When the water is too shallow for a boat and too dangerous for a person, it’s time to send in a robot researcher.

At least, that’s what Tom Consi hopes will be the mindset when he launches the remote operated vehicle he’s worked on for the past year.

(MI) Ann Arbor.com - Mayor John Hieftje called for a truce tonight as he addressed a crowd of nearly five dozen members of Ann Arbor’s rowing community gathered at Pioneer High School.

(WI) Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Calling the city’s search for a radium-free water supply “a critical public health issue,” Mayor Larry Nelson on Thursday said a proposed diversion of Great Lakes water to the city was the only safe, reliable and environmentally sustainable option.

Red, yellow and blue squares on online maps mark where research scientists Steven Ruberg and Guy Meadows deploy techno-savvy buoys to measure nearshore conditions in the Great Lakes.

(WI) Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Pumping Waukesha’s treated wastewater to Underwood Creek in Wauwatosa would not degrade the stream or spur algae growth, according to a study released Wednesday.

By Kimberly Hirai
Jan. 28, 2010
Editor’s note: This is the third in a series of stories on how new technology is  giving researchers a glimpse of the critical nearshore area of the Great Lakes.
With researchers hunched over remote controls, operating the Stealth II looks more like playing a video game than doing science.
The Environmental Protection Agency purchased the underwater vehicle in May 2009. Using a hand control, agency scientists can operate the Stealth II as it hovers at various depths of the Great Lakes’ nearshore. The Stealth II’s camera allows scientists …

(ON) The Hamilton Spectator -  A new $4.6-million, state-of-the-art research facility at the Canada Centre for Inland Waters will be used to try to better understand the environmental consequences of everyday chemicals and contaminants.

By Kimberly Hirai
Jan. 27, 2010
Editor’s note: This is the second in a series of stories on how new technology is giving researchers a glimpse of the critical nearshore area of the Great Lakes
One of the Environmental Protection Agency’s newest members uses side-scan sonar to look at the watery depths of Lake Michigan.
Fanning its sound waves down to the lake floor, it searches for the returning signals bouncing off the bottom in search of bounty—it found a shipwreck last year.
But the Triaxus Towed Undulator does more than treasure hunts. …

Ever wonder what it’s like to work as a Soo Locks technician? Mike Rowe discovers the dirty truth tonight on his hit television show Dirty Jobs. The episode airs on the Discovery Channel at 9 p.m. The Soo Locks are a series of gates and pumps in northern Michigan that allow ships to pass through Lake Superior and Lake Huron.

(IN) The Post-Tribune - U.S. Steel will update the public on its cleanup of several contaminated sites at its Gary Works facility on Thursday.