Research Vessel Lake Guardian
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United States Envirtflirnental Protection Agency	Great Lakes
Great Lakes National Program Office	RESTORATION)
EPA 905-R-19-006

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About the Great Lakes
The North American Great Lakes are an important
ecological, cultural, and economic resource for the
United States and Canada. The Great Lakes contain
one-fifth of the world's surface freshwater and the
ecosystem is one of the most biologically diverse
in North America. The health of the Great Lakes
is an important binational priority, and the US and
Canadian governments have several programs in
place to monitor the health of the Great Lakes. The US
Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Great Lakes
National Program Office (GLNPO) uses the Research
Vessel (R/V) Lake Guardian to monitor water quality,
contaminants, and the food web across the Great Lakes.
R/V Lake Guardian surveys help EPA meet requirements
and commitments under the Clean Water Act, Great
Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA), and the
Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI).
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What is the GLWQA?
The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA),
originally signed in 1972, is a commitment between
the United States and Canada to restore and protect
the Great Lakes ecosystem. The GLWQA provides a
framework for identifying and implementing binational
priorities for improving water quality and ecosystem
health. In 2012, the GLWQA was amended to better
address current threats to Great Lakes. The US EPA
Great Lakes National Program Office coordinates the US
implementation of the GLWQA.
What is the GLRI?
The Great Lakes Restoration
Initiative (GLRI) was launched
in 2010 to accelerate US
efforts to protect and restore
the Great Lakes ecosystem.
With oversight by US EPA
GLNPO, the GLRI provides
critical resources to 16 federal
organizations and numerous
non-federal partners working
together to achieve long-term
restoration and protection goals.
Through FY 2018, GLRI has
funded over 4,700 projects that
focus on the most important
Great Lakes environmental
issues. The five focus areas of
the GLRI are:
•	Toxic substances and Areas of
Concern
•	Invasive species
•	Non-point source pollution
impacts on nearshore health
•	Habitats and species
•	Foundations for future
restoration actions
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About the R/V Lake Guardian
The R/V Lake Guardian is currently the largest research vessel operating in the Great Lakes.
US EPA uses the R/V Lake Guardian to conduct monitoring and research activities on all five
Great Lakes. EPA's R/V Lake Guardian surveys meet requirements under the Clean Water Act
to establish a system-wide surveillance network to monitor Great Lakes water quality. They
also satisfy EPA's obligations under the GLWQA to "undertake monitoring and surveillance
to anticipate the need for further science activities and to address emerging environmental
concerns." Further, R/V Lake Guardian surveys meet Great Lakes Restoration Initiative
commitments to "assess the overall health of the Great Lakes." In addition to research and
monitoring, the ship also provides numerous public outreach and educational opportunities
around the Great Lakes basin. The purpose of this report is to provide a brief overview of the
research, monitoring, and outreach activities conducted onboard the R/V Lake Guardian during
the 2018 field season.
R/V Lake Guardian Statistics
11 knots
(13 mph)
cuising
speed
959 tons
gross
tonnage
14 crew &
27 scientists
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Onboard Research Facilities and Equipment
Rosette water sampler
Filtering water for nutrient anlyses
The R/V Lake Guardian is equipped with state-of-the-ari sampling equipment to monitor the
health of the Great Lakes. A Rosette water sampler is outfitted with a multi-parameter CTD
(conductivity, temperature, depth) profiler, f!uoroprobe,12 Niskin bottles, and several other
instruments to collect water column data and water samples at specific depths. The ship
also deploys other technical instruments, including laser optical plankton counters, fisheries
acoustics, and underwater imaging devices.
Scientists on the R/V Lake Guardian sample lake sediment and benthic organisms
using Ponargrab samplers, a box corer, and multicorer. Several nets of various lengths,
diameters, and mesh sizes are used to collect zooplankton, Mysis, and larval fish samples.
Following field collection, water and biological samples are processed in three on-board
laboratories: the general purpose or "wet" laboratory, the chemistry laboratory, and the
biology laboratory.
Measuring water chemistry

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GLNPO's Long-term Water Quality and
Biology Monitoring Annual Surveys
Since 1983, US EPA GLNPO has monitored the offshore waters of the Great Lakes to
determine ecosystem trends and identify emerging problems. The Great Lakes Water Quality
Monitoring Program measures several physical and chemical parameters across the Great
Lakes, and the Biology Monitoring Program monitors the plants and animals of the lower food
web. The long-term data collected by these GLNPO monitoring programs are highly valuable
to ecosystem managers and scientific researchers seeking to understand the complex Great
Lakes ecosystem.
Station
O Plankton
Benthos
300-405 3 Plankton/Benthos
Map Projection: Albers Equal Area
GLNPO's spring and summer water quality survey stations
Physical Parameters: Water temperature, air
temperature, wind speed, wave height, surface
and underwater photosynthetically active radiation
(PAR), Secchi depth, turbidity, sediment grain size
Chemical Parameters: Dissolved and particulate
phosphorus and nitrogen, particulate and total
organic carbon, cations, reactive silica, metals,
chloride, sediment carbon/nitrogen/phosphorus,
conductivity, total suspended solids, dissolved
oxygen, pH, alkalinity, total hardness
Biological Parameters: chlorophyll-a, phytoplankton,
zooplankton, Mysis, benthic invertebrates, Diporeia,
dreissenid mussels
Who assists
with water
quality & biology
monitoring?
The ship is operated by a
crew from Cetacean Marine.
Many EPA scientists and Oak
Ridge Institute for Science and
Education (ORISE) research
participants collect water and
biological samples. In 2018,
GLNPO had cooperative
agreements with University
of Minnesota-Duluth, Cornell
University, and Buffalo State
College to collect and analyze
the samples that support the
Biology Monitoring Program
The Federal Occupational
Health (FOH) lab analyzed
GLNPO's water samples for
several nutrient parameters.
General Dynamics Information
Technology (GDIT), a GLNPO
contractor, performs data
review and validation for many
GLNPO monitoring programs.
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Additional Science
and Monitoring on
the Spring Survey
Additional researchers from the
University of Chicago collected
water samples for DNA and RNA
analysis to determine the microbial
community composition across all
five lakes. A researcher from Bowling
Green State University also collected
water and plankton samples to
investigate the factors regulating
plankton dynamics in Lake Erie. To
further assess the spatial variability
of phytoplankton communities and
investigate the impacts of iand use on
nearshore phytoplankton, University
of Minnesota-Duluth sampled 12
additional nearshore stations in Lake
Spring Survey
The annual Spring Water Quality Survey of ail
five lakes begins after most of the winter lake
ice has thawed. On the 2018 Spring Survey,
EPA scientists and ORISE research participants
were onboard the RA/ Lake Guardian to collect,
preserve, and analyze water samples for
nutrients and other water quality parameters
at 75 long-term stations. Ten researchers,
technicians, and students from Cornell University
and University of Minnesota-Duluth also
participated in the Spring Survey to collect the
phytoplankton, chlorophyll, Mysis, benthos, and
zoopiankton samples supporting the Biology
Monitoring Program.
Ontario for phytoplankton community
composition and stable isotope
analyses as part of Cooperative
Science and Monitoring Initiative
(CSMI) efforts.

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Summer Survey
The annual Summer Water Quality Survey occurs in August when the lakes are near peak
biological activity Over the course of 2018 Summer Survey numerous scientists and
students from many organizations were onboard to collect, preserve and analyze the water,
phytoplankton, chlorophyll, zooplankton, Mysis, and benthos samples at 97 long-term stations
for GLNPO monitoring programs.
Buffalo State also collected additional Ponar samples for the genetic analysis of benthic
organisms. At a selection of sites, Buffalo State towed a benthic sled outfitted with high-quality
cameras along 500 meter transects to capture videos of the bottom of Lakes Michigan, Huron,
Erie, and Ontario. These video transects heip determine the spatial extent of invasive quagga
and zebra mussels.
Benthic video sled
Additional Science and Monitoring on the Summer Survey
Similar to the Spring Survey, University of Minnesota-Duluth sampled 12 additional
nearshore stations in Lake Ontario for phytoplankton community composition and stable
isotope analyses. Additional Mysis samples were also collected by a Cetacean Marine
Technician in all five lakes except Erie to assess the effectiveness of horizontal tows for
collecting Mysis samples. This technique can allow researchers to obtain greater Mysis
biomass for contaminant and biological analyses than standard net tows.
Additional researchers from the University of Chicago were onboard to collect water
samples for microbial community composition analyses. Researchers from the US
Geological Survey (USGS) also participated in the Summer Survey to collect water
and plankton samples for mercury analyses. Mercury is a toxic substance that can
bioaccumulate in the Great Lakes food web, leading to fish consumption advisories.
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Cooperative Science & Monitoring Initiative
(CSMI)
What is CSMI?
The Cooperative Science and Monitoring Initiative (CSMI)
is a joint US and Canadian effort to bring an extra focus on
one of the five Great Lakes each year. US EPA GLNPO is
responsible for coordinating CSMI research and monitoring
efforts among the US federal, state, tribal, and academic
partners. Lake Ontario was the focus of the 2018 CSMI
field year. In subsequent years, the CSMI field year will
rotate to Lake Erie (2019), Lake Michigan (2020), Lake
Superior (2021), then Lake Huron (2022).
»


Lake Ontario 2018
The GLWQA Lake Ontario
Partnership identified six
overarching science priorities for
the 2018 CSMI:
•	Nutrient concentrations and
loadings
•	Nearshore nutrient-related
problems (Cladophora)
•	Aquatic food web status
•	Fish dynamics
•	Critical and emerging
pollutants
•	Coastal wetland status
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Triaxus instrument package
Viewing live feed of Triaxus acoustics data
Lake Ontario CSMI Lower Aquatic Food Web (LOLA) Surveys
The R/V Lake Guardian served as the platform for many studies investigating the health of the
aquatic food web in Lake Ontario. The Lake Ontario Lower Aquatic Food Web (LOLA) surveys
were conducted in May, June, and September 2018 to characterize spatial and seasonal trends
of Lake Ontario's lower food web. Hundreds of water quality, nutrient, microbial, phytoplankton,
zooplankton, Mysis, and larval fish samples were collected at 24 stations across Lake Ontario by
scientists from US EPA GLNPO, US EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD) Mid-Con-
tinent Ecology Division (MED), Cornell University, NY State Department of Environmental Conser-
vation, Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada
(ECCC), and Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks. In addition to discrete
samples, the Triaxus instrument package with a laser optical plankton counter was deployed to
explore the patchiness and spatial distribution of several lower food web components. Altogether,
the results from these seasonal surveys provide insight into the current status of Lake Ontario's
lower food web.
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Lake Ontario CSMI Benthos Survey
In September 2018, US EPA GLNPO, US EPAORD
Gulf Breeze and MED, Buffalo State College, NOAA's
Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory,
and the University of Michigan Cooperative Institute
of Great Lakes Research conducted an intensive
lake-wide survey of the benthic community in Lake
Ontario. Ninety-nine stations were sampled for
benthic community composition, sediment grain size,
and sediment nutrients. At 61 of the 99 stations, a
benthic sled with video cameras was deployed to map
the spatial distribution and abundance of invasive
quagga mussels. A drop-down camera was also used
to capture images of the lake bottom. A sediment
profile imaging (SPI) camera was also deployed to
investigate sediment characteristics and develop
a benthic community health index for freshwater
systems. The results from this survey provide a lake-
wide synopsis of the status of Lake Ontario's benthic
lower food web. Because benthic invertebrates are
water and sediment quality indicators, results from
2018 will be compared with past and future Lake
Ontario CSMI surveys to determine ecosystem
changes over time.
Counting and sorting invasive dreissenid mussels

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Lake Ontario CSMI Contaminants in the Food Web Survey
US EPA GLNPO's Great Lakes Fish Monitoring
and Surveillance Program (GLFMSP) tracks
long-term trends of chemicals in Great
Lakes top predator fish, such as lake trout,
and several other associated ecosystem
components, including water, sediment,
benthic invertebrates, and plankton.
In June 2018, a CSMI survey by US EPA
GLNPO, Clarkson University SUNY Fredonia,
SUNY Oswego, ECCC, USGS, and NOAA's
Mussel Watch Program collected water,
phytoplankton, zooplankton, benthos,
and sediment samples for toxic chemical
analysis at one site in Lake Ontario. Samples
were analyzed for a suite of persistent and
bioaccumulative chemicals and also for
stable isotopes to better identify energy and
contaminant transfer through the food web.

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Lake Erie Dissolved Oxygen Monitoring
During the warm summer months, the central basin of Lake Erie experiences hypoxia, or low
oxygen levels, near the bottom of the lake. Hypoxia has negative implications for both biological
communities and drinking water management. GLNPO has been monitoring dissolved oxygen
(DO) levels in the centra! basin of Lake Erie since 1983 to assess the status and trends of hypoxia
and inform management decisions. The data collected by the Lake Erie DO Monitoring Program
supports hypoxia and ecosystem modeling efforts and may ultimately support management efforts
under the Nutrients Annex of the GLWQA.
GLNPO's Lake Erie DO Monitoring Program measures DO on numerous ship surveys each year.
From May to October 2018, six R/V Lake Guardian surveys and two USGS R/V Muskie surveys
measured DO at 10 long-term sites in the central basin of Lake Erie. In addition, continuous
monitoring with in situ DO and temperature sensors is used to assess hypoxia in between
surveys.
DO sensor deployment
Dissolved
Oxygen
Sensors
Collecting water samples for DO analysis
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Central basin Lake Erie stations sampled on DO surveys
To supplement ship
surveys, two buoys with
DO and temperature
sensors were deployed
until September 2018.
The in situ sensors
provide more detailed
data on the day-to-
day variability of DO
concentrations at their
given location than can
be obtained by discrete
surveys.
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2018 Lake Ontario
Center for Great Lakes
Literacy Shipboard
Science Workshop
Through a collaboration between US EPA GLNPO and
the Great Lakes Sea Grant Network, the R/V Lake
Guardian serves as a floating classroom every summer
for the Center for Great Lakes Literacy (CGLL) Shipboard
Science Workshops. In these workshops, educators
from around the Great Lakes basin set sail on the R/V
Lake Guardian, working side-by-side with scientists,
conducting Great Lakes research and gaining valuable
hands-on experience collecting and processing samples.
After the week-long survey, the educators share their
new Great Lakes science knowledge back in their
classrooms with students from grades 4 through 12.
In July 2018, 14 educators participated
in a week-long immersive workshop
with EPA, University of Buffalo, and
SUNY College of Environmental
Science and Forestry (ESF) scientists.
On Lake Ontario, the educators
collected water, plankton, benthic
invertebrates, and sediment samples
for toxic chemical analyses to
support the GLFMSP. Educators also
collected water samples to investigate
nearshore and offshore differences
in phytoplankton productivity and
microbial and eukaryotic communities.
Post-workshop surveys indicated
that all 14 participants gained new
knowledge and the confidence to
explain Great Lakes concepts to
students and all plan to integrate
these concepts into lesson back in the
classroom.
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"Lake Guardian Live"
Video Chats to
Classrooms
In 2018, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant
coordinated 10 video chats between
R/V Lake Guardian scientists and
students across the Great Lakes
basin, reaching a total of 350 students.
Scientists explained their survey
objectives and research to students
and many fielded questions from the
classrooms.
Public Outreach
There are opportunities each sampling season for
the public and school groups around the Great
Lakes basin to engage first-hand with the R/V Lake
Guardian. In 2018, EPA scientists and the R/V Lake
Guardian crew provided public tours of the ship in
Rochester, Detroit, Sault Saint Marie, and Chicago.
Public groups visited the back deck, Rosette deck,
laboratories, pilot house, and sleeping quarters to get
a glimpse into the life of R/V Lake Guardian scientists
and learn about EPA's mission to monitor and protect
the Great Lakes.
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Shrinking Cups
Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant collected 246
Polystyrene cups from 772 students
representing 28 classrooms from
across the Great Lakes basin for the
Incredible Shrinking Cup Experiment
(https://iiseagrant.org/water-boyles-
over-for-teachers-on-lake-guardian).
Measured and decorated cups were
attached to the Rosette water sampler
and deployed to the bottom of the
deepest Lake Superior station (SU08).
This experiment helps teach the
concepts of Boyle's Law by illustrating
how the cups change in size due to
high pressure at the bottom of the
lakes.

*|v uw

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2018 R/V	Lake Guar Schedule
March
Training & survey preparation
Spring Survey begins
April
Spring Survey continued
Chicago, IL public tours
May
Lake Ontario CSMI LOLA survey I
June
2 Lake Erie DO surveys
Lake Ontario CSMI LOLA Survey II
Lake Ontario CSMI contaminants survey
Rochester, NY public tours
July
Lake Erie DO survey
Lake Ontario CGLL Shipboard Science
Workshop
August
Summer Survey
Detroit, Ml public tours
Sault St. Marie, Ml public tours
September
Lake Erie DO survey
Lake Ontario CSMI benthos survey
Lake Ontario CSMI LOLA survey III
October
Lake Erie DO survey
Nov. - Feb. 2019
Ship & equipment maintenance
2019 survey preparation

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2018 R/V	Lake Guardian Surveys in Numbers
397
sampling
locations
> 10,000
miles
traveled
495
rosette
casts
472
zooplankton
tows
633
Ponar
grabs
76 hours
underwater
video
580 L water
pumped for
contaminants
To learn more about the R/V Lake Guardian, visit https://www.epa.gov/great-lakes-monitoring/lake-
guardian. Additional information about GLNPO's Great Lakes monitoring programs is available at
https://www.epa.aov/areat-lakes-monitorina. Data from the limnology, biology, and contaminant
monitoring programs can be accessed through the Great Lakes Environmental Database (GLENDA)
at https://cdx.epa.gov/.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We gratefully acknowledge the support of all GLNPO monitoring program cooperators.
GLNPO has cooperative agreements with Cornell University (Department of Natural
Resources) and Buffalo State College under Agreement Award GL-00E01184 "Great
Lakes Long-term Biological Monitoring of Zooplankton, Benthos, and Chlorophyll-a"
and with Regents of the University of Minnesota under Agreement Awards GL-
00E23101-2 and GL-00E01980 "Great Lakes Biological Monitoring: Phytoplankton."
GLNPO also has a cooperative agreement with Clarkson University under Agreement
Award GL-00E01505 "The Great Lakes Fish Monitoring and Surveillance Program."
General Dynamics Information Technology supports monitoring programs under EPA
Contract No. EPC-15-012: "Technical, Analytical, and Regulatory Mission Support
for the Water Security Division." GLNPO and the Department of Health and Human
Services Federal Occupational Health Lab have an interagency agreement under
DW075959351 "Analysis, Interpretation, and Data Management of Great Lakes Water
for Inorganic Chemicals." We are also thankful for the hard work and dedication of the
ship's crew from Cetacean Marine.
Cover photo credit: Michael Milligan, SUNY Fredonia
U.S. EPA Great Lakes National Program Office
77 W Jackson Blvd
Chicago, IL 60604
312-353-2117
www.epa.gov/greatlakes

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