Researchers to study the winter mysteries of the Great Lakes ecosystem

Dozens of researchers from across Canada and the U.S. are embarking on a first-of-its-kind study in the Great Lakes region this week to uncover the mysteries of what lies beneath the surface during the winter months.

The event dubbed the “Winter Grab” involves bi-national scientists from several institutions including the University of Windsor to fill the knowledge gaps of what takes place in the largest source of fresh water in the world year-round.

“It’s the black box of the Great Lakes ecosystem,” says executive director of the Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research (GLIER) Mike McKay. “What’s happening under the ice?”

McKay was joined by environment professor Ken Drouillard, and GLIER field technician Aaron Newhook on Tuesday to collect water, ice and light penetration samples from Mitchell’s Bay on Lake St. Clair.

Researchers collecting samples for a study to uncover the mysteries of what lies beneath the surface during the winter on Lake St. Clair in Mitchell’s Bay, Ont. on Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. (Chris Campbell/CTV Windsor)

Nets were also dropped to collect plankton.

Samples from all five Great Lakes as well as Lake St. Clair are being gathered in the coordinated campaign that typically takes place during warmer, open water seasons.

“We’ve had a number of one-off efforts to do some winter science on the lakes, but to see a coordinated binational effort like this is really exciting,” McKay says.

McKay says collecting Great Lake samples in the winter doesn’t typically happen for various logistical reasons, including a lack of safe platforms and the winter elements.

“I think there was a notion that maybe not much is happening, that things go dormant. It’s cold, it’s often dark, especially snow-covered ice,” he says. “As long as there’s light that can penetrate through the ice into the water, there’s going to be life.”

Researchers collecting samples for a study to uncover the mysteries of what lies beneath the surface during the winter on Lake St. Clair in Mitchell’s Bay, Ont. on Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. (Chris Campbell/CTV Windsor)

McKay explains to better predict the effect of declining ice cover, there needs to be a comprehensive understanding of the winter season.

“Colleagues who were sampling Green Bay yesterday in Wisconsin, they came up with green water,” he says. “We typically think of these blue-green algae being a summertime phenomenon, but increasingly we’re starting to see some forms of them actually persist in the winter.”

McKay tells CTV News ice on the Great Lakes is important, noting there’s been a 71 per cent decrease in ice coverage on the Great Lakes over the last 50 years.

McKay believes the Winter Grab is a chance to highlight the importance of the winter ecosystem and the importance of ice.

“We’re starting to see some interest from federal and provincial agencies to start winter monitoring programs as part of their agency monitoring so really exciting on that front to see the interest so we’re hoping to parlay that interest and build on it with this event this week,” he says.

Researchers collecting samples for a study to uncover the mysteries of what lies beneath the surface during the winter on Lake St. Clair in Mitchell’s Bay, Ont. on Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. (Chris Campbell/CTV Windsor)