The project also provides unique opportunities for students. Nolan Pearce, also a professor at Trent University, was invited to help lead graduate students to provide assistance in the field.

“Some of the students are getting hands-on experience and samples that they don’t get with their own projects,” says Pearce. “Winter sampling is less common than more traditional limnological sampling. So, they’re getting to core holes through the ice with the auger, see how we take these kinds of underwater samples and just be out in an environment they don’t normally get to be in.”

Feb. 14 was chosen as the start date for the Winter Grab due to it being “the historical peak for ice cover for the Great Lakes,” according to Pearce. The project was estimated to take around a week to complete, with the time needed to gather the results and analyze each sample. 

Some Winter Grab researchers are examining winter algae populations. Xenopoulos points out that the Great Lakes are potential hotspots for algal blooms. She adds that the amount of algae growth during winter could impact the likelihood of large summer blooms, such as the one that occurred in Lake Erie in 2014 and forced the shutdown of drinking water intake for the city of Toledo, Ohio. Algae consume excess phosphorus and nitrogen from agricultural runoff into their biomass, causing the algae to multiply in warm, calm summer waters, and then slowly release harmful toxins into the lake. 

Xenopoulos is also keen to highlight the collaborative nature of the project. “The unique thing about this expedition is that it’s the first time there’s going to be a bunch of us there. We’re all collecting the samples in the same way at the same time. Then, everyone’s bringing in their expertise and measuring different components of the samples collected,” says Xenopoulos.

By studying samples from the Great Lakes, the Winter Grab can better help scientists better understand the effects of global warming on both the lakes and the planet as a whole.