scientists

By Clara Lincolnhol 

Online rumors are swirling that a comet from another solar system might be a UFO — but Michigan State University researchers say that’s pure speculation. It’s definitely a comet, they insist, with no credible reason to believe otherwise. 

The post Scientists debunk UFO claims about rare interstellar comet  first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.

As whitefish disappear from the lower Great Lakes, scientists are hatching emergency rescue plans. One idea being floated is to take fish out of the lakes and raise them indefinitely […]

While the discovery of a wooden schooner hidden beneath the depths of Lake Michigan for nearly 140 years is noteworthy on its own, it also was the first time citizen […]

In one of the most polluted parts of Lake Michigan, whitefish are thriving. Some people wonder if we should try to replicate that environment elsewhere to save the iconic species. But that could mean doing something untested and controversial.

By Rachel Lewis  

The Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians' Natural Resources Department has been working to conserve the threatened wood turtle. Their top team member is Mooz, a 9-year-old labradoodle who has been helping his owner, Bill Parsons, find wood turtles for the past five years.

The post Mooz the dog helps scientists study threatened turtles   first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.

Lake Superior State University students are conducting one of the first studies to replicate real oil spill conditions in large mesocosms to potentially change how scientists respond to oil spills […]

Lake Superior is the lone holdout in a mussel invasion that has overtaken every other Great Lake, a salvation credited to low calcium levels, cold water, and relative isolation. But […]

By Maya Moore 
If Congress approves President Donald Trump’s proposal to cut hundreds of millions of dollars from the operations and science budget of the U.S. Geological Survey, the scale and intensity of Great Lakes environmental restoration will be significantly diminished, experts say.   Among the programs that could be dismantled entirely is the 70-year-old program to control sea lampreys, an exotic parasitic fish that attacks game fish and has caused billions of dollars in damage to Great Lakes fisheries.

The post Trump’s budget would devastate sea lamprey control in Great Lakes first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.

A malfunctioning research buoy from the Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve in Superior, Wisconsin, was rescued by the RV Blue Heron during a July trip shared by several area […]

By Rachel Lewis 
Michigan environmental officials found 1,4-dioxane, a toxic chemical, in six residential water wells in Scio Township during annual state testing. The dioxane, coming from the Gelman Plume, ranged between 0.33 to 0.86 parts per billion (ppb), well under the state Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy’s (EGLE) drinking water limit of 7.2 ppb. Although the state says the water is safe, some advocates for a more aggressive plume cleanup say the new detection suggests the plume is moving north. They say it could be dangerous if it reaches Barton Pond, Ann Arbor’s main water source.

The post Toxic chemical from Gelman Plume found in water wells in Scio Township, Michigan  first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.

Microplastics are everywhere, including the Great Lakes. They come in many forms but are typically smaller than 5 millimeters. Scientists are concerned about their impact on human health. The Michigan […]

While docked after studying algae blooms in lakes Erie and Superior, the crew of the Great Lakes research vessel Blue Heron noticed a black, tar-like substance oozing from the rudder […]