The Lake Huron Sinkhole
project is an Ocean
Exploration funded effort aimed at understanding the physical, chemical,
and biological processes in and around the shallow and deep sinkholes
present in the area. A team of scientists from many disciplines and institutions
are conducting this study. Characterized by high sulfate and low dissolved
oxygen, these habitats are dominated by single-celled microorganisms like
bacteria and lack the typical fish and metazoan communities found in Lake
Huron. In addition to time series measurements of physical parameters,
the team has sampled groundwater chemistry, groundwater flow, and has
obtained samples of microbial mats growing in low oxygen conditions for
pharmacological analysis. Remotely operated vehicles allowed mapping of
chemical and biological characteristics over large areas of the study
site, located within the boundaries of the Thunder
Bay National Marine Sanctuary in northwestern
Lake Huron.
See 2008 Fieldwork Ocean Exploration Website*
Link to GLERL project background.
Study Sites Images:Cruise InformationSteve Ruberg, NOAA/GLERLPrincipal Investigator (734)741-2271 |
Data Pages:
|
Biddanda, B., S.C. Nold, S.A. Ruberg, S.T. Kendall, T.G. Sanders, and J.J. Gray. 2009. Submerged sinkhole ecosystems in the Laurentian Great Lakes: a new biogeochemical research frontier. EOS Transactions 90(8):61-68 (2009).
Ruberg, S., S. Kendall, B. Biddanda, T. Black, W. Lusardi, R. Green,
T. Casserley, E. Smith, S. Nold, G. Lang, S. Constant. (Winter 2008/09).
Observations of the middle island sinkhole in Lake Huron: a unique
hydrogeologic and glacial creation of 400 million years. .Marine
Technology Society Journal 42(4):12-21 (2009).
http://www.glerl.noaa.gov/pubs/fulltext/2009/20090012.pdf
Biddanda, B. A., D. F. Coleman, T. H. Johengen, S. A. Ruberg, G. A. Meadows, H. W. VanSumeren, R. R. Rediske, and S. T. Kendall. Exploration of a submerged sinkhole ecosystem in Lake Michigan. Ecosystems 9:828-842 (2006). http://www.springerlink.com/content/r106152q530xn0m1 , http://www.glerl.noaa.gov/pubs/fulltext/2006/20060020.pdf
Ruberg, S.A., D.F. Coleman, T.H. Johengen, G.A. Meadows, H.W. VanSumeren, G.A. Lang, and B.A. Biddanda. Groundwater plume mapping in a submerged sinkhole in Lake Huron. Marine Technology Society Journal 39(2):65-69 (2005). http://www.glerl.noaa.gov/pubs/fulltext/2005/20050038.pdf
*Link leads off GLERL's website