The Great Lakes Research Center (GLRC) offers a unique set of marine assets with direct access to Lake Superior. Both surface and sub-surface assets are available for use by university faculty, staff and students, as well as collaborative partners, on a shared basis. Four surface vessels and four sub-surface vehicles along with a variety of specialized equipment and trained operators make the marine assets facility at the GLRC an ideal base of operations for research on, under, or related to, the Great Lakes, coastal ocean and freshwater environments winter or summer.
See below for equipment available for use or download our one-page list of assets here.
Please e-mail glrcmarineassets-l@mtu.edu to arrange for equipment use or questions.
Water and Bottom Sampling
- Water - Niskin, Van Dorn, Go-flo
- Bottom - PONAR, full, mini, box corer
- Plankton - Plankton nets (various mesh sizes)
Basic Shop Tools
Drop Cameras/Mountable Cameras
- Marcum fish cams, color and black and white 70’ cords (2)
- GoPro and Contour sport cams (5)
- Ocean Presence Deep Water Video Camera - See "Arrange for Technical Staff Operation."
Generators
- Kubota GL7000 Diesel Engine Generator – 120/240V single phase, 7000W, diesel power generator.
- Honda HP3500 – 120/240V, 5.5HP, power receptacles: 120V/15A, 120V/30A, 240V/20A
- Honda EU2000i (2) – 120V, small, portable gas generator.
- Goal Zero Yeti 1500X (2) – Battery Generator
Sontek Castaway CTD – (2) (Conductivity, Temperature and Depth)
- Free fall CTD for identifying thermocline, measuring sound speed velocity quickly and easily
- GPS and Bluetooth enabled for geotagging and quick data access
Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs)
- Outland 1000 ROVs (2)– (2) 500’ tethers, (1) 1000’ tether. Two color cameras, manipulator arm with interchangeable cutters/grabbers, Tritech single beam micron sonar. Operates off 120 V AC power.
Acoustic Doppler Current Meter
- Nortek Vector Velocimeter - Designed for measurements of rapid small scale changes in 3D velocity, used for turbulence, boundary layer measurements, surf zone measurements, and measurements in very low flow area.
Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCPs)
- Nortek Aquadopp – This profiler is a complete system and includes all parts required for a self-contained deployment with internal batteries and a data logger.
- Nortek AWAC ADCP - Measures waves as well as currents, has been used to measure ice flow velocity.
Hydrophone, Sonotronics
Exo Sonde
- Multi-parameter water quality sondes (2).
EdgeTech Tow Fish - Advanced Bottom Mapping Sonar
- 4125 Side Scan Sonar – Portable, dual frequency (400/900 kHz) sonar towfish that displays real-time sonar imaging to a display onboard. Operates off 115/230 VAC.
IVER-3 - Fully Autonomous Under Water Vehicle (AUV)
- OceanServer Autonomous Underwater Vehicle. Dual frequency (600/1600 kHz) sidescan sonar with coincident swath bathymetry. Handheld remote control, DVL/ADCP for advanced navigation, onboard speed of sound sensor, 8-10 hours operating time. Requires pre-mission planning by trained operator.
USBL (Ultra-short Baseline) Subsea Positioning System
- Micro-Ranger 2 – Extremely accurate subsea positioning device that relays position of underwater system to a shipboard graphical interface. Typically used to easily and quickly operate remote underwater vehicles.
Ocean Presence Deep Water Video Camera
- 1080p, full 360 deg. pan tilt zoom for live streaming over a network.
- Light bar.
- Fully programmable with tours, lighting schedules, and remote control by web users.
Vehicles
- RAM 2500HD Diesel Truck – Extended Bed, Crew Cab. Use fees apply
- GMC Sierra 2500HD Truck– 6’ bed covered bed, capable of towing ~9500lbs. Charged on time & consumables basis.
- Polaris 550 INDY Adventure Snowmobile
- Polaris quad ATV
Vessels
- S/V Soliton
- 26’ Workskiff Commander, Twin 150, 4-stroke upward engines. Use fees apply. Operated by trained GLRC staff only
- R/V Agassiz
- 36’ Research Vessel with twin 200 HP diesel engines. Has large work deck with two lifting davits, 120V AC power, as well as an enclosed cabin. Operated by Coast Guard licensed captain. Reserve by using this link.
Stewarded Assets (use requires approval of partner/owner)
- Boeing Liquid Robotics SV2 Wave Glider (2)
- 2m wave driven, solar powered ASV. Extreme endurance (6-9 months or longer), ample space for sensors and equipment at the surface and 6m below the surface. Speed 0.5-1.5 knots. Partner: NOAA GLERL
- L3 Harris C-Worker 8
- 8m twin diesel ASV, up to 7 days endurance, ample power (3kW) and space for sensors and equipment, gyro stabilized. 10 knots max speed. Partner: Ocean Infinity
- Available to travel and support multidisciplinary research
- Data acquisition and analysis
- Proposal development and planning