UMD Large Lakes Observatory

07/16/2026

Your attention please: The July 17 Science on Deck on the R/V Blue Heron in the Duluth Harbor is cancelled due to wild fire smoke in the area causing unhealthy conditions.

*Future date for the next Science on Deck is Friday August 28, 2026

07/07/2026

Science on Deck July 17 from 11a - 3p:
Collaboration with the Duluth Public Library for "Libraries Love Lakes". The R/V Blue Heron will be tied-up, open to the public at the DECC harbor front near the Great Lakes Aquarium. Free tours of the research vessel, science displays, two local authors will be aboard with their lake related published writings. Alex Messenger at 1130am and Margi Preus at 130pm.

06/24/2026

Science on Deck - Friday June 26, 2026 on the R/V Blue Heron. Free and open to the public tours and presentations! Location: Pier B Resort from 11a - 3p! Hope to see you there!

Science on Deck 2026 aboard the R/V Blue Heron!

Tours of the research vessel by faculty, staff, students and crew. Free and open to the public from 11am - 3pm with an informative lake presentation by one of our Large Lakes Observatory scientists on the deck at 130pm. Welcome aboard!

*26June - R/V Blue Heron will tie-up at Pier B Resort w/Catherine O'Reilly at 130p
*17July - R/V Blue Heron will tie-up at the DECC harborside near the Great Lakes Aquarium - this one is a special collaboration with the Duluth Public Libraries "Libraries Love Lakes" with guest author appearance
*28August - R/V Blue Heron will tie-up at the DECC harborside near the Great Lakes Aquarium w/Craig Hill at 130p
*18September - R/V Blue Heron will tie-up at the DECC harborside near the Great Lakes Aquarium w/Ted Ozersky at 130p

06/09/2026

What does life look like ~210 meters deep in Lake Superior? 🐟

Professor Jay Austin recently attached a GoPro to a CTD and lowered it to the lakebed offshore of Two Harbors, MN. What he captured may surprise those that expect Lake Superior’s icy depths to be lifeless.

06/05/2026

LLO Director Catherine O'Reilly was featured in the Look at Lakeside newsletter discussing what sediment cores tell us about the neighborhood's history. Read the full newsletter:

The June/July issue is ready and is the 14th anniversary issue of Look at Lakeside. Whether you are new to reading Look at Lakeside or have been a reader for over a decade thank you. This issue is a cool article about mud/sediment and how much we can learn from it, learn some community biz bits, fun...

06/02/2026

Congratulations to Dr. Jay Austin for receiving IAGLR's Chandler-Misener Award!

Congratulations to the recipients of the Chandler-Misener Award!

This award recognizes an outstanding article published in the Journal of Great Lakes Research. The authors were honored for their work on winter thermal structure across the Laurentian Great Lakes.

05/01/2026

https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/animals/a71151516/black-goo-new-species-discovery/

It began with a routine inspection. What followed raised new questions about how life can exist in the strangest places.

04/24/2026

https://www.thebarkumd.com/community-1/2026/4/22/when-the-ice-goes-away-buoys-come-out-to-play-a-blue-heron-photo-story

On Tuesday, April 21, the Large Lakes Observatory’s research vessel – the Blue Heron – embarked on a mission to deploy buoys in Lake Superior. The data collected through these buoys helps scientists, researchers and agencies get a clearer picture of what goes on in the lake, and make accurate ...