Submersible Data Logger

Leading up to the 21st century, the United States supported decades of dam construction in major waterways across the country. Many of these dams were hydroelectric facilities built in order to provide energy to nearby towns and cities. Unfortunately, these dams deteriorated the surrounding environment and harmed aquatic life. Many of these dams cut off […]

When the Okeechobee and the Caloosahatchee River were connected by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in the 1880s, the region underwent a variety of environmental changes. While water control locks were installed in the 1930s and 1960s, the Sanibel area in Southwest Florida still suffered from deteriorating water quality due to runoff […]

In 2022, Otsego Lake in New York became one of many lakes to experience its first cyanobacterial bloom. While the cause is still unknown, the blooms may be an indicator of various water quality issues resulting from invasive species, runoff events or other environmental stressors. To get to the bottom of the mystery, Kiyoko Yokota, […]

The Lacawac Sanctuary and Biological Field Station overseen by Miami University’s Center for Aquatic and Watershed Sciences is home to lots of exciting research projects. Its namesake, Lake Lacawac, is part of the Global Lakes Ecological Observatory Network, an expansive group of scientists worldwide who study how lakes respond to environmental change. Because of that […]

Near the small town of Concrete, Washington, there’s a dam on the Lower Baker River holding back its water. The dam is owned by Puget Sound Energy, a company that delivers electric power and natural gas to customers in the U.S. Northwest. For some time, the hydrology surrounding the dam has been of interest to […]

The Penobscot River is at the heart of Penobscot Indian culture. For hundreds of years, the tribe has looked on it as a source for food and medicine, as well as a means of transportation. But in recent years, algal blooms have gotten worse in the river, believed to be caused by phosphorus discharges from […]

Lake Erie is described by many as the "walleye capital of the world," but dwindling populations of the fish pose a concern for Great Lakes fishermen. The region's multi-billion-dollar commercial and recreational fishing industry relies heavily on walleye, and the last major walleye hatch in Lake Erie occurred in 2003. Hatch sizes since then have […]

Sediment in the Spring Creek Arm of the Keswick Reservoir in California previously contained high concentrations of copper and zinc, the source of which was contaminated runoff from the Iron Mountain Mine Superfund Site. In order to protect the downstream Sacramento River ecosystem, which is a valuable commercial fishery and critical habitat for several endangered […]

Along the seafloor of Lake Huron, there are several karst sinkhole formations through which groundwater enters the lake bottom and carries with it remnants of an ancient sea. A team from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary and Institute for Exploration first discovered evidence of the sinkholes by accident in […]

The Beartooth Mountains, within the central U.S. Rockies, are home to more than 3,000 mountaintop lakes. Because of their high altitudes (between 5,000 and 11,000 feet) and the resulting extreme cold and deep snowpack, the lakes stay frozen for up to 10 months per year. These climate conditions make the lakes sensitive to external environmental […]