Keweenaw Interdisciplinary Transport Experiment in Superior 20 investigators 8 institutions 5-year $5.4 million.

Keweenaw InterdisciplinaryTransport Experiment in Superior

20 investigators8 institutions

5-year$5.4 million

Seeking a quantitative understanding of processes dominating the transport, transformation and fate of biologically, chemically and geologically important matter on the continental margins, including the margins of large lakes.

CoOP

Project Goals

Exploring physical processes (e.g. longshore currents and thermal fronts) mediating cross-margin transport of materials discharged to and generated within the nearshore waters of Lake Superior.

KITES

The Thermal Bar

Hypothesis: the thermal bar representsa barrier to offshore mass transport ...

Thermal Bar

The Keweenaw Current

Hypothesis: the current can retard, re-direct and/or accelerate offshore mass transport ...

Thermal Bar

KITES Project Organization

• physical processes

• sediment transport

• chemical gradients

• biological communities

• remote sensing

• mathematical modeling

… each exploring the role of physical processes in mediating cross-margin transport

Study Site on Lake Study Site on Lake SuperiorSuperior

ON

HN

EH

Keweenaw Peninsula

TributaryDischarges

Dr. Marty Auer, Dr. Judy Buddand Tom Gatzke

“The Ontonagon River and the Thermal Bar”

0

10

20

30

TS

S L

oad

(10

3 MT

∙d-1

)

TributaryDischarges

98 97 91 94 92 96 938995 90

9298 93 91 95 90 94 89 97 96

Spring

Runoff

Event

Thermal

Bar

Formation

15 Mar 1 Apr 15 Apr 1 May 15 May 1 Jun

TributaryDischarges

0.0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0-->10 10-->20 20-->30 30-->40 40-->50

% of TSS Load Remaining

Fre

qu

ency

TributaryDischarges

4-20-1998

Remote sensing reflectance at 555 nm

Plankton

Dr. Marty Auer, Laura Bub, and Kim Elenbaas

Dr. Judy Budd and Dave Osterberg

“Dynamics and Distribution”

Bacterioplankton

HN 010 1999

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

A M J J A S O

HN 050 1999

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

A M J J A S O

HN 210 1999

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

A M J J A S O

(10

6 c

ells·m

L-1)

HN 010 1999

0.00.10.20.30.40.5

A M J J A S O

HN 050 1999

0.00.10.20.30.40.5

A M J J A S O

HN 210 1999

0.00.10.20.30.40.5

A M J J A S O(mg

C·m

-3·h

-1)

“Seasonal Dynamics”

Phytoplankton “Mixed Layer Depth”

Chlorophyll Temperature

Phytoplankton Deep Chlorophyll Maximum

Chlorophyll Temperature

Zooplankton

ChlorophyllTemperature Zooplankton

Vertical Distribution

Phytoplankton Remote Sensing

7-15-2000

Chlorophyll a (µg/L)

ZooplanktonDr. Charles Kerfoot

“Resurrection Ecology”

http://www.joensuu.fi/matemluonto/biologia/ekotox/kirppu.html

Zooplankton0 250 500

KeweenawBay

Daphnia mendotaeDaphnia retrocurva

1945

1930

1900

BenthosJason Kahn, Dr. Nancy Auer,Dr. Marty Auer, and Dr. Noel

Urban

“Organic carbon fluxand Diporeia distribution”

C

Benthos

Offshore Distance (km)

0

25

50

75

100

125

150

175

200

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 20

Dep

th (

m)

0

2

4

6

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20

Offshore Distance (km)

Dip

ore

ia (

#/m

2)

Benthos

Offshore Distance (km)

0

25

50

75

100

125

150

175

200

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 20

Dep

th (

m)

Depth

% S

ilt a

nd C

lay

Benthos

Offshore Distance (km)

0

25

50

75

100

125

150

175

200

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 20

Dep

th (

m)

0.11

0.24

0.05gOC•m-2 •d-1

Larval FishJason Oyadomari and Dr. Nancy

Auer“Distribution of Larval Lake Herring in Relation to the

Keweenaw Current”

Larval Fish

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18

1000

100

10

1

Distance from Shore (km)# o

f La

ke H

err

ing L

arv

ae ∙

100

0 m

-3

21 May 2000 – Surface Waters

Houghton Transect

Ontonagon Transect

Larval FishGene Mensch and Dr. Nancy Auer

“Dispersal of Larval Fish at Eagle River”

Larval Fish

Mouth 1 km North1 km South

Catostomidae

Mouth 1 km North1 km South

Cyprinidae

7 July 2002Night Seining

Larvae per 20m2

Seine Haul

200

100

0

80

40

0

Carbon Cyclingand Energy Flow

Dr. Noel Urban, Dr. Marty Auer,and Dr. Sarah Green

“A Carbon Budget for Lake Superior”

Falls Photo Copyright 1993 [email protected]

CO2 CH2O

Photosynthesis (150)Tributaries (7)

Dissolved (150,000)

Particulate (8,000)

Respiration (1,100)Settling (20)

MicrobialAssimilation

(100)

Offshore, stratified conditionsStanding Crop (mg•m-2), Transfer Rates (mg•m-

2 •d-1)

Carbon Cyclingand Energy Flow

Photolysis (?)

Fish Community Objectives for Lake Superior

Goals and Guiding Principles

• the ecosystem must be managed within the bounds of its biological productivity

• the ecosystem must be managed based on science

• fish habitats must be protected

• ability to manage fish communities is limited

y’all come see!

Conclusion:

22-24 May 2002

www.iaglr.org/superior

Abstract Deadline: 12 April 2002

Email addresses of investigators cited here:

[email protected]@[email protected]@[email protected]@mtu.edu