Southside Camp Cruise #1

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.

GIAC Pre-Teen Green Cruise #2

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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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?

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!

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...

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!

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!

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!

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?

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!