2004 Ohio River Run Crew

RiverTrek.Org and the Chattanooga Star riverboat are proud to participate with the Ohio River Run 2005.

The annual Ohio River Run is a collaborative research expedition of faculty and students from five Ohio River Valley schools. Data is collected over a two week period as the crew of the Chattanooga Star navigate the entire 981 miles of the Ohio River. The crew of the Chattanooga Star is proud to once again have the opportunity to be a part of this important mission. 

The River Run participants will sign on as RiverTrek crew so the Chattanooga Star riverboat can be used as a mobile base of operations. The Chattanooga Star will provide support and facilities previously unavailable to the scientists to support their scientific endeavors. This support includes space for use as an onboard laboratory, sleeping accommodations, power for cooking and recharging of testing apparatuses, showers, and towing of smaller research vessels.

Update!!

RiverTrek working with a group of OhioValley universities just completed on 13 Aug. 2005 a remarkable annual scientific expedition, the Ohio River Run 2005. Scientists and researchers from five colleges and universities traveled from Pittsburgh to Cairo taking samples and measurements every five miles (198 sample sites) of the Ohio River. The expedition traveled onboard the Chattanooga Star, a side-wheel paddle wheeler familiar on these waters.

Participants included representatives from:

Marshall University in Huntington, WV                               University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, OH

Northern Kentucky University in Highland Heights, KY      Thomas More College in Crestview Hills, KY                   

Hanover College in Madison, IN.

The range of studies included topics of interest not only to society in general but also of direct interest to the Marine Industry. The scope of research included: antibiotics in aquatic life and the amount of e.coli in the river that came from human and agricultural waste, concentrations of heavy metals in mussels and algae, algae counts that relate to the volume and type of nutrients in the river, the concentration and proliferation of zebra mussels, and patterns in the transport of sediment. A preliminary and inconclusive assessment indicates after a decline for the past few years a possible increase in the number of young zebra mussels the entire length of the Ohio River.

The first two River Runs in 2001 and 2002 focused exclusively on the upper 500 miles of the Ohio River. On the third Ohio River Run in 2003 the researcher traveled the entire river in two small boats, a 22’ Monark and a 22’ pontoon boat. On completion of the third River Run the difficulty of the journey prompted an initial feeling of “never again”. Enter RiverTrek and the Chattanooga Star riverboat.

For the Ohio River Run the use of the Chattanooga Star enables the researchers to set up laboratory equipment onboard to analyze and catalog samples on a daily basis reducing the post expedition work load and thus allowing a broader range of studies. Additionally the Star can tow the smaller research boat that is used to take samples from tributaries and provide logistical support for the 981 mile journey.

Dr. Rebecca Evans of Northern Kentucky University stated this type of field experience is essential to a well rounded science major and “the hands on practice gives students the opportunity to apply what they have learned in the classrooms and laboratories”.

Dr. Charles Somerville of Marshall University added “for us one of the benefits of using a commercial vessel is the exchange of information is both ways, the boat crew learns some science about the river to incorporate into their RiverTrek program and professors and students gain an important appreciation of the commercial benefits of the waterway system”.

An undergraduate student of Dr. Tom Jones of Marshall University, on one of the scuba dives to retrieve zebra mussels was excited to have found the shell of a very large native Ridgeback mussel estimated to be 100 years old.

Of the surprising number of large paddlefish seen floating on the river, Dr. Michael Miller, of the University of Cincinnati, speculated that the unusually high temperature of the river caused by a lack of recent rainfall was more than the indigenous fish could tolerate.

The research conducted covers areas of study that are not covered by other organizations such as ORSANCO or the state and federal EPA’s. Additionally because the samples for a variety of examinations are taken simultaneously the sum is greater than the parts. The results of these annual research trips gathered by the scientists will provide reliable scientific information for policy makers and a baseline of information that will be used for generations.

As the program works its way south for the winter another research group will board the vessel at Yellow Creek, MS. The first Tenn-Tom Waterway Survey will include representatives from MississippiStateUniversity at Starkville, MS and University of Southern Mississippi at Hattiesburg, MS for a study of the entire Tennessee Tombigbee Waterway.

Relief pilot, Captain Frank Murray reminds us that “the students of today are tomorrow’s consumers, employees, managers, leaders and voters. The future of our waterways, indeed of our nation, depends upon a public that is informed of the many benefits our waterways provide”.

For additional information or to support RiverTrek please visit www.rivertrek.org.