNRE Professor and Interim Dean Dave Allan provided an update on his Great Lakes Environmental Assessment and Mapping Project during a plenary address Thursday, Oct. 12 as part of the Seventh Annual Great Lakes Restoration Conference.
Several University of Michigan researchers will be among the speakers at next week's Great Lakes Week in Detroit, a gathering of several organizations concerned with preserving and restoring the health of the Great Lakes. The week's events will include meetings of the International Joint Commission, the Great Lakes Commission and the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition's Great Lakes Restoration Conference. The events will take place at the Westin Book Cadillac Hotel and Wayne State University.
Faced with increasing risks of intense storms, heat stress, clean water availability and economic hardship, municipal leaders are seeking high-quality, location-specific analyses to help plan for climate change impacts. That is the focus of a new $1.2 million University of Michigan research project called the Great Lakes Adaptation Assessment for Cities.
NOAA Administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco hailed the science partnerships between her agency and the University of Michigan as an important tool in addressing the nation's environmental challenges.
Watch the video about Michigan Sea Grant, Out of the Blue episode 310, the Big Ten Network. The video premiered on the Big Ten Network recently and will be re-broadcast periodically, see: http://www.ootb.tv/episode.php?episode=310&part=2&video=SeaGrant