Institute Profile: The Large Lakes Observatory and the Scientific Study of the Large Lakes of Earth

Abstract

On a hillside overlooking Lake Superior (Fig. 1), the world's most extensive body of fresh water, sits the Large Lakes Observatory (LLO; http://www.d.umn.edu/llo/), a research institute dedicated to the interdisciplinary study of large lakes throughout the world. LLO strives to understand how large lakes function, how they behaved in the past, and how they will respond to environmental changes in the coming years. Earth's largest lakes are immensely valuable to humankind as reservoirs of fresh water and biodiversity. For example, only five lakes hold over 50% of Earth's liquid, surface, fresh water. Earth's large lakes shape the culture of the societies around them and provide valuable ecosystem services to them. Scientific study on large lakes requires specialized tools and uses approaches from oceanography and other fields. LLO houses the necessary infrastructure and maintains the expertise needed to conduct state-of-the-art research on these vast inland seas. LLO scientists have carried out major expeditions to the great lakes of the East African Rift Valley, Lake Issyk Kul in central Asia, Lake Nicaragua, Lake Qinghai in China, Great Slave Lake in the Canadian Arctic, as well as to smaller lakes throughout the world. At the same time, Lake Superior as headwaters of the Laurentian Great Lakes continues to be a focus. The combination of its oceanographic approach and its global perspective on large lakes makes LLO unique among limnological research institutes in the world. The University of Minnesota Duluth is located on 244 acres overlooking Lake Superior and has a combined enrollment of over 11,000 students. The Twin Ports of Duluth-Superior is a hot bed of aquatic science. In addition to LLO, major research programs in the area are located at the Midcontinent EPA lab, the Natural Resource Research Institute, and Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve, and other UMD departments. Minnesota Sea Grant provides funding and is heavily engaged in outreach. Close ties also exist with Twin Cities institutions, including the University of Minnesota. The St. Louis River, which empties into the Duluth-Superior harbor (upper right of this photo) is the largest U.S. water source to Lake Superior and is the site of a major ecological restoration project. From public UMD Flickr account. The idea of creating an institute focused on large lakes studies at the University of Minnesota Duluth began in 1988 with a “Lake Superior Water Policy Conference” held in downtown Duluth. An “Institute for Lake Superior Research” was subsequently founded using further state support and was led by Professor Bob Carlson of UMD. In 1994, Professor Tom Johnson was recruited to lead the new unit. Its name was then changed to “Large Lakes Observatory” and its mission was broadened to its current global focus. Faculty were hired in geochemistry, physical dynamics, and acoustic remote sensing. During the next ten years, LLO grew in size and impact, and it maintained a strong focus on geophysical sciences because that was a unique and undercapitalized niche in lake science. In those years, African studies were integrated into the IDEAL (International Decade for East African Lakes) umbrella program, which was funded by NSF, headquartered in LLO, and promoted a highly successful international effort of research and training, involving scientists and students from North America, Europe, and Africa. In 2004, Professor Steve Colman was recruited as LLO's next Director, and through the following decade LLO grew further in personnel and broadened its disciplinary attention. Faculty were hired in physical dynamics, biology and limnology, carbon cycling, microbial processes, and biogeochemistry. During this time, LLO began a major involvement with the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP), in its efforts to drill and recover cores from the sediments beneath many of the world's largest lakes. LLO's reach continues to expand under the current Director Robert Sterner. LLO today is larger and more diverse than ever. About half of LLO's faculty were recruited to UMD less than 3 yr ago, and five Assistant Professors in diverse fields have brought new ideas and energy. The current faculty of LLO (Table 1) have joint research and teaching appointments in disciplinary departments in the Swenson College of Science and Engineering at UMD. LLO also is expanding its horizons and including social and economic research in its projects. It is a recognized center in the Laurentian Great Lakes for its work with gliders and other autonomous platforms. All LLO personnel are housed in a single building a short walk away from UMD's main campus; this setting promotes interdisciplinary thinking and approaches, which are very much in LLO's “DNA.” In addition to its research focus, LLO faculty are dedicated to teaching, outreach, and service. Graduate students from the U.S. and around the world are a mainstay of LLO research, as part of their pursuit of M.S. or Ph.D. degrees in various disciplines. LLO's vibrant graduate program, which has attracted students or post-docs from Chile, China, France, Germany, Ghana, Iran, Kenya, Malawi, Malaysia, Mozambique, Nepal, the Netherlands, Russia, Switzerland, Tanzania, and Uganda, also provides unique research opportunities to undergraduates. LLO faculty are currently producing a first-year graduate student curriculum in Limnology based on active learning and flipped instruction, and including a capstone experience working with a local private partner (Fig. 2). A “StudyWater.org” web site is being developed that will host this teaching content, which will be freely available at a later date. LLO is committed to outreach programs that connect scientists with the public. Its outreach is varied and diverse, intertwined with the vast network of Great Lakes interest groups, forums, and advisory organizations. The “Science on Deck” community program, operated from the deck of the Research Vessel Blue Heron while in port, has been especially well-received. The nearby Great Lakes Aquarium, which hosts 140,000 visitors annually, features the RV Blue Heron and its work in a brand new exhibit entitled “Unsalted Seas.” LLO scientists are often seen or heard on TV and radio programs. On a recent cruise first-year LLO graduate students were instructed by LLO faculty as part of an introductory graduate student curriculum in limnology. In this scene, a core just obtained from the bottom of Lake Superior has been extruded and split. Photo by S. Katsev. A key component of the LLO's activities is the operation of the RV Blue Heron, the only member of the U.S. UNOLS fleet to operate in the Great Lakes (Fig. 3). UNOLS is the University National Oceanographic Laboratory System—the academic fleet that includes larger ships at places like the Scripps and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institutions. Not only is the RV Blue Heron the only member of the UNOLS fleet on the Great Lakes, it meets stringent UNOLS safety standards and is arguably the best-equipped research vessel for its diversity of capabilities on the Great Lakes. The RV Blue Heron has hosted a series of Chief Scientist Training cruises in the past several years where students, postdocs, and new faculty have had an opportunity to participate in joint operations while learning how to plan and execute cruises on ships. In addition to its research vessel, LLO operates an unusually well-equipped set of analytical laboratories at its “home on the hill,” the last remaining building on the original UMD campus. These labs are productive generators of data for aquatic biology, chemistry, physics, and geology. LLO operates the largest university-owned research vessel in the Great Lakes, the R/V Blue Heron. She is outfitted with state-of-the-art research equipment and has berthing for 11 crew and scientists. The Blue Heron is available to work throughout the Great Lakes and is part of the University National Oceanographic Laboratory System. For information, contact the marine superintendent, Dr. Doug Ricketts at ricketts@d.umn.edu. Photo credit: Brett Groehler, Director of Photography, University of Minnesota Duluth Robert Sterner, Director, Large Lakes Observatory, Univ. of Minnesota Duluth, Duluth, Minnesota; stern007@d.umn.edu Steve Colman, Professor Emeritus, Large Lakes Observatory, Univ. of Minnesota Duluth, Duluth, Minnesota Thomas Johnson, Regents Professor Emeritus, Large Lakes Observatory, Univ. of Minnesota Duluth, Duluth, Minnesota