Officals hope arial imagery from an unmanned blimp can help research Lake Erie's toxic algae blooms that choke fish and could taint drinking water. Photo: NOAA

By Jeff Gillies, jeffgillies@gmail.com
Great Lakes Echo
Aug. 21, 2009

A marshmallow blimp and a yellow submarine are gearing up to explore the Great Lakes from above and below.

The SkySentry Aerostat — an unmanned blimp designed for military use — wouldn’t be out of place advertising a used car clearance sale, Michael Scott writes in the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Instead, officials are testing the big white blimp’s ability to collect imagery of Lake Erie algae blooms that turn the lake’s shallow western waters green and suffocate fish. Check the Plain Dealer’s story for video and a slide show.

Farther north, a Minnesota man is building a personal submarine to explore Lake Superior, writes Richard Thomas for Business North. Check the story for a picture of retired mechanical engineer Dean Ackman in his bright yellow ride.

The sub should dive up to 350 feet, well short of the biggest Great Lake’s maximum depth of 1,300 feet. But that’s deep enough to get Ackerman to some shipwrecks and salvageable timber.