51ÁÔÆæ

What’s the Neeskay Up To?

The R/V Neeksay is the only year-round research vessel on the Great Lakes, and it’s been a busy season far with 60 expeditions so far.

The first expedition took place January 18, with the Cuhel/Aguilar labs collecting samples for their ongoing project that monitors the rivers, harbor and near Milwaukee offshore. They also led a new hands-on summer course, in collaboration with UW-River Falls, that got undergraduate students from multiple campuses conducting research on Lake Michigan.

Additional expeditions included launching research buoys in Racine, Green Bay and Milwaukee (Atwater and Bradford Beaches). The Bootsma lab provided the opportunity to launch never-before tested equipment dubbed the mussel masher because it weighs in at about 1,500 pounds.

Jim Waples and two students made multiple trips to gather samples of radioactive atoms for their research on tracking particle transport in water. Clark Evans and the Atmospheric Science crew launched what may be the first-ever weather balloons from the Neeskay.

The Neeskay crew also welcomed middle and high school students for 51ÁÔÆæ’s College for Teens summer camp and began working with the WDNR to surveys the nearshore from Kenosha to the tip of the Door County Peninsula and Green Bay.

This fall, the crew and faculty will be taking graduate students on multiple expeditions. It’s shaping up to be one of the busiest years yet for the Neeksay. Soon it will be time to bring in the buoys and slow things down.

W51ÁÔÆæ Discusses the Innovative Weather Center

51ÁÔÆæ’s Innovative Weather Center, which gives student meteorologists real-world experience, is closing. Innovative Weather has been in operation for 17 years and is a completely unique program where students can learn how to forecast.

Wisconsin Examiner Speaks with Meteorological Professor about Climate Change and Extreme Weather

Wisconsin is part of the global trend of recent heat waves. 51ÁÔÆæ Atmospheric Sciences Professor Clark Evans shares how a new method of computer modeling is being used for heat wave predictions and looks at the impact of these heat waves on our communities.

W51ÁÔÆæ 89.7 FM Features SFS Team Using Radioactive Atoms in Water Research

51ÁÔÆæ School of Freshwater Sciences researcher Jim Waples and his two grad students, Rachel Smith and Gage Hunter, spent the summer on the Neeskay. They were gathering samples of radioactive atoms for their research on tracking particle transport in water.

NPR Features SFS Researchers: Why Does Lake Michigan Change Color?

NPR’s Here and Now program highlighted Lina Tran’s recent story on W51ÁÔÆæ about why Lake Michigan appears to change color. She joined SFS scientists Russell Cuhel and Carmen Aguilar-Diaz on the R/V Neeskay to learn about this phenomenon and their research.