Great Lakes Photo Showcase : Research, Education and Science

Great Lakes Photo Showcase

The International Joint Commission (IJC) works to engage and educate people on the issues that shape Great Lakes water quality. To support this work, the IJC is seeking photos from around the Great Lakes showing the countless ways that people interact with the Great Lakes.

Submitting photos: Entries are accepted on an ongoing basis (up to six (6) photos per person). Public voting begins in early 2026. Winners will be contacted via email.

Cast Your Vote: Research, Education and Science

How voting works: Browse the gallery and tap the Like button to cast your vote. You may vote for as many photos as you wish, but only once per photo.

View the galleries for the other categories:

Recreation →
Great Lakes Water in Action →

What’s next: Winning photos will be featured in a post card series, on the IJC’s homepage and on our social media platforms. Photos will also be incorporated into the IJC’s upcoming assessment report on Great Lakes water quality.

Photo of Frank Dituri in Boardman Ottaway River performing depth of refusal measurements for the removal of Brown Bridge Dam. </br>Traverse City, Michigan </br>Research, Education & Science. Frank Dituri.

Invasive fish monitoring for grass carp at the mouth of the Big Pic River, Lake Superior. </br>Hattie Cove, Lake Superior , Ontario</br>Research, Education & Science. Trent Desaulniers.

Water monitoring in Jackfish Bay, Lake Superior for the climate change department of the Métis Nation of Ontario </br>Jackfish Bay, Ontario </br>Research, Education & Science. Trent Desaulniers.

Overhead view of The Ohio State University Stone Laboratory, OSU's island research and education facility. For the past 100 years, Stone Lab has served thousands of students, researchers, and decision-makers to support critical Great Lakes research, education, and outreach programming. </br>Put-in-Bay, Ohio </br>Research, Education & Science. Jill Bartolotta.

This is a beaker of water pulled from Lake Erie while out on a lake excursion back in August. The excursion was to highlight the algae problems with the lake. It was with Lake Erie Waterkeepers. Toledo. Lake Erie, Ohio. Research, Education & Science. Susan Catterall.

This is a picture of a massive manure pile outside of Montpelier not far from the St. Joseph River. Williams County, Ohio is contributing to the problem. Montpelier, Ohio. Research, Education & Science. Susan Catterall.

Life in submerged karst sinkholes, where groundwater with high-sulfur and low-oxygen is actively venting, is almost exclusively microbial. However, this Burbot (Lota lota) is hanging out in low-oxygen groundwater in the Middle Island Sinkhole, Lake Huron. Like human divers, fish may be transient metazoan visitors to this otherworldly microbial world. Alpena, Michigan. Research, Education & Science. Jon Slayer.

Sampling for Mysis diluviana aboard the CCGS Limnos on a cold, November night. These sampling missions allow us to estimate population sizes as a proxy of food availability as part of our lower trophic food web research.Lake Ontario just offshore of Rochester , New York. Research, Science, and Education. Joseph Gentile.

Beautiful sunset and whimsical clouds over the middle of Lake Erie captured during a scientific mission aboard the CCGS Limnos. Lake Erie - near Cleveland , Ohio. Research, Science, and Education. Joseph Gentile.

Sunset over the frozen waters of Lake Huron aboard the CCGS Samuel Risley (Canadian ice breaker) while embarking on a winter scientific mission. Lake Huron offshore of Goderich , Ontario. Research, Science, and Education. Joseph Gentile

A rough day in the middle of Lake Erie while sampling for lower trophic food web research (algae and zooplankton) aboard the CCGS Limnos. Lake Erie, Ontario. Research, Science, and Education. Joseph Gentile.