MICHIGAN TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY
PROJECT TITLE ENABLING THE FUTURE OF GREAT LAKES BIOLOGICAL RESOURCE ASSESSMENTPROJECT PERIOD 9 1 2022 8 31 2023THE OVERARCHING GOAL OF THE PROPOSED USGS MTU MTRI COLLABORATION IS TO RESEARCH NEW AND EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT TOOLS THAT IMPROVE THE SPATIAL COVERAGE, ACCURACY, PRECISION, AND USEFULNESS OF USGS S GREAT LAKES SCIENCE PROGRAM THREE SPECIFIC TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS WILL BE INVESTIGATED TO ACHIEVE THIS GOAL UNDERWATER AND SURFACE AUTONOMY, UNDERWATER IMAGING, AND MACHINE LEARNING THESE INNOVATIONS COMBINED WILL GENERATE NEW KNOWLEDGE THAT IS USEFUL TO GREAT LAKES NATIONAL RESOURCE MANAGERS THESE INNOVATIONS WILL ENABLE USGS TO COLLECT AND PROCESS LAKE WIDE SURVEYS OF PREY FISH ABUNDANCES, ANSWERING DISCRETE RESEARCH QUESTIONS ABOUT THE FISH, LIMNOLOGY, AND ECOSYSTEMS MAP HABITATS AND DEVELOP MORE EFFICIENT TECHNOLOGICAL SOLUTIONS TO PERSISTENT SAMPLING PROBLEMS TO AID IN THE ACCOMPLISHMENT OF THIS GOAL, MICHIGAN TECH WILL WORK COLLABORATIVELY WITH USGS SCIENTISTS ON THE FOLLOWING ACTIVITIES ENGINEER, COORDINATE, AND DEPLOY ROBOTIC TECHNOLOGIES TO AUTONOMOUSLY COLLECT DATA ABOUT FISHERIES AND LAKE ECOSYSTEMS ASSIST WITH THE DELIVERY OF ANNUAL SURVEY RESULTS FOR BENTHIC FISHES FROM USGS S AUV IMAGERY DEVELOP AUTOMATED SOLUTIONS FOR INTERPRETATION AND PROCESSING OF BIOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL FEATURES IN UNDERWATER IMAGERY, VIDEO, AND ACOUSTIC DATA ADVANCE TECHNIQUES FOR LARGE SCALE UNDERWATER MAPPING OF PHYSICAL HABITAT AND GEOMORPHOLOGY USING ACOUSTIC TECHNOLOGIES AUTOMATE THE INTERPRETATION OF SATELLITE AND AERIAL REMOTE SENSING DATA FOR PHYSICAL AND BIOLOGICAL FEATURES OF THE LAKE ENVIRONMENT DEVELOP COMPUTATIONAL TECHNOLOGIES, WORKFLOWS, AND SOFTWARE TO ACCELERATE DATA PROCESSING, ANALYSIS, AND DELIVERY TO PARTNERS ASSIST WITH PRODUCTION OF OPEN SOURCE TOOLS AND DATA THAT CAN BE EASILY ASSIMILATED BY THE PUBLIC AND USGS S PARTNERS THE DELIVERABLES AND OUTCOMES OF THIS PROJECT INCLUDE CUSTOM SOFTWARE FOR ROUND GOBY OBJECT IDENTIFICATION CUSTOM SOFTWARE FOR SUBMERGED AQUATIC VEGETATION PERCENT COVER ESTIMATION CUSTOM SOFTWARE FOR DREISSENID MUSSEL COVER AND COUNT PEER REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS ON RESEARCH RESULTS MULTIBEAM BATHYMETRY, BACKSCATTER, AND DERIVED PRODUCTS FOR GEOGRAPHIES OF INTEREST ANNOTATED IMAGE DATA SETS LABELLED FOR FISH, ALGAE, AND MUSSELS PUBLICLY RELEASED DATA SETS USED IN ANALYSES AND REPORTS ON RESEARCH OUTCOMES THE INTENDED BENEFICIARIES OF THIS WORK INCLUDE USGS STAKEHOLDERS, INCLUDING NATURAL RESOURCE AND LAND MANAGERS IN THE GREAT LAKES MICHIGAN TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY MTU AND MICHIGAN TECH RESEARCH INSTITUTE MTRI HAVE BEEN ASSISTING THE USGS IN THE PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITY OF ASSISTING NATURAL RESOURCE AND LAND MANAGERS BY PROVIDING THEM WITH SOUND BIOLOGICAL INFORMATION AND ASSISTANCE IN APPLYING THE INFORMATION TO THEIR NEEDS
$3,519,968U.S. Geological Survey
UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
THE U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY (USGS) WISHES TO SUPPORT, BY COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA, DEPARTMENT OF GEOSCIENCES, PORTIONS OF PROGRAMS BEING CARRIED OUT BY THE ARIZONA WATER SCIENCE CENTER. THE USGS OFFICES LOCATED ON UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA CAMPUS PROPOSE TO CONTINUE THEIR LONG-STANDING AFFILIATION WITH SCIENTISTS AND STAFF IN SEVERAL DEPARTMENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA FOR THE PURPOSE OF STRENGTHENING ON-GOING GEOLOGIC AND WATER-RESOURCE PROGRAMS.THIS COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT PROVIDES USGS SUPPORT TO UNIVERSITY GROUPS AND INDIVIDUAL UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDENTS UNDERTAKING GEOPHYSICAL, GEOCHEMICAL, AND HYDROLOGICAL RESEARCH. SUPPORT INCLUDES SALARY, TRAVEL, SUPPLIES, EQUIPMENT, OPERATION OF FIELD DATA COLLECTION SITES, AND PROCESSING AND MAINTENANCE OF DATA FOR THE FOLLOWING RESEARCH ACTIVITIES INCLUDING GEOCHEMICAL AND HYDROLOGICAL STUDIES, DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION OF GEOPHYSICAL METHODS TO DETERMINE THE HYDROGEOLOGIC FRAMEWORK OF AQUIFER SYSTEMS, DEVELOPMENT OF NUMERICAL MODELING TO SIMULATE GROUNDWATER FLOW, USE OF REMOTE SENSING TO DETERMINE CONSUMPTIVE WATER-USE PATTERNS FOR VARIOUS LAND USES, AND GENERAL STUDIES OF FLUVIAL GEOMORPHOLOGY AND SEDIMENT TRANSPORT IN ARID AND SEMIARID DRAINAGES IN THE SOUTHWESTERN UNITED STATES.THE USGS BENEFITS BY HAVING UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDENTS APPLY STATE-OF-THE-ART TECHNIQUES TO HYDROLOGICAL PROBLEMS AT THE HEART OF THE MISSION OF USGS WATER MISSION AREA. THESE STUDENTS HAVE ACCESS TO ADVANCED COMPUTER EQUIPMENT, MASS SPECTROMETERS, AND AN EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM FOR TRAINING WHICH ARE NOT AVAILABLE WITHIN WATER MISSION AREA.UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA STUDENTS BENEFIT BECAUSE THIS COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT WILL PROVIDE PROJECT TOPICS, PROFESSIONAL MENTORING, AND SALARIES THAT ARE NECESSARY FOR UNDERGRADUATE PROJECTS AND GRADUATE THESIS WORK. THESE STUDENTS ARE IN MULTIPLE DEPARTMENTS IN THE COLLEGE OF SCIENCE INCLUDING GEOSCIENCES, THE LABORATORY OF TREE RING RESEARCH, HYDROLOGY AND ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES, AND THE SCHOOL OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND THE ENVIRONMENT, AS WELL AS CIVIL ENGINEERING IN THE ENGINEERING COLLEGE.TO ACHIEVE THE COLLABORATIVE SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH DESCRIBED ABOVE, THE USGS JOINTLY OCCUPIES THE DECONCINI ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES BUILDING (#120) ON THE UA CAMPUS. THIS FACILITY INCLUDES OFFICE, CONFERENCE, LABORATORY, AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SPACE TO SUPPORT THE NEEDS OF USGS SCIENTISTS, TECHNICIANS, AND SUPPORT PERSONNEL, TOGETHER WITH ACCESS TO CAMPUS PARKING. APPROXIMATELY 65 OF THE USGS SCIENTISTS, TECHNICIANS, AND SUPPORT PERSONNEL WORK FOR THE ARIZONA WATER SCIENCE CENTER. IT ALSO INCLUDES PARKING OF APPROXIMATELY 18 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT VEHICLES IN THE 6TH STREET GARAGE WITH SPACES RESERVED FOR ARIZONA WATER SCIENCE CENTER. USGS PROVIDES FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR BUILDING REPAIRS, MAINTENANCE, UTILITIES, AND CUSTODIAL SERVICES.
$741,569U.S. Geological Survey