The Alpena High School Underwater Research Robotics (UR2) team collaborated last summer with researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary to address the issue of increased acidification in the Great Lakes.
The team discovered that the surge in acidity is caused by the absorption of carbon dioxide (CO2) from activities such as fossil fuel combustion, leading to a decrease in lake and ocean waters’ potential hydrogen (pH) levels.
The Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab and TBNMS requested that UR2 leverage their marine technology expertise to create a sampler that can fit a remotely-operated vehicle (ROV).
“Our initial approach involved using a Niskin bottle to take water samples attached to the ROV,” a summary of the project, called WARP (Water Acidification Research Project), explains. “Once the ROV reached the designated depth and location, the Niskin bottle was released using the ROV’s grabber. Although this method worked reasonably well, the research protocol stipulated that the water sample had to be sealed at depth and shielded from exposure to surface air.”
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“UR2 contacted several MATE ROV companies and gave them a proposal to take water samples and contribute to their own ROV Sampling Technology,” the summary explains. “This effort quickly evolved into a global partnership, culminating in the launch of WARP (Water Acidification Research Project). WARP builds collective action while contributing to a deeper understanding of the critical issue of water acidification.”
Thomson and Widajewski said the project will help everyone better understand the causes of acidification, and they hope that leads to more sustainable practices and actions.
“It’s crucially important that this gets shared,” Thomson said. “Because, what’s going to start happening is we are going to start losing chunks of the ecosystem, and then, how are the fish going to be surviving? Are we even going to have the same fish population in 20 years?”
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Darby Hinkley, The Alpena News, 13 March 2025. Full article.
