On sampling days (approximately weekly), I go out on the University of Madison-Wisconsin Limnology boat onto Lake Mendota with two undergraduates: Lucy and Erin.

Each new day we went out sampling, we were given 35 randomized points in 35 different grids all over Lake Mendota (there was one more fixed point called the Deep Hole right by the Lake Mendota buoy that we would sample every time as well).

At each point, we would put the Sonde (our sampling instrument) into the water only around 1/2-1 foot deep (only at the water's surface). It would collect data for approximately 2 minutes (or at least 1 minute if the device was being finicky).

Sonde: A instrument that collects data with 7 sensors, along with a central wiper used to keep the sensors clean of biofouling (or an accumulations of plants, algae, or microorganisms) and an integral pressure transducer for depth. The sonde is connected to a handheld controller that stores the data collected from the sonde.

Hardcopy Data: Along with the sonde we were given a piece of paper that we used to write down the longitude and latitude of the exact point we collect the data from. For this, the longitude and latitude may have been slightly off due to the wind and waves pushing the boat as the time continued.

Collecting Water Samples: On the last sampling trip, we were given a three containers to take samples from three different grid points. We then took them back to the limnology building to be sent to another lab to be analyzed for the microorganisms and bacteria on the surface of the lake.