Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering

Dr. Martin T. Auer

Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering

Fellow in the Great Lakes Research Center

Michigan Technological University

Dr. Auer holds a B.S. in Zoology from the SUNY College of Environmental Science & Forestry, an M.S. in Civil Engineering from Syracuse University and a Ph.D. in Water Resources Science from the University of Michigan. He has been a member of the faculty in Civil & Environmental Engineering at Michigan Techsince 1981 and is a Founding Fellow of the Great Lakes Research Center at Michigan Tech. Dr. Auer’s research focuses on mathematical modeling of Great Lakes and inland waters and the conduct of field monitoring and laboratory studies in support of water quality modeling and management.

The Great Lakes

Dr. Auer has been a member of the International Association for Great Lakes Research for over 25 years, has been elected to the IAGLR Board of Directors, has served as Guest Associate Editor for two special issues of the Journal of Great Lakes Research and is a recipient of the association’s Editor’s Award in recognition of his contributions to IAGLR’s mission in scholarship.

Dr. Auer has been particularly active in working on issues relating to the Great Lakes nearshore. In 2006, he was invited to join a team of Great Lakes scientists and engineers reviewing the 1978 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (amended in 1983 and 1987) as revisions to this landmark piece of legislation were considered. Dr. Auer assembled a binational workgroup focusing specifically on Cladophora, an attached alga that grows to nuisance proportions in the nearshore waters of the Great Lakes. The findings of the workgroup and the review committee were subsequently transmitted as recommendations for consideration in revising the agreement. Those findings are today embodied as guiding principles for the 2012 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement and, through Annex 4 of the Agreement, provide direction in achieving objectives relating to management of phosphorus in the Great Lakes. Dr. Auer has also served as a consultant to the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA), offering guidance on management of nuisance Cladophora growth and other water quality issues in the nearshore waters of Lake Ontario.

Dr. Auer has conducted field research on Lakes Huron, Michiganand Superior and has published on topics relating to all five Great Lakes. He has been principal investigator or co-principal investigator on 15 research grants relating to the Great Lakes, with awards totaling approximately $2 million. Dr. Auer has directed 17 graduate theses (including 3 Ph.D. dissertations) focusing on the Great Lakes and has published over 33 papers on Great Lakes related topics, including 20in the Journal of Great Lakes Research. Dr. Auer is a recipient of the Grand Traverse Bay Watershed Award recognizing his work on that system.

Dr. Auer is presently active in Great Lakes research on three fronts. With Dr. Nancy Auer (Michigan Tech Department of Biological Sciences), he is recipient of a U.S. EPA Great Lakes Restoration Initiative grant to develop mathematical modeling capacities for Predicting Ecosystem Changes in Lake Superior. Two years of intensive field monitoring on Lake Superior have been completed and attention is now turning to development and integration of hydrodynamic, water quality and ecosystem bioenergetics models. These tools will be used to simulate Lake Superior’s response to external perturbation: climate change (e.g. interannual variation in ice cover), nutrient supply (e.g. the 2012 solstice flood) and disruption of the food web by invasive species (e.g. mussels).

Dr. Auer is also actively investigating the resurgence of nuisance growth of the attached alga Cladophora in the Great Lakes. This filamentous green alga grows abundantly in the nearshore waters of Lakes Erie, Michigan and Ontario, clogging water intakes at municipalities and power plants, fouling beaches and contributing to the incidence of avian botulism. An acknowledged expert on the topic (13 peer-reviewed publications), Dr. Auer was an invited speaker at the workshop on Cladophora Research and Management in the Great Lakes in 2004 and at the 2006 State of the Lakes Ecosystem Conference (SOLEC). He was invited to serve as lead author on a white paper outlining management perspectives relating to the Cladophoraissue for SOLEC 2008. Dr. Auer has served as co-principal investigator for a U.S. EPA Great Lakes Restoration Initiative grant directed by Dr. Bob Shuchman of the Michigan Tech Research Institute. This effort, evolving from a NASA-sponsored proof of concept grant, utilized satellite imagery and ground truth validation to develop the first ever Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Map (SAV, e.g. Cladophora) for the Great Lakes. His recent work on the role of phosphorus cycling by mussels in the Great Lakes has validated the nearshore shunt hypothesis and clearly demonstrates the linkage between mussel activity and nuisance growth of Cladophora.

Dr. Auer’s laboratory is a leader in the determination of phosphorus bioavailability by bioassay and chemical methods. Bioavailability is defined as the fraction of the total phosphorus moiety that is available to support algal growth. A knowledge of the bioavailability of phosphorus in point and nonpoint source discharges is critical in the development of cost effective Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) estimates. Working with colleagues at the Upstate Freshwater Institute in Syracuse, New York, Dr. Auer has published papers in Lake and Reservoir Management and Water Environment Research on a bioavailability-based approach to phosphorus TMDL development. Most recently, Dr. Auer has extended the approach to a major municipal point source discharge and to the major nonpoint (tributary) sources of phosphorus to the Great Lakes.

Inland Waters

Dr. Auer’s work on inland waters has focused largely on lakes and reservoirs in New York where, since 1987, he has collaboratedwith the not-for-profit Upstate Freshwater Institute. Dr. Auer’s research there has dealt with the protection and remediation of the 19 lakes and reservoirs that constitute the New York City drinking water supply and on restoration of Onondaga Lake in Syracuse, New York, a body of water recognized in the Congressional Record as the ‘dirtiest lake in the United States’. Dr. Auer’s collaboration with UFI has resulted in 8grants to Michigan Tech totaling approximately $1.5 million and supporting 23 M.S. and 4 Ph.D. students. Dr. Auer has published 50 papers on these systems in peer-reviewed publications including, the Canadian Journal of Fisheries & Aquatic Sciences, Ecological Modelling, Hydrobiologia, Inland Waters,the Journal of Environmental Engineering, the Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management, Lake & Reservoir ManagementMarine & Freshwater Research, Water Environment Research, Water Research and Water Science & Technology.

Dr. Auer’s research team has addressed a wide variety of topics relating to Onondaga Lake, often focusing on water quality modeling and on the characterization of chemical flux (ammonia, mercury, nitrate, oxygen, and phosphorus) at the sediment-water interface. Dr. Auer and colleagues have developed a Dual Discharge strategy for dealing with the limited assimilative capacity of Onondaga Lake and the adjoining Seneca River. This approach utilizes near-real-time modeling supported by robotic monitoring to support the selection of the river or the lake as the primary receiving water depending on water quality conditions.

Dr. Auer has conducted research on remediation of mercury pollution at the Onondaga Lake Superfund Site with support from Honeywell Corporation. The research validated the efficacy of electron acceptor amendment as a means of regulating methylmercury release from the sediments and quantified the role of legacy sediment organic carbon reserves and mass transport in mediating electron acceptor demand. Dr. Auer’s laboratory validation of this technology provided the foundation for a recently-completed whole lake pilot study of electron acceptor amendment, an approach which may be accepted as a means of enhanced natural recovery for mercury-contaminated sediment in Onondaga Lake.

Most recently, Dr. Auer has collaborated with Dr. Steve Chapra of Tufts University in the development of a mathematical model simulating the recovery of contaminated lake sediments. To date, the model has been successfully applied in predicting the time course of recovery of sediments and water quality in Onondaga Lake, New York and in Lake Alice, Fergus Falls, Minnesota.

Education & Outreach

Dr. Auer is a leader among Michigan Tech faculty in contributions to undergraduate education and community outreach in the aquatic sciences. He served as liaison to the shipbuilder during construction of the Michigan Tech’s 36-foot, 15-ton R/V Agassiz and, from 2002-2012, managed vessel operations. The Agassiz has proven to be a particularly valuable resource, supporting the diverse needs of University constituencies in research, education and outreach:

• carrying, in its last four years of operation, more than 2500 passengers and setting a single-year record by hosting in excess of 800 guests 2008;
• becoming the centerpiece for K-12 and community programs presented by the Michigan Tech Center for Science and Environmental Outreach, a unit recognized for its offerings on Great Lakes topics;
• providing a floating laboratory for undergraduate courses in the Departments of Biological Sciences and Civil & Environmental Engineering, welcoming approximately 250 student annually; and
• servingas the platform for externally-funded research conducted by Michigan Tech faculty and colleagues at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Environmental Laboratory, the University of Minnesota, the Office of Naval Research, the Upstate Freshwater Institute, the Netherlands Institute of Ecology, Region 5 of U.S. EPA and the Natural Resources Department of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community. The Agassiz set a single-year record for research supported activity in 2012.

The Agassiz has become Michigan Tech’s floating ambassador, bringing ‘people to the water’ in the Lake Superior basin.

Outreach has taken on a whole new meaning with the opening of the Great Lakes Research Center at Michigan Tech. The Center for Science and Environmental Outreach (CSEO) now occupies a suite if offices and an activities classroom on the first floor of the GLRC and shares access to the limnology laboratory, the ecosystem visualization laboratory and the R/V Agassiz. Dr. Auer has been especially active in community and K-12 outreach, working in collaboration with Joan Chadde, Program Director at the CSEO. He developed a curriculum entitled, “How Do You Make A Lake Trout” providing students with hands-on exposure to the food web of Lake Superior and adjoining waters. Here, students collect samples of water and sediment aboard the R/V Agassizand then return to the laboratory, to examine plankton with a research microscope, extract benthic macroinvertebrates from sediment collections and dissect lake trout stomachs. Undergraduate and graduate students serve as instructors, gainingoutreach experience and serving as role models for K-12 students. In the fall of 2012, CSEO welcomed over 1000 middle school students to the GLRC to participate in this and other programs offered as part of the Lake Superior Water Festival. A new program entitled, Ride the Waves With GM, sponsored by the General Motors Corporation, the GLRC and CSEO will provide an additional 1000 K-12 students with access to the inland seas in 2013.

Dr. Auer’s commitment to education and outreach extends beyond the immediate campus, including organization and execution of two, weeklong teaching cruises on Lake Superior aboard the U.S. EPA’s R/V Lake Guardian, presentation (with Dr. Nancy Auer) of a Lake Superior Exploration Workshop for COSEE Great Lakes (Center for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence, Wisconsin Sea Grant) and participation in the annual Lake Superior Youth Event, The Great Lakes Series @ The Library and the Superior Science for You Program (Minnesota Sea Grant). Dr. Auer has also collaborated with Joan Chadde in designing web-based support for the State of Michigan Environmental Curriculum (MEEC, 19 modules) and the Great Lakes Marine Institute’s curriculum support exercise, GreatLakes Shipping: Across the Country, Around the World. In 2008, Dr. Auer’s contributions in outreach were recognized by receipt of the Volunteer Service Award of The Michigan Alliance for Environmental & Outdoor Education.

Selected Publications

(arrangedby topic; graduate student authors in blue)

Great Lakes - Lake Superior

Verhamme, E.M., Auer, M.T., Auer, N.A. and N.R. Urban. 2013. Diporeia ecology in Lake Superior: Insights from a carbon budget. In Preparation for Inland Waters.

Auer, M.T., Auer, N.A., Urban, N.R. and T. Auer. 2013. Distribution of the amphipod Diporeia in Lake Superior: The Ring of Fire. In Press, Journal of Great Lakes Research.

Effler, S.W., Perkins, M., Peng, F., Strait, C., Weidemann, A.D., Auer, M.T. 2010. Light-absorbing components in Lake Superior. Journal of Great Lakes Research, 36(4):656-665.

Auer, M.T., Bub, L.A., Auer, N.A. and N.R. Urban. 2010. Primary production, carbon flux and the distribution of benthic organisms in Lake Superior. In Press, Verh.Internat.Verein.Limnol., 30(10): 1499-1505.

Powell, K.D. and M.T. Auer. 2010. Organic carbon lability and community-level physiological profiling of bacterial populations in Lake Superior. In Press, Verh.Internat.Verein.Limnol.,30(10): 1509-1514.

Verhamme, E.M. and M.T. Auer. 2009. Carbon flux, sediment enrichment, and macroinvertebrate activity at slope and profundal sites on Lake Superior. Verh.Internat.Verein.Limnol.,30(8):1239-1241.

Urban.N.R., McDonald, C.P. and M.T. Auer. 2009. Are the Great Lakes a significant net source or sink of CO2? Verh.Internat.Verein.Limnol. , 30(8):1283-1288.

Peng, F., Effler, S.W., O’Donnell, D., Weidemann, A.D. and M.T. Auer. 2009. Characterizations of minerogenic particles in support of modeling light scattering through a two-component approach in Lake Superior. Limnology and Oceanography, 54(4): 1369-1381.

Auer, N.A., Cannon, B.A. and M.T. Auer. 2009. Life history and distribution of Diporeia near the Keweenaw Peninsula, Lake Superior. Journal of Great Lakes Research, 35(4): 579-590.

Gons, H.J., Auer, M.T. and S.W. Effler. 2008. MERIS satellite chlorophyll mapping of oligotrophic and eutrophic waters in the Laurentian Great Lakes. Remote Sensing of Environment, 112(11): 4098-4106.

Urban, N.R., Auer, M.T., Green, S.A., Lu, X., Powell, K.D. and L. Bub. 2005. Carbon cycling in Lake Superior. Journal of Geophysical Research, 110, C06S90, doi:10.1029/2003JC002230.

Churchill, J.H., Kerfoot, W.C. and M.T. Auer. 2004. Exchange of water between the Keweenaw Waterway and Lake Superior: Characteristics and forcing mechanisms. Journal of Great Lakes Research, Supplement 1: 55-63.

Auer, M.T.and T.M. Gatzke. 2004. The spring runoff event, thermal bar formation, and cross margin transport in Lake Superior. Journal of Great Lakes Research, Supplement 1: 64-81.

Auer, M.T. and K.D. Powell. 2004. Heterotrophic bacterioplankton dynamics at a site off the southern shore of Lake Superior. Journal of Great Lakes Research, Supplement 1: 214-229.

Urban, N.R., Apul, D.S. and M.T. Auer. 2004. Community respiration rates in Lake Superior. Journal of Great Lakes Research, Supplement 1: 230-244.

Auer, M.T.and L.A. Bub. 2004. Selected features of the distribution of chlorophyll along the southern shore of Lake Superior. Journal of Great Lakes Research, Supplement 1: 269-285.

Great Lakes - Cladophora

Dayton, A.I., Auer, M.T. and Atkinson, J.F. 2013. Mussels, mass transport and Cladophora growth in the Great Lakes. In Preparation for Journal of Great Lakes Research.

Tomlinson, L.M., Auer, M.T. and H.A. Bootsma. 2010. The Great Lakes Cladophora Model: Development and application to Lake Michigan. Journal of Great Lakes Research, 36: 287-297.

Great Lakes – Cladophora (Continued)

Auer, M.T., Tomlinson, L.M., Higgins, S.N., Malkin, S.Y., Howell, E.T. and H.A. Bootsma. 2010. Great Lakes Cladophora in the 21st Century: Same Alga – Different Ecosystem. Journal of Great Lakes Research, 36: 248-255.

Auer, M.T. and H.A. Bootsma. 2009. Cladophora the Great Lakes: Guidance for Water Quality Managers. Proceedings of the State of the Lakes Ecosystem Conference 2008.

Graham, J.M., Kranzfelder, J.A., and M.T. Auer. 1985. Light and temperature as factors regulating seasonal growth and distribution of Ulothrixzonata (Chlorophyceae). Journal of Phycology, 21(2): 228234.

Canale, R.P., Auer, M.T., Matsuoka, Y., Heidtke, T.M., and S.J. Wright. 1983. Optimal cost control strategies for attached algae. ASCE, Journal of Environmental Engineering, Vol. 109, No. 6, pp. 12251242.

Auer, M.T., Graham, J.M., Graham, L.E., and J.A. Kranzfelder. 1983. Factors regulating the spatial and temporal distribution of Cladophora and Ulothrix in the Laurentian Great Lakes. pp. 135145, In: (R. G. Wetzel, ed.), Periphyton of Freshwater Ecosystems, Dr. W. Junk Publishers, The Hague, Netherlands.

Auer, M.T., Canale, R.P., Grundler, H.C., and Y. Matsuoka. 1982. Ecological studies and mathematical modeling of Cladophora in Lake Huron: 1. Program description and field monitoring. Journal of Great Lakes Research, 8(1):7383.

Auer, M.T. and R.P. Canale. 1982. Ecological studies and mathematical modeling of Cladophora in Lake Huron: 2. Phosphorus uptake kinetics. Journal of Great Lakes Research, 8(1):8492.

Auer, M.T. and R.P. Canale. 1982. Ecological studies and mathematics modeling of Cladophora in Lake Huron: 3. Dependence of growth rates on internal phosphorus pool size. Journal of Great Lakes Research, 8(1):9399.

Graham, J.M., Auer, M.T., Canale, R.P., and J.P. Hoffman. 1982. Ecological studies and mathematical modeling of Cladophora in Lake Huron: 4. Photosynthesis and respiration as function of light and temperature. Journal of Great Lakes Research, 8(1):100111.

Canale, R.P. and M.T. Auer. 1982. Ecological studies and mathematical modeling of Cladophora in Lake Huron: 5. Model development and calibration. Journal of Great Lakes Research, 8(1):112125.

Canale, R.P., Auer, M.T., and J.M. Graham. 1982. Ecological studies and mathematical modeling of Cladophora in Lake Huron: 6. Seasonal and spatial variation in growth kinetics. Journal of Great Lakes Research, 8(1):126133.

Canale, R.P. and M.T. Auer. 1982. Ecological studies and mathematical modeling of Cladophora in Lake Huron: 7. Model verification and system response. Journal of Great Lakes Research, 8(1):134143.

Auer, M.T. and R.P. Canale. 1981. Phosphorus uptake dynamics as related to mathematical modeling of Cladophora at a site on Lake Huron. Journal of Great Lakes Research, 6(1):17.

Great Lakes – Other Topics

Auer, M.T. and N.A. Auer. 1990. Sediment characteristics influencing walleye hatching success in the Lower Fox River, Wisconsin. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society, 119: 871876.

Effler, S.W. and M.T. Auer. 1987. Optical heterogeneity in Green Bay. Water Resources Bulletin, 23(5): 937941.

Auer, M.T. and R.P. Canale. 1986. Mathematical modeling of primary production in Green Bay (Lake Michigan, USA): A phosphorus and lightlimited system. Hydrobiological Bulletin, 20: 195211.

Auer, M.T., Kieser, M.S., and R.P. Canale. 1986. Identification of critical nutrient levels through field verification of models for phosphorus and phytoplankton growth. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 43(2): 379388.

Heidtke, T.M., Auer, M.T. and R.P. Canale. 1986. Microcomputer models and water quality: Access for decisionmakers. Journal of the Water Pollution Control Federation, 58(10): 960966.