After collecting samples on the cruise a lot of time is spent measuring and analyzing the sample data.

DATA ANALYSIS

After returning to shore, samples are off loaded to the lab where the sometime tedious process of analysis begins. Some of the analysis includes getting the wet/dry weight of the mussel, testing the strenght of the shells and examining their diet.

More information about post-cruise analysis and what goes on in the lab, view these two Power Point presentations.

• NOAA Explorer: Invasion of the Quagga Mussels
  Creating a hypothesis, collecting and analyzing data help to understand the invasion of the Quagga Mussels.


• Plankton and Benthos of the Great Lakes
  Dr. Carmen Aguilar narrates this Power Point overview of the building blocks of the Great Lakes ecosystem, Plankton and Benthos.