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C. William Swank Program OHIO SEA GRANT AND STONE LABORATORY Lake Erie Critical Issues and Current Research Endeavors Dr. Kristen M. DeVanna Fussell Ohio Sea Grant College Program November 19th, 2014 OHIO SEA GRANT AND STONE LABORATORY Critical Issues 1. Sediment and Dredging ‒ 750K of seds from Maumee ‒ Raised homes in Toledo and Ag fields 2. Monitoring of HABs OHIO SEA GRANT AND STONE LABORATORY Critical Issues 3. Deadzone (CB and WB) ‒ Linked to HABs o Where do blooms go? o Internal loading (WB) OHIO SEA GRANT AND STONE LABORATORY Critical Issues 4. Nutrient management issues ‒ Less point …. now non-point (dissolved) ‒ Nature of the problem has changes 5. Climate Change (Heidelberg data) ‒ All decisions within different framework http://esciencenews.com OHIO SEA GRANT AND STONE LABORATORY Critical Issues 6. Coastal and Economic Development ‒ Relationship with OH tourism ~12 of 40b 7. Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Photos courtesy of http://m.cedarpoint.com OHIO SEA GRANT AND STONE LABORATORY • Bench-scale evaluation of in-situ ultrasonic remediation of contaminated sediments (Weavers and Lenhart at OSU) • Beneficial reuse of dredged material (Dayton and Fiksel at OSU; also OHSG Task Force) • Methane release associated with hypoxia/anoxia vs. natural underground deposits (Townsend at U of Cinn) • Hypoxia and internal loading in Lake Erie (OHSG) OHIO SEA GRANT AND STONE LABORATORY • Rick Stumpf and NOAA….HABs forecasting ability ‒ Calibration and validation experiments to produce satellitebased spectral algorithms to measure biological and geochemical water constituents; Adem (C of Charleston) and Ortiz (Kent State) ‒ Establishing sources of phosphorus promoting toxic HABs using gene expression; Gobler and Harke at SUNY Stony OHIO SEA GRANT AND STONE LABORATORY • Mapping drain tile and modeling agricultural contribution to nonpoint source pollution in the western Lake Erie basin (University of Toledo) • Understanding dam removal impacts on a formerly prolific Great Lake’s walleye population (ODNR) OHIO SEA GRANT AND STONE LABORATORY One of the Most Important Lakes in the World • Dead lake image of 60s and 70s; poster child for pollution problems in US • Also best example of ecosystem recovery in world • EPA est. on Dec 2nd, 1970 • 1st Earth Day on April 22nd, 1970 • Clean Water Act of 1972 Photos courtesy of Cleveland Press Collection at Cleveland State University Library and Wikipedia OHIO SEA GRANT AND STONE LABORATORY Lake Erie Stats • Shared by 4 states and 2 countries • Drinking water for 11 million people • Houses over 20 power plants (greatest water use) • Houses 300 marinas in Ohio alone • Walleye Capital of the World • 40% of all Great Lakes charter boats • Also, Ohio’s charter boat industry is largest in North America • $1.5 billion sport fishery • The most valuable freshwater commercial fishery in the world • Coastal tourism value is over $12 billion (~40) Photos courtesy of http://enformable.com Photo courtesy of Grave Yard Rabbit of Sandusky Bay Photos courtesy of http://m.cedarpoint.com OHIO SEA GRANT AND STONE LABORATORY Setting the Stage for HABs OHIO SEA GRANT AND STONE LABORATORY Great Lakes Land Use Image: Ohio Sea Grant Great Lakes Land Use Continued 100% 10% 90% Least 80% 70% 60% 2nd 50% 40% 30% 1st 20% 10% 1st 0% Superior Residential Michigan Cropland Huron Pasture Erie Forest Ontario Brush/Wetland OHIO SEA GRANT AND STONE LABORATORY Because of Land Use Lake Erie Gets….. • More sediment and nutrients (i.e., fertilizers and sewage) than all the other Great Lakes • Above are exacerbated by storms ‐ We are seeing more frequent and severe storms due to climate change ‐ Data to come …. • Don’t forget, it is also the shallowest (sunlight) • As a result Lake Erie is the most productive of the Great Lakes, and always will be!! OHIO SEA GRANT AND STONE LABORATORY 50:2 Rule (Not exact, but instructive) Lake Superior: 50% of the water and 2% of the fish OHIO SEA GRANT AND STONE LABORATORY 50:2 Rule (Not exact, but instructive) Lake Erie: 2% of the water and 50% of the fish OHIO SEA GRANT AND STONE LABORATORY 80:10:10 Rule • 80% of water from upper lakes • 10% from Lake Erie tributaries • 10% direct precipitation The Maumee River • ~5% of all LE tributary water • YET 50% of LE phosphorous !!