Seminar Details

Seminar Lab Date: November 10, 2025

Seminar Lab Subject: Lake Superior and Its Gales

Seminar Lab Presenter: Paul McKinney, Ph.D., Department of Earth Sciences, University of Minnesota

Seminar Lab Location:

In-person only at University of Minnesota, Keller Hall, Room 3-230

Lecture start time 7:00 PM CT.

Seminar Lab Detail:

Summary: Lake Superior holds a special place in a Minnesotan’s sense of place. Cold, deep and clean, the lake embodies rugged wilderness that appeals to a traditional Minnesotan ideal. A key part of the lake’s mystique is its reputation for intense storms, perhaps the most famous recent example being the storm of November 1975 which resulted in the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald. On the 50th anniversary of that event, this presentation will review the lake’s physical geography and limnological research on the lake with a focus on how storms affect the lake’s ecology. The lake’s size and physical characteristics challenge traditional limnological research methods and I will discuss how models, remote sensing and autonomous vehicles are used by investigators to fill that gap. I will explore how seasonal cycles and differences in storm characteristics such as wind direction and rainfall amount contribute to ecological impacts and how climate change could impact those relationships.

Biography: Paul McKinney received his PhD in Geology from the University of Minnesota Department of Earth Sciences in 2015 under advisor Dr. Katsumi Matsumoto. His dissertation work combined remote sensing and hydrodynamic modeling of Lake Superior with an emphasis on nearshore processes. He held post-doctoral appointments at UMD Large Lakes Observatory and USEPA Great Lakes Toxicology and Ecology Division in Duluth, MN from 2016-2023, where he operated autonomous underwater gliders on projects throughout the Great Lakes. Since returning full time to Minneapolis his focus is spending time with family and home maintenance.