Ensuring we have the best scientific information possible to inform our decisions is a key part of our work to protect the Great Lakes.
The Great Lakes Guardian is one of two Ministry of the Environment research vessels that regularly patrol the lakes The crew collect samples of water, as well as sediment, fish and other aquatic life. The vessel is equipped with an onboard laboratory and state-of-the-art equipment – samplers, underwater video, computer modelling programs, and sensors – to provide either a snapshot, or real-time information about water, sediment composition, and the health of aquatic life.
This year, the Guardian crew has been paying extra attention to the nearshore, the area two to three kilometres from the shoreline that is critical to the aquatic ecosystem and where we get much of our drinking water.
One of the Guardian’s tasks this summer is looking at water quality along the urbanized parts of Lake Ontario’s shorelines and tributaries. This project will use underwater video to look at what role aquatic invasive species like zebra and quagga mussels play in the growth of algae.
The Guardian will also be in the western end of Lake Erie, focussing on the blue-green algae blooms that occur in late summer and fall. This is all part of an effort to track down sources of contaminants that contribute to this increasingly large-scale problem.
The Guardian will be in Lake Ontario doing baseline water and sediment quality monitoring at sites that are part of the Great Lakes Index Station Network. Periodic sampling at this network of 60 sites across the Great Lakes helps to identify and track over time water quality trends in the deeper reaches of the lakes.
