UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Can we forecast the future of the Great Lakes ecosystem? That's a question that will be asked and perhaps answered at the 50th International Association for Great Lakes Research Conference, May 28-June 1 at Penn State. More than 500 scientists from around the world are expected to attend the event -- themed "Celebrating 50 years of Large Lakes Research" -- at the Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center. They will ponder past research to get an idea of what future studies might reveal. The International Association for Great Lakes Research is a scientific organization composed of researchers who study the North American Great Lakes and other large lakes of the world. Members share an interest in aquatic ecology and oceanography, as well as the management of large-lake ecosystems. The Great Lakes ecosystem is in a progressive state of change, according to conference co-chair Hunter Carrick, Penn State professor of aquatic ecology. "Population growth, climate change and invasive species all are contributing to changes in the aquatic environment, affecting the physical, chemical and biological processes that define the lakes' character, including the organisms they support," he says. The Great Lakes contain more than 20 percent of the world's freshwater supply and are a vital resource to the North American economy. Despite the recognized importance of the resource, the lakes have suffered considerable use and abuse since European settlement, points out Carrick, who has studied Lake Erie's oxygen-starved "dead-zone."

"Thirty-three million people live within the Great Lakes basin and rely on the huge bodies of water for drinking water, commerce, transportation and recreation that contribute hundreds of billions of dollars to the U.S. and Canadian economies," he says. The science program for the conference is focused on seven major research themes, reflecting the event's overall scope. They include: "Great Lakes: Past, Present, and Future"; "Ecosystems and Human Health"; "Dynamics of Airsheds and Watersheds"; "Physical Scaling and Ecosystem Biogeochemistry"; "Biological Communities and Biodiversity"; "Education, Outreach, and Commerce"; and "Tools, Techniques, and Research Opportunities."

In one of the highlights of the conference, Stephen Brandt, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, will attempt to answer the question, "Is the scientific community ready to meet the long-term challenges facing the Great Lakes?" "Clearly, interdisciplinary and ecosystem-based approaches to science and management are fundamental to the region's needs," Brandt says. "Further population growth will lead to an increase in conflicting user demands, and large-scale driving forces such as climate change and invasive species may change the fundamental character of Great Lakes processes and exacerbate our ability to resolve natural and anthropogenic threats."

Brandt will review new technologies that are improving how scientists observe systems, breakthroughs to better integrate scientific disciplines (such as physical, chemical, biological and societal interfaces), the need for research to shift focus from explanation to prediction, and how to prepare the next generation of scientists so they are ready to accept these long-term challenges.

Brandt will be speaking in the Presidents Hall of the Penn Stater at 1 p.m. on Thursday, May 31.

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For more information about the conference, contact Hunter Carrick at 814-865-9219 or by e-mail at hjc11@psu.edu, or visit the Web at www.iaglr.org/conference.

Writer/editor Jeff Mulhollem 814-863-2719 jjm29@psu.edu