412 NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PROGRAM—1965 
Environmental Research Program 
Biological Laboratory 
Bureau of Commercial Fisheries 
Ann‘Arbor, Michigan 
The need for Limnological research on the Great Lakes has been 
recognized by the Ann Arbor Laboratory for many years. We think of the 
Great Lakes as an environment for fish; consequently, we are interested in 
the physics, chemistry, and biology of the lakes as well as meteorological 
and other external influences on the aquatic environment. 
The large size of the lakes has limited exploration of many aspects 
of their limnology. Considerable information is available, however, on 
certain facets, especially those related to navigation and power production. 
In other disciplines very little is known, For example, a list of the more 
common species in the plankton of Lake Huron would be an original contri- 
bution. Vessels and suitable equipment have not been available for exten- 
sive basic research on the Great Lakes until fairly recently. Consequently, 
much of the limnolorical, literature deals with limited data collected in 
shallow areas near shore. Lately, various ideas, as well as equipment have 
been borrowed from the oceanographer. Bathythermographs, reversing thermometers, 
Nansen bottles, Clarke-Bumpus plankton samplers, sonic fathometers, and coring 
devices are now as commonplace on our research vessels as on oceanographic 
vessels. As a consequence of the special problems, the lakes offer a 
common meeting ground between limnology and oceanography. 
Our Environmental Research Program was set up as a separate unit in 
1957 and now emphasized three approaches: general surveys, long-term studies, 
and unit studies. 
General surveys of the lakes were made first. Basic knowledge of the 
chemistry, physics, and biology of the lakes was needed to plan specific 
studies. General fishery and limnological surveys were made by the M/V 
Cisco in Lake Michigan in 1951, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1960, and 1961; Lake Huron 
in 1952 and 1956; Lake Superior in 1952, 1953, and 1959; ond in Lake Erie 
in 1957 and 1958. Limnologi.cal data were collected also by the Bureau's 
research vessels (Musky II and Siscowet) assigned to Lakes Erie and Superior. 
These data were turned over to us for analysis. The results are now avail- 
able to the fishery research programs in the lakes. 
Bureau research vessels have obtained over 8,000 bathythermograph 
tracings and several thousand reversing thermometer temperatures. Approxi- 
mately 30,000 individual determinations have been made on water samples. 
Drift bottle studies of surface currents have been completed in Lakes Erie, 
Huron, Michigan, and Superior. Extensive sampling of planktonic and benthic 
organisms also have been done. 
