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May 31, 2017

Sunset at the deepest point in Lake Superior

Sunset at the deepest point in Lake Superior during the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System chief scientist training cruise onboard the R/V Blue Heron.

More about this image
University of Minnesota Duluth's Andrew Barnard did his UNOLS chief scientist training onboard the R/V Blue Heron. UNOLS is a collaborative program between the National Science Foundation and the Office of Naval Research. The trip provided Barnard with the opportunity to measure background noise in Lake Michigan and Lake Superior as well as how ship noise interacts with ambient noise in deep water.

During the trip, Barnard and other researchers performed a number of tasks. Barnard used data acquisition equipment including several hydrophones (underwater microphones), microphones and accelerometers to record the ambient deep-water sounds simultaneously with sounds and vibration in the ship’s engine compartment to separate the noise from the ship with that from natural surroundings.

Barnard also deployed a conductivity-temperature-density (CTD) probe at several science stations located in lakes Michigan and Superior and collected mud (in 2-foot-deep columns) from the lake bottom at several depths. Once on deck, the cores of mud were partitioned into 1-centimeter segments and bagged for further analysis. Later, data collected from the different locations was compared in contrast to each other.

You can read a blog by Barnard about his trip Here. (Date image taken: June 2016; date originally posted to NSF Multimedia Gallery: May 31, 2017)

Credit: Dr. Andrew R. Barnard, Michigan Technological University

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