Table of Contents

• Coverage
• Dataset Description
  • Methods & Sampling
  • Data Processing Description
  • BCO-DMO Processing Description
• Data Files
• Supplemental Files
• Related Publications
• Parameters
• Instruments
• Deployments
• Project Information
• Funding

Lake Erie Center for Fresh Waters and Human Health

The Lake Erie Center for Fresh Waters and Human Health is a five-year, multi-institutional effort aimed at understanding the environmental factors and ongoing changes that influence the growth and toxicity of cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (cHABs) in Lake Erie. The Center will support three research projects. Specifically these projects address the following aims: first, how environmental cues promote or constrain the proliferation of cHAB species in mixed populations; second, how environmental cues influence toxin production by cHAB species; third, how other member of the microbial assemblage influence cHAB growth and toxicity. The Center will provide a Community Engagement Core to lead outreach activities that will inform the general public on the effects of cHABs by efforts that include: (1) a community engaged scholarship training for scientists associated with the Center, (2) community-engaged scholarship training for practitioners or community members associated with the Center, and (3) a stakeholder needs assessment for Great Lakes and environmental health literacy to inform general outreach information needs. A citizen science engagement with charter boat captains will further develop a near real-time database on cHAB severity in Lake Erie, and the Facilities Core will provide metadata that not only serve the three stated research projects, but also yield a database available to all Great Lakes scientists. The outcomes are to involve community stakeholders and researchers in the Great Lakes on issues regarding human health, climate change and awareness of threats to our fresh water resources.

The vessel will come to a stop when the predetermined sampling station is reached, at a time decided on by the ship's command. The location and time of sampling will be recorded, as well as the environmental conditions. The trained crew members of the vessel will then use a YSI water quality sonde to collect data and that will be recorded. A Secchi disc with measurement indicators every 10 centimeters will then be deployed and recordings will be taken on both the upcast and downcast. A Van Dorn water sampler will then be used to collect water at a depth of 1 meter. Water samples are then transferred to 1 L polyethylene storage bottles or 2 L plastic storage bottles, and stored in a dark place at 4 ^oC until picked up by personnel on the same day. The samples will then be transported in coolers containing ice packs to Bowling Green State University (BGSU). Samples were also collected from Sandpoint Beach and Mitchell's Bay locations using the same methods and observational conventions. 

Sub-samples for chlorophyll a will be taken at BGSU using 0.4 um polycarbonate membranes and a vacuum filtration system. The filter will be placed in a screw cap polyethylene centrifuge tube and stored in a dark freezer until extraction. The samples will be extracted using 90% acetone and kept at -20 ^oC for 24 hours, and chlorophyll will be measured using a TD-700 fluorometer (Welschmeyer, 1994).

Total and dissolved nutrient samples will be held in acid-washed 250 mL polyethylene bottles, and stored in a dark freezer at -20 ^oC until they are ready to be analyzed. Dissolved nutrient sub-samples will be taken by filtering the agitated sampled water through 0.22 um filters. The data will then be shipped to the National Center for Water Quality Research at Heidelberg University (Tiffin, OH).

The meteorological data was taken directly from readings using vessel instruments, marine forecasts, and expert observations. The physico-chemical data was obtained using a YSI 600QS multiparameter sonde, and nutrient concentrations were analyzed at the National Center for Water Quality Research at Heidelberg University. Fluorometric classification of phytoplankton was measured using a FluoroProbe (bbe Moldaenke GmbH, Schwentinental, Germany), and plankton taxonomic classification and cell enumeration was conducted by Aquatic Taxonomy Specialists (Malinta, OH). The extractive chlorophyll was read using a TD-700 Fluorometer (Turner Designs Inc., San Jose, CA), the sample concentrations were then calculated with the equation below, and the averages for each site were calculated from the triplicate samples.

Chla = ((reading*volume_extracted)/volume_filtered)* dilution factor

- imported "Winter_Lake_Erie_2024_Metadata.csv" and "Winter_Lake_Erie_2024_Deployments.csv" into BCO DMO system
- combined "Date" and "Time" to create "ISO_DateTime_UTC" field in ISO UTC format in "Winter_Lake_Erie_2024_Metadata.csv"
- modified parameter names to conform with BCO-DMO system requirements for all files
- replaced "," with "." in one "pH" value in "Winter_Lake_Erie_2024_Metadata.csv"
- exported "940112_v1_lake_erie_winter_survey_2023-2024.csv" as main datafile and "winter_lake_erie_2023-2024_deployments.csv" as supplemental file

NSF Award Abstract:
The Lake Erie Center for Fresh Waters and Human Health is a five-year, multi-institutional effort aimed at understanding the environmental factors and ongoing changes that influence the growth and toxicity of cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (cHABs) in Lake Erie. The Center will support three research projects. Specifically these projects address the following aims: first, how environmental cues promote or constrain the proliferation of cHAB species in mixed populations; second, how environmental cues influence toxin production by cHAB species; third, how other member of the microbial assemblage influence cHAB growth and toxicity. The Center will provide a Community Engagement Core to lead outreach activities that will inform the general public on the effects of cHABs by efforts that include: (1) a community engaged scholarship training for scientists associated with the Center, (2) community-engaged scholarship training for practitioners or community members associated with the Center, and (3) a stakeholder needs assessment for Great Lakes and environmental health literacy to inform general outreach information needs. A citizen science engagement with charter boat captains will further develop a near real-time database on cHAB severity in Lake Erie, and the Facilities Core will provide metadata that not only serve the three stated research projects, but also yield a database available to all Great Lakes scientists. The outcomes are to involve community stakeholders and researchers in the Great Lakes on issues regarding human health, climate change and awareness of threats to our fresh water resources.

The Center is jointly supported by NSF and by the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS).

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.