CAYUGA LAKE FLOATING CLASSROOM

2012 CRUISE SCHEDULING

2011-12-26T13:07:00.000-08:00

The Floating Classroom is now taking reservations for 2012!! Schools, youth groups and community organizations interested in participating in school field trips, educational cruises and lake monitoring projects may contact floatingclassroom@cayugawatershed.org.

Hydrilla Survey Opportunities: The battle to understand and control the invasive plant, Hydrilla verticillata, in Cayuga Lake will gain momentum this year. We are looking for individuals, groups and classes (high school and older) interested in participating in HYDRILLA survey cruises! Let us know if you are interested! Short term and continuing volunteer options are available.

Internships: The Floating Classroom is now accepting inquiries for summer internships (High School/College). Teaching and envionmental studies experience, mini-research projects.

2011-10-27T12:56:00.000-07:00

Thanks for a Great Year!

Our season on the lake has come to a close just a little early. On Tuesday, the Haendel hit something large and damaged both port and starboard props. Coulda been Ol' Greenie- we didn't see a thing!

With the snow falling today, perhaps the season ended just at the right time- we'll be back on April 1, 2012 with new things to offer on Cayuga Lake. In the meantime, check out our Finger Lakes Trout in the Classroom blog and look for important Cayuga Lake info on our Facebook site.

2011-09-25T09:43:00.000-07:00

HYDRILLA RESPONSE - A Summary at Year-End

Floating Classroom crewmembers Jordan Stark & Bill Foster discovered the invasive species, Hydrilla verticillata, in the Cayuga Inlet on August 4, 2011. The discovery led to the rapid development of a multi-agency task force, a temporary closure of the Inlet and an herbicide application during October- all intended to slow the establishment of this aggressive plant, and keep it from invading the lake. Work will continue this winter; the NYS Canal Corporation will lower lake levels slightly more than usual, in an effort to freeze-out exposed hydrilla root systems.

Thanks to the help of many volunteers and agencies, an extensive survey was initiated over the course of the fall to determine the extent of occurrance of hydrilla in and around the Cayuga Inlet. It remains unclear at this point whether hydrilla has established itself in the main body of the Lake, however a number of small specimens were found by Floating Classroom participants in the southwest corner of the lake (Hogs Hole).

Its going to take a community-wide effort to contain this plant, and to keep it from spreading from Ithaca to the entire Great Lakes basin. Regardless of what we find in the spring of 2012, we know that the removal or control of hydrilla is a challenge that will require a community-wide effort for some years to come. Here is what you can do to help:

Take advantage of workshops and spring Floating Classroom cruises and learn to identify this plant! The more eyes "on" then better!

Stay up-to-date on plans being prepared by the Task Force. Your input will be valuable! Click on the hydrilla image or go to http://ccetompkins.org/environment/invasive-species/hydrilla for up-to-date info!

2011-09-13T06:07:00.001-07:00

SEPT. 11 - HYDRILLA CRUISE SUCCESSFUL!

Yup, with the help of 13 eco-cruisers, we collected a number of plant samples from the southwest corner of Cayuga and found NO hydrilla! The Floating Classroom will be working ot supplement ongoing survey work on the lake this fall, so look for coming opportunities to help out!

Lake Status: Lots of debris in the south end of the lake still, and the water is quite turbid. Out in deeper water, however, things are more typical of the season. Water clarity is increasing slightly (3.5 to 4 meters).

2011-08-27T11:05:00.000-07:00

INVASIVE SPECIES DISCOVERED!

Floating Classroom instructors Jordan and Bill made an incidental discovery of what looked like a non-native relative of Elodea canadensis while preparing for programs on August 16. We sent work to Bob Johnson at Cornell, a regional expert, who later confirmed the plant as Hydrilla verticillata, and extremely invasive species that has not been observed in upstate New York until now.

Take-home message: IT PAYS TO KEEP TO KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN. We are not experts in aquatic invasive species, but we are familiar enough with the lake to know when something looks odd. That's all it takes! Here is what you need to know.

Environmental Appreciation Days cruise

2011-08-23T20:55:00.000-07:00

The Floating Classroom was happy to host kids participating in the Environmental Appreciation Days camp on Monday. We had a great time riding the waves as we cruised from Ithaca to Taughannock State Park! During the cruise, we explored our perceptions of what a healthy lake might look like and how to share these ideas with our community. We also talked about some of the projects being conducted by high school interns on the lake this summer. The group also completed a full lake profile using a Hydrolab remote sensor provided by the City of Ithaca to measure water temperatures, chemistry and chlorophyll levels.

Things are looking good on on the lake right now. Temperatures are in the mid-70s down to 15 meters. Our thermocline was detected between 17 and 20 meters where the temperature whent from roughly 68 degrees F. to 50. Sunlight penetration was estimated to be 11 meters and chlorophyll levels, which are an indicator of photosynthetic algae where highest between 5 and ten meters. Check out our Facebook page for comments, more pictures, and observation from the camp!

2011-08-08T21:44:00.000-07:00

ENVIRONMENTAL EXPLORATION DAYS OPEN REGISTRATION!

The Floating Classroom joinsCooperative Extension 4-H, Cornell Plantations, the Lab of Ornithology and our regional State Parks in offering a fantastic, one-week camp opportunity for kids, ages 12-14! Participants will spend each day at a different location, taking part in hands-on, fun activities and explorations, and learning how they can play a role in community-led resource protection. For a complete schedule & signup info, go to http://ccetompkins.org/4h/camps/environmental-exploration-days

2011-08-03T11:52:00.000-07:00

GOOD NEWS ON CAYUGA!

Over the past weeks, we've been wondering if there would be a "bloom" of the blue-green algae anabaena in Cayuga Lake. With unusually warm surface water temperatures and an abundance of nutrients left over from spring rains, the stage was set. This type of algae has caused recent beach closures around New York due to its potential to produce neurotoxins. The picture to the right was recently taken at Oneida Lake.

With help from eco-cruise participants, GIAC's Summer Conservation Corps, and youths from Danby, Ithaca, Trumansburg, Dryden & Lansing, we collected frequent samples and noted a mild anabaena bloom! Over the past week, however, Cayuga's surface waters have been teeming with zooplankton, which have almost completely consumed the problematic algae!

At this point, it looks like Cayuga Lake is resilient enough to stay healthy, even during an especially hot, dry summer. That's good news! If you'd like to learn more about the ecology of Cayuga Lake, check out our "Cruise Prep" pages for more on lake sampling and collected data!

2011-07-27T08:04:00.000-07:00

HOP ON-BOARD AT THE ITHACA ARTISTS' MARKET!

The MV Haendel will be at the Ithaca Farmers' Market on Friday July 29 for the Artists' Market! Stop by to view some water-related art, including "A Year in the Life of Six Mile Creek" OR take an art-cruise (4-5pm) or a sunset cruise (7-9pm) Call for reservations!

2011-07-27T07:56:00.000-07:00

ALGAE BLOOM UNDERWAY?

Lots of spring rain and a warm summer are setting the stage for significant algae blooms in lakes throughout the northeast. Cayuga is no exception! During recent cruises, we've recorded the presence of dense plankton populations and the arrival of the cyanobacteria anaebaena (pictured here) and microcystis. Help keep an eye on the state of Cayuga Lake during our July 28 eco-cruise (4-6pm) and other upcoming events!

2011-07-13T12:17:00.000-07:00

Eventful Week on the Lake!

Our crew completed a fun week on Cayuga Lake to kick off the summer, starting off with help from the GIAC Summer Conservation Corps, who complete their first round of water monitoring. On Thursday, we hosted the ScienCenter for out first collaborative eco-cruise! A boat-full of families experimented with bouyancy and explored the relationship between water temperatures and water density in Cayuga - way cool!

Finally, on Sunday, our eco-cruisers participated in the North American Secchi Dip-in, a great citizen-science experiment, designed to help people across the continent gather information about their lakes. Cayuga's water clarity, as measured by Secchi disk readings, is running at about 2 meters (as of July 10). This is pretty murky for Cayuga and may have a profound impact on the lake as the summer unfolds. We'll see....

2011-06-21T11:07:00.000-07:00

CAYUGA HEIGHTS - LIVE!
5TH Graders from Cayuga Heights Elementary joined us today and did an excellent job of helping us investigate the recent algal bloom on Cayuga Lake. Only a few days ago, the densely-packed algae, Dinobryon, was coloring our water samples a bright green. This is no longer the case, as dinobryon is now almost completely absent! Rotifers have been taking advantage of the abundant food supply and grazing heavily- their population has soared. We got our first look of the year at mature colonies of conochilis, pictured at right.

The 5th grade also starred in a YNN News Feature - excellent work everyone. Check it out by clicking on this image -

2011-06-20T12:53:00.000-07:00

June 19 Eco-Cruise with Cornell's AUV!
We had a packed boat for this past Sunday's cruise- thanks to everyone who helped make the first mini-sub luanch of the 2011 season a success! The student-designed Automated Underwater Vehicle, "Drekar", navigated two transects in the lake, generating video plant surveys and basic water quality data. (Video links on the way!) This was the team's first test outside of Teagle Pool at Cornell, and they did great.
In support of the mini-sub based surveys, we also conducted Secchi clarity and plankton tests. After a fairly extreme spring season, we are seeing clarity measurements returning to a "typical" range for the south end of Cayuga Lake, with 2.5 meters of clarity on the east side, near E. Shore marina, and 4 meter clarity along the west shore. This increasing clarity corresponds to a decline in phyto-plankton concentrations that have recently been blooming (see earlier trip reports). Thanks to everyone who participated!

2011-06-15T13:55:00.000-07:00

DEWITT MIDDLE SCHOOL HITS THE LAKE!

Dewitt 6th Graders conducted a total of nine hours of sampling on Cayuga between June 13 & 14, and made some important observations. First, we are seeing the end of our first algae bloom on Cayuga- for the last week, water clarity has been reduced by the presence of the yellow-green algae DINOBRYON at incredibly high concentrations (pictured). As this particular species declines, we are seeing increase clarity (now averaging 4 meters) and more bio-diversity in the plankton community. Summer, warm-water species are moving in!Lake water temperatures have also stabilized somewhat, after a very fast warming period. Its early, but our Dewitt teams collected data to suggest that a thermocline is already established in Cayuga between 20 and 25 meters down. At this point, the water rapidly cools from about 62 Deg. F. to 48 F. That's a big change! Nice work, Dewitt! (Full report available under trip reports.)

Spring-Back in Full Swing!

2011-05-31T20:18:00.000-07:00

Temporary Trip Reports for May 27 & May 31 -
Thanks to students from Newfield's 7th grade and from Beverly J Martin Elementary, we have been able to track some amazing events on Cayuga over the past few days!

The continuing rain storms have resulted in a tremendous flow of water into the lake this spring, and recent warm weather has heated all this water quite quickly. Near-surface temperatures in the south end of the lake rose almost 5 degrees F. in a single day last week, and are now approaching 70 degrees F!

Accompanying the warming water and continuing inflow of nutrients from storm runoff is a burgeoning community of green algae species and rotifers. Samples collected from areas around the south end of the lake and well into deep waters are literally teaming with life, and our Secchi disk readings are showing reduced clarity. Once the sediment settles out, the phytoplankton are limiting water clarity to less than 3 Meters in many locations. Pictures coing soon!

2011-05-25T20:23:00.000-07:00

GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE? MAYBE.....

7th Grade students from Boynton Middle School joined us on the lake today and yesterday (May 24&25) and found that the Spring Clear-Water phase has apparently begun two weeks early on Cayuga Lake this year! The clear-water period marks the point at which rapidly growing plankton populations outgrow nutrient loading, causing a temporary population crash. The resultant lack of plankton in the water causes Secchi disk clarity to rebound from about 3M to well over 5M for a period of days.

Over the past five years, the clear-water phase has jumped around a bit, but appears to be happening earlier, which could signal an impact from global climate change. However, the jury is out. Over such a short time-period, natural variations in weather cannot be ruled out. We'll see what the real story is, but it will take more years of study!

Boynton students noted quite a bit of change on the lake over two days. Sub-surface temperatures rose dramatically in parts of the south shelf, and water clarity continued to decline over most of the south end of the lake, being reduced to 1.5M near East Shore Sailing club! Pictures coming soon!

2011-05-24T20:28:00.000-07:00

GROTON MIDDLE SCHOOL MONITORS CAYUGA!

7th grade students from Chad Devoe's Life Sciences classes traveled to Myers Point Park in Lansing to assess conditions on the lake and in Salmon Creek on May 19 & 20.

Students enjoyed two dramatic days on the lake, observing water quality and burgeoning populations of lake plankton. The plankton were so numerous that they have reduced water clarity to 3 meters! During prior springs, water clarity at this point in May has averaged over 5 meters. Spring is ahead of schedule!

Classes also used
modified Izaak Walton League stream surveys and collected macro-invertebrate samples to assess stream health. All classes found Salmon Creek to score in the "good" to "excellent" range.

2011-05-14T20:28:00.000-07:00

ON THE WATER AT LAST!
After a week of lake-closures due to high water, the MV Haendel opened the 2011 season on May! With the help of Prof. Kelly Wessel's ecology students from TC3, we've begun our spring lake survey. We've found quite a bit is happening already this spring. With tremendous inflows of warmer water over the past weeks, green algae and many other organisms at the base of the food web are getting an unusually early start. Warm is a relative term, of course, as the main body of lake is just now approaching 50 Deg. F!

We'll continue to track spring developments on the lake this Sunday, May 15, during our 2:30-4:30pm public eco-cruise! One-hour narrated lake tours will also be available at 11:00am and 12:30pm. Call us at 607-697-0166 to make a reservation or learn more about Water Week and other upcoming events.

See you on the Lake!

LAKE MONSTER OBSERVED!

2010-10-29T06:00:00.000-07:00

Sunday, October 31 - Intrepid lake enthusiasts, braving the elements for our last eco-cruise of the year, got a chance to view the remains of this mysterious creature, pulled up by students recently from the south end of Cayuga Lake. (Pictured to the right.) The jury is out, as to its origin or authenticity, but observers agreed, it matches the description of the fabled "Mays Point Mystery Fish", often sighted at the north end of our lake. FC crew plans to conduct research over the winter... our findings will be reviewed in 2011!

Lake Conditions were windy and raw, but a brief sampling stop on Sunday reviewed water temperatures hovering just above 50 deg. F. and clarity diminishing (from 7M on Friday to just over 4M on Sunday). Reduced clarity may be an indicator that Fall Turnover is beginning. We also continued to observe a very dense growth of plankton- primarily the diatoms fragillaria and asterionella- at depth below 10M.

Mid-October on the Lake

2010-10-18T21:08:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who came out on October 10! Thanks also to Joe Simonis from Nelson Hairston's lab at Cornell, who came out to help identify plankton! We'll post a more complete update soon, but suffice to say, fall is progressing on the lake- and the most remarkable aspect is the clearing of the water.

This past Sunday, we observed 8.5 meter Secchi clarity- which corresponds to light penetrating roughly 25 meters into the lake- that's nearly 80 feet! At that depth, the water is not cooling off particularly rapidly, and we may yet witness a deep-water algae bloom this fall, now that sunlight is penetrating to depths where nutrients have been building up all summer.

We'll see how are fall bloom progresses, but in the meantime, enjoy our chrystal-clear lake!

2010-09-17T10:16:00.000-07:00

100 YEARS OF LIMNOLOGY ON CAYUGA!

Scientists have been studying Cayuga Lake for over 100 years. Come find out what's been learned!

Learn about the Renwick Field Station, the first "limnology lab" in North America, built right along the Inlet! (limnology is the study of fresh water lakes and wetlands)

Compare plants and animals collected during the cruise with those found in Cayuga waters over 100 years ago! (Using a 1903 Cayuga Lake plankton survey.)

Our featured guests for the day- Nelson Hairston, Frank H.T. Rhodes Professor of Environmental Science in Cornell's Dept. of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, and lake ecology specialist Colleen Kearns. The weather will be fine - call today for reservations!

CRUISING AT WELLS COLLEGE

2010-09-02T08:09:00.000-07:00

We've spent the past few days with Wells College students on the lake, cruising from beautiful Aurora, New York. Its a treat to get up to the northern end of Cayuga Lake once in a while, and we've been rewarded with gorgeous conditions! The lake is looking pretty good, but the water is even warmer, with temperatures in the 70's down to 10 meters or more(!). We are also seeing light blooms of blue-green algae near the surface. These appear as greenish clouds, which review small particles upon closer inspection.

Last Day of Cayuga Explorers!

2010-08-27T12:34:00.000-07:00

Today was the last day of camp. We did a full floating-classroom-lake-monitoring-event and did samples with the secchi disk, Van Dorn tubes, Ekman Dredge and Hydrolab. We found that the thermocline (rapid change in lake temperature) was at about 16 meters, and that that area had LOTS of plankton.

We hope to be adding a data tab to this website in the next few weeks to that you can all see all of the information that we're gathering--stay tuned! In the meantime, click on the photo or right HERE for more pictures of camp, and we hope to see everyone on the lake for an ECO-CRUISE!

Cayuga Explorers: Day III

2010-08-26T12:38:00.000-07:00

Today was our third day of summer camp, and it was a windy one. Our plan for the day was to use the Hydrolab (hi-tech water sampling equipment) that we borrowed to do a transect of the lake, but this proved very hard to do because it was so windy and cold.

We made a few stops with the Hydrolab and got some data at different depths. We also got bottom samples of the lake to see what was growing-- first we found plants, and then as we moved into deeper water, we found mud and zebra mussels. We also got a plankton sample from the surface, and found LOTS of algae growing in it. We're looking forwards to our last day of camp tomorrow! Here is a picture of yesterday's fish-seining fun at Myers Point.

Cayuga Explorers: Day II

2010-08-25T15:12:00.000-07:00

Today was our second day of camp and boy, were we busy!

We started out with some warm-up activities/brainteasers, and then went up to Myer's Point to do some seine-net fishing. We spent quite a while learning about how to use the seine net and putting our knew knowledge to the test in the water. We caught several kinds of bass, including large- and small-mouthed bass, and one small darter. On our way back from Myer's point, we stopped for a plankton sample.

We also still have aboard the zebra mussel overpopulation experiment we started yesterday. We took three jars full of water and added 50 zebra mussels to one, five to the next, and none to the last. It will be interesting to see whether the jars of water are clarified, but also whether the mussels survive in a jar that is a bit overpopulated. Here's a picture of our jars on day 1. (left jar has 50 mussels, middle jar has five, right jar has none)

Cayuga Explorers Session Two!

2010-08-24T13:47:00.000-07:00

Today was our first day of this session of camp! We did some art, played some team-building activities, and working on some basic lake sampling. We found some interesting results--while the lake clarity (secchi depth) was only 1.25 meters near the mouth of the inlet, it was 4 meters farther up on the West shore. This might be because of a large concentration of some sort of plant matter (probably blowing onto the lake from on land somewhere) near the surface. It was a fun day, and tomorrow we're going to try to catch some fish with a seine net--I'm looking forward to it.

The Floating Classroom is on Facebook!!

2010-08-23T10:38:00.000-07:00

If you want to get updates about interesting upcoming events or if you have ideas, questions and comments for us, you can have a look at our Facebook Page!

To find the page, search for "Cayuga Lake Floating Classroom" on Facebook or just click the link on the right-hand side of this blog.

On the Facebook page, you can post questions or ideas for us to respond to, photos or thoughts from your trip on the Floating Classroom, or anything else you'd like us to see. We're still trying to work out all of the specifics for the page, so if you have any suggestions on that, feel free to post those too.

Eco-Cruise with Paula Bensadoun

2010-08-19T16:49:00.000-07:00

Today we had a great Eco-Cruise/ Art Cruise with local artist Paula Bensadoun. There were many people on the boat, and many of them drew wonderful pictures of the lake plants, trees and clouds with the help of Ms. Bensadoun. We saw large "forests" mostly composed of eelgrass, and we also found Elodea (a native plant) and Eurasian Milfoil (an invasive species). The weather was beautiful, and it was a lot of fun!

Cornell's RUSS

2010-08-18T12:45:00.000-07:00

One of our "landmarks" in the lake is Cornell's RUSS (Remote Underwater Sampling Station)--a weather and water monitoring station on the lake. It provides up-to-date weather information about the lake, so if you're ever wondering how windy it is out there, or what the water temperature is, it's a great resource. The page with the updated information from the station is http://www.cayugalake.cornell.edu/weather.php, and if you would like to learn more about the RUSS, you can visit their main page at http://www.cayugalake.cornell.edu/.

Summer Camp on the Lake!

2010-08-16T10:40:00.000-07:00

Our second session of Cayuga Explorers Camp is happening next week, Tuesday-Friday. The camp leaves from East Shore Marina and is from 8:30-12:30 each day. It is for kids entering 5th grade and up. There are still spaces available!! Click here or contact the Ithaca Youth Bureau for more information.

During each day of camp, we will play team-building games, work on lake sampling and boating skills onboard the Floating Classroom, and do a variety of other activities, often including learning about the legends and history of our lake and working on nature illustration techniques. The camp provides a fun and exciting way to learn about our lake during the summer. Because each session is limited to 24 campers (they are usually smaller, between 12 and 15), we can get to know each kid's interests in the lake pretty well, so we can tailor what we do to what the kids would like to do. It will be a lot of fun, and I'm looking forwards to it!

Lansing Harborfest!

2010-08-14T17:40:00.000-07:00

We did three short Eco-Cruises from Lansing's Harbor Festival today. Although it was windy we did some plankton samples, secchi disk tests and pH tests. We also got some plant samples (and almost lost a rake!).

For information on lake clarity, click here.

The photo above shows lake clarity as we have measured it over the past few years. Points lower on the chart mean that the lake is more clear, while points higher on the chart mean that the lake is less clear. As you can see, there is a somewhat predictable yearly cycle, with the lake being more clear in the spring and fall and less clear in the summer, but there are also yearly changes. We keep track of these changes so that we can have as much information as possible about our lake.

ScienceCenter Camp!

2010-08-12T11:06:00.000-07:00

We went out for two cruises with the kids from the Science Center Camp today. Since it was a bit of a rainy day, we talked a lot about acid rain and how it affects our lake-- and how we are protected by the limestone rocks around our lake. (The picture to the left is of Caroline putting strong acid on several different kinds of rocks to see what would happen). We found out that the pH of the rain was between 6 and 6.5, and that the pH of the lake was between 8 and 8.5. We also got several plankton samples which had many different kinds of zooplankton (tiny animals) in them, although not so many phytoplankton (tiny plants). When we took samples of plants, we found five different kinds in just a small area, including Milfoil and Elodea.

Lansing Harborfest!

2010-08-11T07:22:00.000-07:00

We're very excited to be a part of Lansing's Harbor festival this year, with four cruises on Saturday afternoon leaving from Myer's Point. For more information about the festival and a complete schedule, click here.

Last day of camp, Last GIAC cruise

2010-08-05T17:36:00.000-07:00

Today was the last day of the water wizards summer camp with youths from Dryden/Freeville and Newfield, and it was also our last program with the GIAC pre-teen green program. This Sunday, some of the youths from the GIAC program will join us for our eco-cruise, along with artist Louisa Sandvik.

Today we tried to look at a little mystery in the lake: the thermocline (division between warm and cold water), seems to have disappeared. We borrowed a Hydrolab from the City of Ithaca to do some more high-tech monitoring of the lake, and found a steady decrease in temperature down to about 30 meters, and then temperature holding fairly steady down to the bottom of the lake. Usually we see a period of rapid temperature change around 15-20 meters, so we're not really sure what's going on with the lake today.

We also found continuing small-scale blooms of Microcystis, a potentially toxic blue-green algae. The lake seems to be doing many different and interesting things this week, so we'll make sure to keep an eye on them.

Last Southside Cruise

2010-08-04T13:49:00.000-07:00

In addition to our own camp today, we brought out a group of kids from the Southside Community Center Camp. It was a very hot day, but we still managed to get a lot done. We found that the secchi depth was 5 meters, meaning that light was going into the lake 15 meters, the farthest we've seen in several weeks. We also took plankton samples and did temperature and pH tests at many different depths. We hope to see many of the youths that we took out on the boat back again for one of our eco-cruises.

Flat Rock Rocks!

2010-08-03T13:55:00.000-07:00

Our Dryden and Newfield Water Wizards youths spent the morning at Flat Rock on Fall Creek and conducted an assessment of the aquatic invertebrates that live in the stream. Ecologists use the presence of sensitive and tolerant stream invertebrates to assess the health of the stream. Fish use them for food! Based on our assessment this morning, Fall Creek at Flat Rock is in EXCELLENT condition. We found 6 Orders of pollution sensitive insects, and this cool whirligig beetle larvae!

Long Live larry the Leech!

Water Wizzards Day 1

2010-08-02T17:55:00.000-07:00

Today was the first day of Water Wizzards camp with middle schoolers from Dryden/Freeville and Newfield. It was a beautiful day on the lake, so after we got started at the farmers market we did many different kinds of lake sampling. Secchi depth was about 3.5 meters (so light penetration was about 11.5 meters). We found continuing small blooms of Microcystis (Pictured to the right.) This potentially blue-green algae can be harmful if it blooms (Lower picture), but it didn't seem to be causing any problems at this point. We're looking forwards to visiting Monkey Run tomorrow, and then we'll be back on the boat on Thursday and Friday... and we hope we don't see this!

Southside Camp Cruise #1

2010-07-28T15:49:00.000-07:00

Another excellent outing with the kids from Southside Daycamp today-- this time on the lake!

We focused on getting to know the boat and learning how to use all of the equipment on board. We also worked on the experiment that we started with the GIAC group yesterday to see how quickly zebra mussels could clarify water. The water we put in the jar with the zebra mussels was almost totally clear today. We put in more turbid (cloudy) water, and we'll see whether the mussels can clarify that by tomorrow.

We also had some great artists aboard, who drew images of lake that will be displayed on the boat!

Light penetration in the lake (secchi depth) was up to about 4 meters today, the highest we've seen in several weeks. This means that the water is much more clear that it has been. We'll keep you posted on further changes.

GIAC Pre-Teen Green Cruise #2

2010-07-27T11:53:00.000-07:00

We had a great cruise this morning with the GIAC pre-teen green program. The weather was beautiful, everybody was willing to pitch in, and we found out some really interesting things about the lake!

We began the day by doing a depth profile near Cornell's RUSS Station. We found that the pH was very high, around 9.0, meaning that the water was very basic. We later confirmed this when we saw plants coated in a whitish crystalline substance called calcium carbonate, which begins to settle out of the water onto plants when the pH is about 9.

We also found some interesting results in our plankton samples. We noticed a lot of visible clumps of something on the surface, so we took a surface sample with our plankton net and found large colonies of Microcystis. This is an algae that produces a toxin which can harm other plankton, so we will keep an eye on the rest of the plankton population in the lake to see if there are further problems. If the Microcystis colonies keep growing, we might start to see even more visible algae blooms on the surface--We'll keep you updated!

2010-07-08T20:55:00.001-07:00

Today, we also joined GIAC's Pre-Teen Green youths for a hike up Six Mile Creek. At "Second Dam" we discussed the history of the City's water supply (which comes from Six Mile Creek). Nobody was very happy about the litter and beer cans we found strewn about the creek, so we decided to conduct an impromptu cleanup! These kids are ready to make a difference- thanks ya'll! (Let's keep it clean- people!)

Cayuga Explorers: Day 3

2010-07-08T10:51:00.000-07:00

Yet another fun and hot day on the lake! We decided to work on some shallow water samples today. We pulled up several different kinds of plants from the west side of the lake, and we worked on drawing the plants to show what they looked like. We also pulled up some mud from the bottom of the lake and looked through it to figure out was living there. We found the fruits from curly-leafed pondweed as well as some insect larvae, mussels and amphipods (fresh-water shrimp). We also managed to fit in another quick swim at Myer's Point to cool off. Tomorrow will be our last day, although we encourage everybody to come out on our eco-cruise this weekend, which is designed to let the campers use the skills that they've learned this week.

Photo at the right: Explorers demonstrate the thermocline in Cayuga Lake! Cold blue-dyed water from deep in the lake is sinking to the bottom of our model water column. Warmer, sun warmed, water is floating at the top.

Cayuga Explorers: Day 2

2010-07-07T10:44:00.000-07:00

Another excellent but very warm day on the lake today! We made a model of the thermocline in a jar using warm and cold water, had a contest to see who could get an accurate deep-water (80 meters) sample from the lake the fastest (to be continued tomorrow...) and pulled up plants from the lake to study. We also stopped off at Myer's point to swim and cool down. We're looking forward to day 3 tomorrow!

"Cayuga Explorers" Summer Camp: Day 1

2010-07-06T10:48:00.000-07:00

We had an excellent (although quite hot) first day of Cayuga Explorers summer camp today! We worked hard and had fun doing some basic lake sampling, including retrieving samples from different depths in the lake to find out where the thermocline (division between warm and cold water in the lake) was. We also took plankton samples and secchi disk (light penetration depth)readings. We found that light was going about 12 meters into the lake and that the thermocline was at a depth of 15-20 meters. More pix are available on our Picasa Album.

2010-06-25T14:53:00.000-07:00

A Successful FRIENDS OF THE FLOATING CLASSROOM MEETING!

Thanks to everyone who attended, and to those to sent their regrets- for making our first "Friend of the Floating Classroom" meeting so enjoyable! We look forward to getting started with a great new community of people, and will soon be in touch! - The FC Committee.

2010-06-17T21:09:00.000-07:00

Students from Belle Sherman’s 5th grade classes did a great job today, helping us collect information on water conditions today! We focused on two topics, in particular.

First, we scouted locations for this Sunday's Eco-cruise, when Cornell's mini-sub will create video surveys of underwater plant communities. Mr Van Slyke’s class took samples of lake plants near the west shore, and Mr. Field’s class collected samples from the East Shore. Both sample sites revealed curly-leafed pondweed (Potemageton crispus), Northern Eurasion Milfoil, Naiads and Elodea. Some of the Pondweed plants were already over 6 feet tall! Living in association with these plants, we found small crustaceans called amphipods, and also many caddis fly larvae, rolled up in protective leaf sheathes. We decided that the east shore would be our first priority for a video survey. Additionally, based on our Secchi disk readings, which only 3 M on the East shore, we decided that plants may start to be sunlight-limited (I.e. not enough sunlight to grow) at depths over 9M (about 30 feet). We’ll try to verify that on Sunday (June 20).

For a full report, check out the "cruise log" page!

2010-05-11T19:54:00.000-07:00

Friday, May 7 - 6th Graders from Dewitt Middle School (Ithaca, NY) helped us launch the 2010 season today! In fact, the first class of the day was rewarded with a sunny and mild lake cruise. Later classes experienced spring on Cayuga, as the wind picked up and the sun took the afternoon off. Despite deteriorating conditions, intrepid students successfully constructed a complete mid-lake temperature profile. The water temperature in the first ten meters was measured at 7.8C (about 46F) and dropped to a wintery 6.4C (43.4F) between 17 about 23 meters. This slight surface warming is a sure sign of spring, and our Secchi disk measurements (6 Meters, avg.) confirmed that sunlight is penetrating about 18 meters into the lake.

Plankton samples indicated that, although the water is still cold, spring is progressing, perhaps even ahead of last year. Diatoms such as asterionella are very numerous, and calanoid copepods and several rotifers are feeding on them. Zebra mussel larval stages (called “veligers”) were also observed.

Surprisingly a number of bosmina were recorded by students and verified by instructors. Bosmina are a native zooplankton in Cayuga, but they are showing up early this year!

We’d like to thank the 6th graders from Dewitt who made it onto the lake with us- you did a great job, and remember: you are all part of an ongoing student-science project to determine the nature of our lake! For those who could not attend, we hope we’ll see you and your families on the lake soon for a make-up eco-cruise! We’d love to have pictures, too!

Sampling Location: N42deg, 33.315' W76deg, 35.248'

A NEW SEASON IS UPON US!

2010-04-15T08:58:00.000-07:00

Spring Community Eco-Cruises are scheduled (departing from the Ithaca Farmers Market dock):

May 16 - "Water Week" Celebration! Join us for a survey of spring conditions- water temperature and quality, early season plankton populations and plant densities. Hands-on fun for all ages! 11:00 am & 1:00pm departures.
May 23 - Cornell's Student Engineers will launch Tachyon, a brand new, student-designed and built, mini-sub from the deck of the Haendel. Video footage of what's down there! 2:00pm - 4:00pm.
June 13 - "Spring on Cayuga" family art & science cruise. 2:00-4:00pm
June 26 (Juneteenth) - details soon!
June 27 - Citizen Lake Monitoring Cruise with Community Science Institute! Learn about volunteer monitoring opportunities in the Ithaca area, and the 4H youth group, "4H2O". Three hour cruise, 2:00-5:00pm.
July 11 - Our regular Sunday afternoon Community Eco-Cruise schedule begins (running through October). All cruises 4:00pm - 6:00pm, unless otherwise noted.
Stay tuned for details on our NEW Thursday afternoon eco-cruise program!

The "Community Eco-Cruise" mission is to provide lake access and education opportunities for everyone. These eco-cruises are family-friendly, but are intended to enhance adult, as well as youth, understanding of our lake system.

Program Fees: The Floating Classroom is supported by local organizations and individuals. In order to stretch that support as far as it can go, we are introducing eco-cruise fees this year. We hope you will consider them to be an investment in our community-supported program.

One Hour Eco-Cruise: $12 Adult, $10 Senior, $5 Child (5-12 yrs)

Two-Hour Eco-Cruise: $18 Adult, $16 Senior, $12 Child

Special Events may be free.

Free/Reduced Price Vouchers: Our mission is to serve EVERYONE, regardless of ability to pay. Cruise vouchers are available this year thru neighborhood organizations. Contact floatingclassroom@cayugawatershed.org, or call (607) 697-0166 for information.

Donations: Donations are always accepted, and will help make it possible for more people to enjoy and learn about our lake! Ask any crew member how you can make a donation, or contact us via Email.

Look for a complete schedule of public programs on the lake soon!

It's Your Lake - Get to Know It!

Fall Mini-Sub Launch!

2009-10-24T16:15:00.000-07:00

Cornell's Automated Underwater Vehicle (AUV) team successfully launched NOVA from the M/V Haendel during out October 4 eco-cruise. Our mission was to assess the maximum rooting depth for aquatic plants in the south end of the lake. We completed a transect on the west shore indicating that rooted plants have established themselves to a maximum depth of roughly 17 feet. We also collected some cool footage of Cornell's Lake Source Cooling outfall! Follow this link to see some stellar video footage.

One Wet Eco-Cruise!

2009-09-28T11:16:00.000-07:00

Sept. 27 - We commend you hearty souls who joined us for a damp cruise on the lake! After half an inch of rain, this was a great opportunity to get a first-hand look at how various parts of the south shelf of Cayuga are impacted by a moderate storm. We stopped at six locations, starting at the inlet, working our way up the east shore with dominant flow of water, and returning along the west side.

Clarity in the inlet, of course was quite low, running just over 1 Meter. As we cruised east past Stewart Park and up the east shore, clarity slowly increased to about 5 meters at the edge of the shelf, where Rt. 34B moves away from the Lake. Water temperatures decreased from 17.5 C (63.5 F) in the inlet to about 15.0 C off of Willow Point, as inflowing runoff mixed with slightly colder water in the lake. Acidity (pH of 8-8.2) remained constant, and dissolved oxygen levels appeared to decrease significantly as we approached the East Shore.

The most interesting story was to be found as we moved out of the main flow, toward the sheltered west shore of the lake. Water temperatures and pH levels fell noticeably, suggesting the upwelling of cold, clear water from deep areas of the lake. Secchi clarity on the east shore approached 6 meters, and a temperature of 12.2C (about 54 F) was recorded. We haven't seen water this cold near the surface since early spring, but a quick glance at Cornell's RUSS station confirms that cold waters are somehow being pushed to the surface near the edge of Cayuga's south shelf. Fall has come to Cayuga Lake.

South Seneca on the Lake!

2009-09-28T10:56:00.000-07:00

Thursday, September 24th - Fifth grade science enrichment students from South Seneca Central School were aboard the M/V Haendel for an afternoon of ecology on Cayuga Lake. Bill Foster was the lead instructor. There were four learning stations. Each one designed to help students understand the importance of monitoring changes and processes in the lake.

In the Pilot House of the boat, Captain Dave helped students to visually monitor lake conditions and position. We were located N 42 degrees 32.935 minutes latitude and W 76 degrees 35.177 minutes longitude. The air temperature was 70 degrees F and it was sunny. There were small waves on the lake. It was pretty calm. There weren’t many other boats out. They use GPS for water depth and precise latitude and longitude.

We used Secchi disks to see how deep the light penetrates the water. We lowered the black and white disks into the water on a rope one meter at a time and watched to see how far down you could still make it out. We could see it for about 4 to 4.5 meters. This is important because plants need light to grow.

At the plankton viewing stations, Caroline helped us use microscopes to look at the tiny zooplankton and phytoplankton that we caught in the plankton net. This was very cool! We found anabaena, asterionella naulpius, microcystis, amphipod, keratella, and water shrimp. The zooplankton looked like mini-monsters. The phytoplankton produces oxygen. Plankton is the base of every food chain in the lake.

With Mark, we collected water samples in a "mouse trap" (Van Dorne tube) from different depths. It was cool to see the way this gadget worked. We checked each sample for pH and temperature. We tested how deep the light can go with our Secchi disks and the light only penetrated about 12 to 15 feet, so after that the water got colder. We colored some of the colder water from a deep sample blue and put it in a long tube with water from closer to the surface. The cold water sank to the bottom of the tube. Heavier things sink, so we knew that the cold water is heavier than the warmer water.

This trip was awesome! It was fun to be out on the lake and we learned a lot about how light, temperature, and living things in the lake are connected.

What's That Mossy-Looking Stuff in the Lake?

2009-09-23T18:32:00.000-07:00

For anyone who observed somewhat billowy green clouds in water on the south shelf of Cayuga between Sept. 13 and 20. Our sources Cornell's Lab of Evolutionary Biology & Ecology tell us it was likely a filamentous green algae called Mougeotia. Over the course of the week, it settled out of the open water and literally covered the bottom of the lake along the west shore in particular. Kind of looked like an aquatic version of spanish moss hanging from the larger plants.

<- blanketing larger plants...

...as seen up-close ->

According to researcher Colleen Kearns, "Filamentous blooms, along with fall blooming diatoms, are part of seasonal algal succession-right on cue for this time of year." Our understanding is that this bloom will dissappear over the coming week; we'll be looking for it this coming Sunday!

Art & Science on Cayuga!

2009-09-13T19:14:00.000-07:00

Special Thanks to today's eco-cruise feature guest- Camille Doucet. We had a great time practicing out nature illustration techniques, as we focused on live specimens fresh from the lake- Coontail, Elodea & even some zooplankton!

Along with artistic endeavors, we did our weekly clarity tracking (Secchi Disk tests) of deep water areas near the south end of the lake. It looks like our end of the lake is still going through an especially productive phase. Clarity is running at about 2 meters- its lowest point for the year. Samples reveal that a tiny diatom (photsynthetic plant) called Fragilaria (pictured here) is still densely populating the water. You could call this an algal bloom.

Expect a change in the coming week, however, as the plankton population in the lake adjusts itself. Some of our younger visitors noted numerous copepod larva (nauplia) in our plankton net samples, and they are like responding to the availability of food. We'll see what happens....

Water Wizards Updates...

2009-08-12T20:50:00.001-07:00

Thanks to our Water Wizards crews from Caroline, Danby, Ithaca, Trumansburg and Newfield! You were all fantastic. We'll have photos and program reports up soon (We promise!).

Cayuga Explorers Summer Program!

2009-07-28T20:37:00.000-07:00

We are now accepting registrations for our CAYUGA EXPLORERS summer youth program, scheduled for Tuesday, August 25-Friday, August 28! To learn more, click here.

Catch Cornell's Mini-Sub in Action!

2009-07-12T20:17:00.000-07:00

Today, we hosted Cornell's Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) Team on the lake, during our afternoon eco-cruise. Water was a littlcluody due to windy conditions, but we have our first video footage - click here for video and images!

The deployment of the 2009 competition vihicle "Nova" was a success, despite some pretty rippin' north winds peaking at 20mph. Thanks to Capt. Rod for a steady hand! With water temperatures approaching 70 degrees F. down to 15 feet or so, summer vegetation is booming on the lake at this point. We took a variety of plant samples, and it was interesting to note that, while the aquatic macrophyte (rooted plant) community near the east shore and Stewart Park was dominated by species such as Eurasion Water Milfoil and slender pondweed. On the other hand, once we settled over slight deeper waters (~15 ft.) on the west shore of the lake, we recover dense growth dominated by declining curly-leafed pondweed and elodea. Can't wait to see the video!

Spiny Water Fleas!

2009-07-10T13:52:00.000-07:00

Today, students from the Hillside Center helped us conduct a lake profile just north of Taughannock State Park. They did a great job, and we observed a swarm of millions of spiny water fleas for the first time this year! These tiny, invasive, creatures can really clog up fishing gear... they also are feared to be at the heart of very serious ecological changes taking place in the Great Lakes Basin. We need to learn more about their impact on Cayuga.

We also observe quite a few paramecium in 5-10 meters of water off the west shore. Here's what they looked like...http://www.flickr.com/photos/fpelectronica/3588662939/

Can Invasive Mussels Change Cayuga?

2009-07-10T13:27:00.000-07:00

We saw a fair number of mussel larvae (called "veligers") in our plankton samples during June, and we have been looking at zebra and quagga mussel colonies around the lake this month. Click on the photo to check out a cool video to learn a little about how invasive mussels might result in increased algae growth and deposition along shorelines!

Art on Cayuga!

2009-07-06T20:59:00.000-07:00

Many thanks to everyone who filled the M/V Haendel to the gunnels for our first-ever art cruise on Cayuga Lake! With the help of artist Camille Doucet, we have taken a much closer, more careful look at the plants and animals that call Cayuga home. Check back for pictures and perhaps a few illustrations of Potemageton crispus (curly pondweed), Eurasion water milfoil and more in a few days!

BJM & Dryden Kids Together on the Lake

2009-06-17T08:07:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the Village At Ithaca, Ithaca Friends of Pete Seeger, and the Town of Dryden, 20 students participating in after-school programs at BJM and Dryden Elementary schools completed a three-week "Water Wizards" program on Tuesday. We had an awesome time getting to know each other, checking out what's growing on the bottom of the lake, testing the waters and learning a little about our Lake's history. With help from Pamela Goddard, we even learned a traditional ballad, "Strike the Bell" to see us through our day's work!

Our samples confirmed much of what we learning during Sunday's cruise. Water temperatures are in the mid-60s below the surface and early-spring diatoms have all but disappeared. We did have the first spotting, however, of the dreaded Eurasion Water Milfoil, pulled from 12 feet of water in the middle of the south shelf!

Spring On Cayuga!

2009-06-15T06:13:00.000-07:00

Our thanks to everyone who came out for our Sunday, June 14 Eco-Cruise. Beautiful afternoon to think about spring on the lake, huh? Cayuga has been slow to warm up this year, and the succession of tiny (planktonic) plants and animals living in the water, as well as larger plant communities on the bottom, have responded accordingly. Here's what we observed:

Our first stop was off of the southwest shore, in 6 meters of water. Water clarity was running about 2.8 meters- a little less clear than last week, but not much. Not surprisingly, we collected samples of two species of aquatic plants growing from the bottom- native coontail, and non-native curly pondweed. The pondweed, in particular, is an early grower, and appeared to be about 1 meter tall.

Our second stop was out in the middle of the lake, where we found slightly better clarity - about 3.4 Meters. Clarity has been running 5-6 meters in recent weeks, so this is a little murkier than I might have expected; perhaps attributable to recent heavy rains. We measured temperatures in the mid-60s several meters below the surface for the first time this year, however, and green algae are responding with faster growth rates. Things are finally starting to pop! Tim Phillips conducted a full-depth temperature profile sample with Cornell's SCAMP unit- results are to the right: The plot indicates decreasing temperature as it moves to the left; note the rapid change between 5 and 10 meters.

Finally, we hit the southeast corner of the lake, near the East Shore Marina. Conditions were similar to other locations, but a quick aquatic plant dredge brought us a dense growth of curly pondweed (pictured to the right.), running over 2 meters tall. I would expect to see this plant breaking the surface in the next week or so! It will begin to fragment around July 4, and mats will float around the surface of the lake and disperse over the following week. Click on this photo to see more images of plants found in Cayuga Lake.

Cruising from Aurora - June 3

2009-06-10T05:54:00.000-07:00

After a day on the lake with classes from Waterloo Middle School, the Maxwell Academy & the Frontenac School, the crew grabbed a tasty dinner at the Fargo and headed back to the boat for an evening eco-cruise with 20 residents of Aurora and the surrounding area.

We shared thoughts on the health of the lake and continued our study of seasonal events on the lake by conducting basic sampling to follow up on the day's student findings. One thing that seems a little unusual this year is the continuing domination of cold-water organisms far into the spring. During 2007 & 2008, the cold water diatom asterionella (pictures in postings below) declined in late May as the water warmed, but this year it is persisting. Unusual, but not unheard of... We also caught our first glimpse of zebra mussel veligers today. These are the larval stage of one of our most significant Cayuga Lake invaders, and indicate the arrival of a new generation.

Special thanks go to our cruise collaborators- the United Ministry of Aurora and the Cayuga Lake Watershed Network. Newly appointed Cayuga Lake Steward Hilary Lambert joined us to facilitate a discussion about community and individual opportunities to work on behalf of the Lake. We will need everyone's help to keep serving every community around the lake in the coming years!

DeWitt Middle School

2009-06-04T09:13:00.000-07:00

May 5, 2009
Time(s): 10 AM – 2:45 PM
We sailed from:
Sampling Site: Taughannock State Park
Latitude: 42o 33.36’ Longitude: 76o 34.00’

Field Conditions:
Air temperature: 50 degrees F
Weather: overcast
Lake Conditions: calm to small waves, ripples
Lake Activity Level: low

Secchi Disk Measurement(s): 7 - 8 (meters)
Plankton Observations:
a. Organisms observed: diatoms, calanoid copepods
b. Most numerous organisms: diatoms

Water Characteristics:
Depth Temp. pH
0 44.7 8.0
3 43.9 7.5
5 44.3 8.0
7 44.3 8.5
20 42.9 8.0
30 44.6 8.0
50 42.4 8.0

Dewitt Middle School Trip Report

2009-06-04T08:50:00.000-07:00

Name of School/Group: DeWitt Middle SchoolDate: May 1, 2009
Time(s): midday
We sailed from:
Sampling Site: Taughannock State Park Latitude: 42o 33.36’ Longitude: 76o 34.00’

Field Conditions:
Air temperature: 51 - 61 degrees F
Weather: overcast
Lake Conditions: calm
Lake Activity Level: low

Secchi Disk Measurement(s): 8 (meters) (average)
Plankton Observations:
a. Organisms observed: diatoms, calanoid copepods
b. Most numerous organisms: diatoms

Water Characteristics:
Depth Temp. pH
0 44.7 8.0
3 43.9 7.5
5 44.3 8.0
7 44.3 8.5
20 42.9 8.0
30 44.6 8.0
50 42.4 8.0

Lansing High School Trip Report

2009-06-04T05:51:00.000-07:00

May 11 & 12: We collected data on many aspects of the lake's environment including depth, water clarity, temperature, and types of organisms in the water. Measurements were taken in the middle of the lake, just North of Meyer's park, at 42° 32.125' North latitude, 76° 33.723' West longitude. On May 11, conditions were calm and sunny; On May 12th, conditions were overcast and windy. Lake surface on both days was relatively calm with a few small waves and ripples.
The average air temperature recorded was 54.8 degrees, with a range between 46 and 64 degrees at different times in the day. Water pH and temperature samples were taken at varying depths, some as deep as 75 meters below the surface. Listed below is a range of temperatures and pH readings at various depths:
Depth(m) - Temperature(F) - pH
1 - 46 - 8
5 - 47 - 8
20 - 46 - 8.5
30 - 47 - 8
40 - 43 - 8.50

45 - 43 - 8
75 - 42 - ** = no reading

Secchi disks, the devices used to read light penetration through the water, indicated an average visual depth of 4.78 meters, with reading ranging from 4.25 to 6 meters. These readings categorized Cayuga lake as Mesotrophic. Actual sunlight penetration depths are closer to twice the visual depth.

Plankton samples were also collected. Samples were taken from depths ranging fromhalf a meter to 20 meters, with an average sample depth of 9.3 meters. Most samples were collected at 8 meters. At 10 meters, samples collected contained lots of plankton and algae, coloring the water green. Samples at depths shallower than five or deeper than 10 were mostly clear, containing very little life. The most common types of phytoplankton found were Diatoms, small plankton that resemble snowflakes. The most common types of zooplankton were Calanoids, which look like very tiny fish with feelers.
Posted by Mrs. Stone at 2:17 PM

Enfield 5th Grade Trip Report

2009-06-01T21:08:00.000-07:00

Date: May 29, 2009
We sailed from: Taughannock Park, at 9:30 and 11:30am
Sampling Site: Half way between Taughannock and Myers Point, in 280 feet of water!
Field Conditions:
Air temperature: 58-60 degrees F
Weather: Clearing, but cloudy after morning rain.

Lake Conditions: Calm, light waves with a south breeze building
Secchi Disk Measurement(s): 3.5-5.5 (meters)

Plankton Observations: Asterionella, a photosynthetic diatom, were the most numerous plankton on the water. However, some green- round volvox and long filaments were also present. We learned that, as the water warms, these types of algae will grow faster. We also saw lots of very small animals called rotifers, which eat the diatoms and green algae, and a few copepods.

Water Observations: We tested the temperature of the water a many depths and found that it gets colder as you go deeper. The surface temperature was 52 degrees F. but is quickly went down to about 47 degrees at 5 meters. Below that, it got even colder from 15 to 20 meters deep. This is probably because this is the lowest point where sun light can get to warm the water. While our Secchi disk readings were only about 5 meters on average, classes earlier in the week had readings as deep as 8 meters, which indicated that light could penetrate to at least 16 meters- twice the Secchi disk reading. Maybe the wind and rain from the day before increased the cloudiness of the water a little bit.

What Was Cool? The water that came our of Taughannock Creek was very cloudy, and we could see it flowing into the lake. The lake water was so clear during our morning cruise that we could actually see a wall of cloudy water from the Creek below the surface. Captain Stephanie positioned our boat right over the line between Creek water and lake water, and we measured the clarity on boat sides of the boat. 8 meters on the starboard and only 1 meter on the port! We talked about which water offered a better habitat for trout or for smaller fish and decided the edge of both habitats might be a great place to go fishing!

We also measured the acidity of the water on the pH Scale, and found that Cayuga Lake had a pH of 7.3 today. It is not acid because the pH is above 7, which is neutral. The limestone that Emily the Park Naturalist showed us protects our lake from acid rain by neutralizing the acid- remember all those bubbled when the acid touched the limestone?

Aquatic Plant Survey Cruises - Take One!

2009-05-10T20:31:00.000-07:00

In honor of Ithaca's Water Week celebration on May 9, we took three cruises onto Cayuga Lake, culminating in the first deployment of Cornell's student-designed remote-operation mini-sub, Triton (Pictured at right), from the M/V Haendel!

This was the first of three opportunities this seasaon to record on video the plant community growing from the bottom of the lake. We'll add new images soon from this exciting event... so check back in a week!

Click on the image here to navigate to the Cornell AUV Team's website.

Special Thanks to the Friends of Pete (Seeger)!

2009-05-04T20:43:00.000-07:00

Our Thanks to all the folks who came out to celebrate Pete Seeger's 90th birthday at Stewart Park on Sunday, May 3. It was a beautiful afternoon full of good food, children on the playground and beautiful music ringing out from the shores of Cayuga Lake! A particular shout-out goes to Pamela Goddard and Jim Harper, who made it all possible.

Your $200 in donations will help us make sure that people from every part of our community will have access to Cayuga Lake, and confidence that they have something to contribute to the community dialog on Cayuga Lake, our common resource. We think Pete will approve!

-Bill F.

A Windy Earth Sunday!

2009-04-26T19:45:00.001-07:00

Thanks to all who braved the elements on a sunny but surprisingly chilly and blustery day on Cayuga Lake! With a few minor hitches, our 2009 "shakedown" cruises were a success!

Our early afternoon cruise focused on conditions near the southwest corner of the lake, while our 3:00pm cruise featured a trip into deeper waters. The combined results fro both trips:

Water clarity, as measured by Secchi Disk:
Cayuga Inlet - 1.5 M

Cayuga Lake, SW Cornel (4 meters of water) - >4.0 M

Central Cayuga Lake - 6.5 M

Water Temperature, near the surface was 48 Deg. F.

** Stay tuned for results from Cornell's SCAMP remoted sensor, demonstrated by Tim Phillips!

Biological Notes: The water is beginning to show signs of warming,and planktonic species are observable. Photosynthetic diatoms such as Astrionella, and Copepod zooplankton were identified by our participants.

We also collected samples of material from the bottom of the lake during our first cruise. At a depth of about 4 M (12 feet), aquatic plants, including coontail, were showing signs of spring growth

Additionally, our sample was swimming with small shrimp-like amphipods. It was interesting to note that a second lake-bottom sample, from roughly 7 M revealed very little, other than fine silt and sediment.

2009-04-20T10:05:00.000-07:00

Welcome to our new "under construction" blogsite!

Come aboard to stay up to date on Cayuga Lake- the Floating Classroom crew will be providing cruise highlights and offering notes of interest during the 2009 cruise season. We will depend on students and volunteers to submit class trip and eco-cruise reports, links to important information sources, and more.

Our 2009 public cruise season begins with Ithaca's Earth Sunday celebration at Ithaca Farmers' Market. The Floating Classroom vessel with be on-hand at the market between noon and 5:00pm, with free (donations gladly accepted!) cruises departing at 1:00pm nad 3:00pm. Check out Tiohero Tours for scheduling information.

See You On The Lake!
Bill F.