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U-M divers retrieve 8,900-year-old piece of wood from Lake Huron
Annarbor.com (12/12)
University of Michigan researchers announced they have found a 5 1/2 foot long, pole-shaped piece of wood that is 8,900 years old in Lake Huron.
Superior researchers studying invasives, ballast water
Ashland Current (2/9)
Determining how clean a ship's ballast water must be to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species is the goal of the latest research partnership between the Northeast-Midwest Institute and the Lake Superior Research Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Superior.
RIVERKEEPERS: Tending the waterways
Niagara Gazette (2/6)
The goal of the Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper is two-fold: protecting the water quantity and the quality, as well as connecting people to the waterfront.
Internationally renowned ‘Ocean Doctor’ to speak in Grand Rapids
MLive.com (2/3)
Known as the “Ocean Doctor,” David Guggenheim will speak in Grand Rapids, Mich., about the many similarities between the threats to the oceans and to our Great Lakes.
SUNY Fredonia to lead Great Lakes pollution study
Wall Street Journal (2/3)
Plastic pollution in the Great Lakes will be the focus of a study this summer. Led by the State University of New York at Fredonia, researchers will try to quantify the amount of plastic polluting the fresh water Great Lakes.
SSC students taking part in marine science bowl
Arenac County Independent (1/31)
Teams of Michigan high school students will be heading to Ann Arbor this weekend to take part in the annual Great Lakes Bowl, a quiz event that focuses on questions about marine and freshwater systems and biology.
What's going on in your neighborhood this month? Meet other people and learn together at recreational and educational events! Our new dynamic calendar is updated daily with current educational events.
2 | Let's go to the beach!
How are beaches created?
The most common type of shoreline in the Great Lakes region is the sand beach. Sand is deposited on beaches when the waves from the lake move it up from the lake bottom to the shoreline, and the sandy shorelines are ever changing. Littoral transport carries sedimentary material both parallel to the shore (longshore transport) and perpendicular to the shore (on-offshore transport). The wind can also transport sand, carrying both large and small grains and depositing them either up or downshore. Humans can also transport sand. For example, non-contaminated sand dredged from lake bottoms is sometimes added to a beach to increase its size or to replace beach sand that has eroded.
Why are beaches important?
Because the land and water are constantly meeting one another, many different life forms inhabit a beach, such as algae and other microfauna. Therefore, beaches are rich feeding grounds for migratory shorebirds. The beach also collects driftwood and other debris that a variety of beetles, spiders, and shorebirds like to feed upon. Shoals, sandbars, and spits often protect marshes and other wetlands from excessive wave and wind action. Spits, such as Long Point on Lake Erie and Oak Point on Lake Superior, may provide a habitat for plant and animal communities. And, of course, beaches are great places for us to go swimming!
What is sand made of?
Sand consists of rocks, crystals, and sea shells that are eroded over a long period of time by wind, water, and ice. The composition of sand can change greatly from beach to beach. For example, the black sand beaches of Hawaii are composed of volcanic ash and rocks, while the white beaches of the Caribbean consist of sea shells. The tan-colored beaches around the Great Lakes area are made up mostly of grains of quartz.
Ancient beaches
Although no longer located on a body of water, beach ridges are common in the Great Lakes region. These ancient ridges formed the seashores of the proglacial lakes, and were left behind as the lakes' levels dropped to their current elevations. The Ridges Sanctuary in Door County, Wis., contains 16 beach ridge formations. Another ancient beach ridge formation runs from the present day Maumee River, past Toledo, Ohio, and into southern Michigan.
See also GLIN's Beaches page, and BeachWatch, Recipe for a Beach
Graphics: beach at Frankfort, Michigan; sand sculpture; and, a sample of quartz
