Research | NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory

December 19, 2022
by Gabrielle Farina Leave a comment

Underwater robots significantly advance our ability to study Lake Erie’s harmful algal blooms

Newly published research from the NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL), the Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research (CIGLR), and partners reveals that using underwater robots could significantly advance scientists’ ability to study the harmful algal blooms (HABs) that appear in the Great Lakes and oceans every summer. You may remember reading about NOAA’s collaborative fieldwork in 2019 that used these robots to detect toxins in Lake Erie’s harmful algal bloom. Three years later, the findings from this pioneering research come bearing good news!

This autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), known as “Makai,” visited the Great Lakes from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) to help scientists study Lake Erie’s harmful algal bloom. *Credit: Steve Ruberg, NOAA GLERL*

What are HABs, and how do we study them?

HABs occur when colonies of algae grow out of control and produce toxic or harmful effects on people, fish, shellfish, marine mammals and birds. Western Lake Erie in particular has been plagued by intensified HABs over the past decade. These blooms consist of cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, which are capable of producing toxins that endanger human and animal health, compromise drinking water supplies, foul coastlines, and impact communities and businesses that depend on the lake.

*Harmful algal bloom in western Lake Erie in October, 2011*. Credit: NOAA Great Lakes CoastWatch

The underwater robot used in this research project is known as a long-range autonomous underwater vehicle, or LRAUV. As the name suggests, the LRAUV is built to travel long distances beneath the water’s surface, collecting data for an extended period of time. LRAUVs are useful research tools, as they can collect high-quality data more efficiently and cost-effectively than scientists taking samples from a ship or along the shore. They can be deployed day and night in all weather conditions, and can provide more detailed information to researchers and drinking water managers than other monitoring methods.

For this project, NOAA and CIGLR teamed up with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute and university partners to equip an LRAUV with a 3rd Generation (3G) Environmental Sample Processor (ESP) — a mobile version of what has previously been known as NOAA’s “lab in a can.” The 3G ESP’s job is to measure microcystin, a potent liver toxin produced by the cyanobacteria that cause harmful algal blooms in the Great Lakes. In just a few hours, the 3G ESP can collect and analyze water samples from the bloom with the same methods that scientists use to analyze samples back at the lab. It does this with the use of ‘omics, a collective suite of technologies used to analyze biological molecules such as DNA, RNA, proteins, or metabolites. These technologies can be used to identify the algal species that produce HABs, understand their behavior, and predict shifts in their population structure.

NOAA and partners deployed the LRAUV-3G ESP in Lake Erie to autonomously measure microcystin, a potent liver toxin produced by the cyanobacteria that cause harmful algal blooms in the Great Lakes. Photo credit: NOAA

Did this robot step up to the challenge?

Before widely adopting the use of the LRAUV-3G ESP to study Lake Erie HABs, scientists had to ensure that the data these instruments collect is accurate and reliable. A main goal of the new publication was to assess how dependable the LRAUV-3G ESP’s data is compared to data that was collected and analyzed by humans.

The authors used a variety of parameters to assess the vehicle’s performance of ‘omics tests on samples it collected from the HAB. They ultimately found that the LRAUV-3G ESP successfully performed flexible, autonomous sampling across a wide range of HAB conditions, and the results indicated equivalency between autonomous and manual methods. In fact, no significant differences were found between LRAUV-3G ESP and manual sample collection and handling methods in the 12 parameters tested. In other words, this robot passed the test!

Left: Scientists retrieve the LRAUV-3G ESP from its mission to measure algal toxins in Lake Erie. Photo credit: NOAA AOML. Right: First author Paul Den Uyl (CIGLR) CIGLR retrieves 3G ESP filters for analysis of Lake Erie microbial community DNA. Photo Credit: Kelly Godwin.

One of the most exciting aspects of this research is that it shows that scientists can use an autonomous sampling platform to replicate traditional ship-based sampling, and they can do so in a particularly challenging environment (Lake Erie’s shallow western basin) where HABs are a serious health concern. Using this instrument in Lake Erie’s shallow waters presented another challenge for the scientists involved. In response to the lake’s challenges, researchers worked on the LRAUV’s buoyancy to ensure that the instrument didn’t drag across the ground. With this technology – sampling DNA and measuring toxins on an autonomous platform – NOAA and partners may be able to provide an early warning system for HABs in the future.

*The 3rd Generation Environmental Sample Processor demonstrates engineering advancements from the first and second generation ESPs. Photo credit: NOAA GLERL.*

Partners on this research came from far and wide to conduct this important research:

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
- NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML), Ocean Chemistry and Ecosystems Division
- NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory
- NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS)
- NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center
Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research (CIGLR), University of Michigan
Northern Gulf Institute, Mississippi State University
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI)
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Michigan

Explore more photos of this research on NOAA GLERL’s Flickr page.

December 14, 2022
by Gabrielle Farina Leave a comment

Decades in the making, NOAA’s newest Lake Superior and Lake Ontario forecast systems become fully operational

Did you know that NOAA operates a forecasting system that predicts water conditions on the Great Lakes? Whether you’re wondering about a lake’s temperature, currents, or water level changes, NOAA’s got you covered! This fall, NOAA implemented newly updated versions of the Lake Superior and Lake Ontario portions of this system, and added ice forecasts to all five lakes.

*Lake Michigan waves at the St. Joseph North Pier Lighthouses following superstorm Sandy. October 29, 2012. Credit: S. Lashley, NOAA NWS.*

GLOFS forecasts Great Lakes conditions

The publicly available Great Lakes Operational Forecast System (GLOFS) is a NOAA automated, model-based prediction system aimed at providing improved predictions of these conditions in the five Great Lakes (Erie, Michigan, Superior, Huron and Ontario) for the commercial, recreation, and emergency response communities. GLOFS models use current lake conditions and predicted weather patterns to forecast the lake conditions for up to five days (120 hours) in the future. GLOFS predictions enable users to increase the margin of safety and maximize the efficiency of commerce throughout the Great Lakes.

NOAA’s National Weather Service (NWS) and National Ocean Service (NOS) work together to run GLOFS operationally on NOAA’s High Performance Computing System. By running on NOAA’s High Performance Computing System, GLOFS has direct access to National Weather Service operational meteorological products that are required for reliable and timely operations.

A major update for Lakes Ontario and Superior

A key goal of NOAA’s Research branch is to continually make forecasts better, and GLERL scientists play a major role in improving the models that constitute GLOFS. Like the rest of GLOFS, the Lake Ontario and Lake Superior portions – Lake Ontario Operational Forecast System (LOOFS) and Lake Superior Operational Forecast System (LSOFS) – were originally based on the Princeton Ocean Model. As of October 2022, they’ve now been upgraded with higher-resolution versions that are based on a newer computer model.

*MODIS satellite images of Lakes Superior (left) and Ontario (right) in March 2021.*

The new LOOFS and LSOFS use the Finite Volume Community Ocean Model (FVCOM), coupled with an unstructured grid version of the Los Alamos Sea Ice model (CICE). The new model provides users with higher resolution of nowcast (near-present conditions) and forecast guidance of water levels, currents, water temperature, ice concentration, ice thickness and ice velocity out to 120 hours in the future, and it updates four times per day. By invoking advanced model schemes and algorithms, LOOFS and LSOFS are expected to generate a more accurate model output than their former versions.

Before they were ready to become operational, the new versions of LOOFS and LSOFS were run experimentally at GLERL for several years, where they underwent extensive testing and evaluation. GLERL played a key role in developing these models and ran them as part of the Great Lakes Coastal Forecasting System (GLCFS) – an experimental version of GLOFS that GLERL uses to prepare new models to become operational.

With this transition, the GLOFS models for all five Great Lakes have now been upgraded to FVCOM versions, as the Lake Erie model was upgraded in 2016, and the Lake Michigan-Huron model was upgraded in 2019. A new FVCOM-based model for the Huron-Erie Corridor, which includes Lake St. Clair and both the St. Clair and Detroit Rivers, is scheduled to be added to GLOFS in 2023. Read more about the LOOFS and LSOFS transition here.

*These output maps from the current 3rd generation GLOFS show Lake Superior wind speed*
*and direction (top) and Lake Ontario water temperatures (bottom).*

GLERL has been improving GLOFS for over 30 years

GLOFS is based on the Great Lakes Forecasting System, originally developed by The Ohio State University (OSU) and GLERL in the late 1980s and 1990s under the direction of Dr. Keith Bedford (OSU) and Dr. David Schwab (NOAA GLERL). The original forecasting systems utilized the Princeton Ocean Model (POM) and used a set of uniformly structured bathymetric grids. The first routine nowcast, using a low-resolution grid for Lake Erie, began at OSU in 1992.

Starting in 2002, GLERL’s semi-operational GLCFS was expanded to five lakes using medium-resolution grids (5 – 10 km) and 48-hr forecasts were added. This version was successfully transferred from research to operations at NOAA NOS in 2010. The transition to operations at NOAA NOS was a joint effort between NOAA GLERL, NOS Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS) and NOS Office of Coast Survey (OSC) Coast Survey Development Laboratory (CSDL), private industry, and academia (OSU).

NOAA GLERL has continued to make improvements to the experimental GLCFS; these include increasing the grid resolution (2 – 10 km), adding ice dampening and an ice model, and extending the forecasts to 120 hours during the period of 2006-2014 (generation 2). The current 3rd generation of the GLOFS is what you see run by NOS today, with a resolution of 200m to 2.5km and producing 120-hour forecasts.

The development and implementation of LSOFS and LOOFS is a joint project across several NOAA offices and external partners.

NOAA National Ocean Service Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services
NOAA NOS Office of Coast Survey
NOAA Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory
Finite Volume Community Ocean Model development group at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
NOAA National Weather Service National Centers for Environmental Prediction Central Operations

October 26, 2022
by Gabrielle Farina 1 Comment

Lessons from Lake Huron: A look back at NOAA GLERL’s 2022 fieldwork for the Cooperative Science and Monitoring Initiative

Every summer, NOAA GLERL scientists travel far and wide across the Great Lakes region to study the biological, chemical, and physical properties of these amazing lakes. A portion of this fieldwork contributes to a larger project called the Cooperative Science and Monitoring Initiative – or CSMI – which helps us take a deeper dive into studying a different Great Lake each year. Instituted under the 2012 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, CSMI is a multi-agency, international effort to coordinate science and monitoring activities in one of the five Great Lakes each year to generate data and information for environmental management agencies.

*MODIS satellite image of Lake Huron on May 18, 2021. Credit: NOAA Great Lakes CoastWatch Node.*

Each Great Lake gets a “CSMI year” once every five years, and 2022 was Lake Huron’s turn to shine. Sitting right at the center of the Great Lakes region, Lake Huron is shared by the state of Michigan and the Canadian province of Ontario. It’s the second largest of the Great Lakes and ranks as the fourth largest lake in the world by surface area. Lake Huron provides economically and culturally important services, including a productive fishery, a source of clean drinking water, and natural beauty that supports a significant tourism industry. It’s also home to Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, the first ever NOAA National Marine Sanctuary to be established in the Great Lakes.

GLERL’s fieldwork for this year’s Lake Huron CSMI efforts focused on benthic and spatial surveys in Thunder Bay and Saginaw Bay. Here’s a look back at some of the highlights!

*GLERL scientists Ashley Elgin and Rachel Orzechowski rinse down sediments collected by a Ponar grab.*

NOAA GLERL has been conducting benthic (lake bottom) research in the Great Lakes since 1980, during which time we have built an unparalleled record of the arrival and expansion of invasive zebra and quagga mussels. CSMI provides the perfect opportunity to expand on this knowledge. Surveying the lake bottom allows us to track the population dynamics of these mussels, follow their impacts on native species, and also monitor for any new invasive benthic species.

*GLERL scientist Paul Glyshaw collects Ponar samples onboard the Fisheries and Oceans Canada/Canadian Coast Guard vessel* Limnos *for mussel length-weight analysis.*

In June, July, and August of this year, GLERL conducted surveys that will allow us to update the status of invasive dreissenid mussels and other benthos of Lake Huron. As an exciting bonus, our benthic surveys in Saginaw Bay and Thunder Bay even received dive support from Thunder Bay NMS to supplement the samples collected with Ponar grabs.

*Thunder Bay NMS divers Stephanie Gandulla and John Bright support GLERL’s benthic survey on board the R/V 5503.*

*The large metal claw used for a Ponar grab is no match for a mussel-covered rock like this, which is why we need NOAA’s Thunder Bay NMS Divers to support the benthic survey.*

In the truly collaborative fashion that CSMI is known for, GLERL scientists maximized time on these cruises by collecting samples for several federal and university collaborators in addition to conducting our mussel survey. For example, mussels and sediments went to the U.S. Geological Survey for mercury analysis, and researchers from the University of Michigan will be looking for mussel environmental DNA in water samples.

*This sediment sample from Saginaw Bay has many benthic inverts present, including dreissenid mussels, chironomids, water mites, amphipods, and a snail.*

*Paul Glyshaw collects and filters Lake Huron water onboard the Fisheries and Oceans Canada/Canadian Coast Guard vessel* Limnos to measure carbon content. This helps us address potential impacts of climate change on the lake, including acidification, changes to production, and altered biogeochemical processes.

Plus, GLERL also teamed up with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), and the Canadian Coast Guard in a whole lake-benthic survey, during which GLERL assessed mussel body condition, mussel reproduction, inorganic carbon measures, and collected water for eDNA across the lake. In true CSMI spirit, DFO stepped up and supported the benthic survey when the EPA R/V Lake Guardian became unavailable.

*Fisheries and Oceans Canada/Canadian Coast Guard vessel* Limnos *pulls into Port Huron for the Lake Huron Benthic survey.*

In addition to surveying what’s happening on the lake floor, GLERL also conducted an intensive spatial survey through CSMI to study Lake Huron’s food web in the area between Thunder Bay and Saginaw Bay. With a special focus on studying the interactions between larval fish and plankton, one of the key instruments used was GLERL’s Plankton Survey System (PSS). This high-tech piece of equipment is a towed multi-sensor platform capable of measuring turbidity, chlorophyll a, photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), conductivity, temperature, and zooplankton spatial distributions.

*GLERL scientists use the PSS on Lake Michigan in the mid 2000s.*

The plots below show a nearshore to offshore view of Lake Huron’s biological data measured by the PSS, like water temperature, dissolved oxygen, and chlorophyll, and plankton distribution. Check out more PSS plots from this spatial survey here.

*While the PSS instrument was collecting data below the waves,* *lots of mayflies were catching a ride on this research cruise!*

Now that the fieldwork is complete, the next step for GLERL’s CSMI work is to process our samples and analyze our data to continue building our knowledge of Lake Huron. Stay tuned in 2023, when CSMI heads east to study Lake Ontario!

For more CSMI information, data, and findings, visit greatlakescsmi.org. Plus, check out this related CSMI project in which GLERL and CIGLR developed an Experimental Biophysical Modeling Forecast System for Lakes Michigan and Huron.

October 12, 2021
by Margaret Lansing 1 Comment

NOAA Wave Glider Camaro Gathers Key Data During 25-Day Cruise in Lake Superior

The NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL) and Michigan Technological University (MTU) Great Lakes Research Center recently teamed up on the deployment of a wave glider in Lake Superior. The chemical and biological data collected will help researchers understand more about the Lake Superior foodweb and also be used to validate satellite information.

*Autonomous wave glider that was recently deployed into Lake Superior by the MTU Great Lakes Research Center. Credit: Sarah Atkinson/Michigan Tech*

Information gathered by autonomous vehicles, such as the wave glider, helps fine-tune satellite algorithms (instructions that tell a satellite how to interpret what it’s seeing). Satellites are a great tool for observing the lakes, as they provide a broader view than that from the ground. Researchers create Great Lakes-specific algorithms because those used in the ocean often do not work well in the lakes. The data collected by the wave glider will help validate the algorithms and allow researchers to understand more about the lakes, such as primary productivity (See MTU’s blog post for more.)

A team of researchers from MTU deployed the wave glider on August 30, 2021 and it spent 25 days surveying the lake and collecting data. The plan is to make the data public through the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) so that information can be used in many ways including model development.

Path of the wave glider deployed on August 30th, 2021 and recovered on September 22, 2021 off the eastern coast of the Keweenaw Peninsula, near Bete Grise.

“It is a privilege for the Great Lakes Research Center to collaborate with NOAA GLERL on the wave glider experiment in Lake Superior, a first of its kind,” said Andrew Barnard, director of Michigan Tech’s Great Lakes Research Center. “This project continues to build a strong partnership between our organizations to push the boundaries of autonomy and sensing technologies. These new technologies in the Great Lakes support a better understanding of the physical processes in the lakes and will directly result in improved management insight for policy makers.”

Steve Ruberg of NOAA GLERL is thrilled with the MTU partnership as it expands our ability to collect data throughout the lakes. “Uncrewed vehicles give us the persistent large spatial observational capability to get in situ observations that will allow us to validate Great Lakes remote sensing.”

Left to right: Michigan Tech R/V Agassiz Jamey Anderson, assistant director of marine operations, Michigan Tech Great Lakes Research Center; Tim Havens, incoming director of the Great Lakes Research Center (January 2022) and John Lenters, associate research scientist at the Great Lakes Research Center ready the wave glider for deployment. Credit: Sarah Atkinson/Michigan Tech

This research project is a part of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Cooperative Science and Monitoring Initiative (CSMI). Federal and state agencies, tribal groups, non-governmental organizations and academic researchers from the United States and Canada team up yearly to assess conditions in one of the five Great Lakes. The survey focuses on a series of research areas that are tailored to the unique challenges and data needs associated with each lake.

September 14, 2021
by Gabrielle Farina 2 Comments

From safe drinking water to sustainable fisheries, NOAA GLERL’s Experimental Lake Erie Hypoxia Forecast is even more useful than anticipated

Four years ago, NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL) and the Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research (CIGLR) began providing an Experimental Lake Erie Hypoxia Forecast Model to warn stakeholders of low-oxygen upwelling events that can cause water quality problems for over 2 million residents of northern Ohio. Now in its fifth year, this forecast model has turned out to serve additional purposes that NOAA’s scientists hadn’t even considered – including maintaining sustainable fisheries and solving a smelly mystery!

Water intake crib off the coast of Lake Erie in Cleveland, Ohio. By forecasting potential hypoxic upwelling events that could impact water quality, NOAA GLERL’s Experimental Hypoxia Forecast Model helps drinking water plant managers be prepared to adjust their treatment processes as needed.

Providing critical warnings to keep drinking water safe

Hypoxia – a state of low oxygen – occurs in the deep waters of Lake Erie’s central basin in July through September of most years. Low-oxygen water is an unfavorable habitat for fish, and may kill bottom-dwelling organisms that provide food for fish. While the hypoxic water generally stays near the lake floor, changes in wind and water currents can create upwelling events, in which this zone of low oxygen is brought to the surface along the coast.

Once it creeps into shallower parts of the lake, hypoxic water can upset drinking water treatment processes at water intakes along the shoreline. Hypoxic upwelling events cause rapid changes in water quality variables such as temperature, pH, dissolved organic matter, iron, and manganese. To maintain the quality of treated water, plant managers must adjust treatment in response to these changes. NOAA GLERL’s Experimental Hypoxia Forecast Model provides several days of advance notice that water quality is changing, so that drinking water plant managers can be prepared to adjust their treatment processes as needed.

*This infographic from NOAA GLERL describes how hypoxia occurs in large bodies of water like the Great Lakes.*

Plot twist: Benefiting more than just our water supply

NOAA GLERL’s Experimental Lake Erie Hypoxia Forecast has proven to be incredibly successful in its original goal – but our scientists were surprised to learn that its usefulness didn’t stop there. Recent stakeholder interviews conducted by CIGLR Stakeholder Engagement Specialist Devin Gill revealed that, in addition to helping manage the drinking water treatment process, the forecast has also become an unexpectedly vital tool for managing Lake Erie’s fisheries.

One agency that makes use of the experimental hypoxia forecast is the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The Ohio DNR is responsible for generating population estimates for Lake Erie’s yellow perch and walleye – estimates that ultimately help determine official catch limits to maintain the lake’s sustainable fisheries.

“Large aggregations of fish may seek refuge at the edges of the hypoxic zone,” says Ann Marie Gorman, a fisheries biologist with the Ohio DNR’s Fairport Harbor Fisheries Research Station. “Our office tracks the location of the lake’s cold bottom water using the NOAA GLERL Hypoxia Forecast Model, and we may modify the timing of some of our surveys to minimize the potential impact of hypoxia on the results. Overall, the NOAA GLERL Hypoxia Forecast Model has become an integral tool for our survey planning.”

Understanding fish behaviors in response to hypoxia is important to conducting accurate population surveys of Lake Erie’s fish species. The ability of NOAA GLERL’s hypoxia forecast to warn fisheries managers of potential survey bias from these hypoxic events helps to save time, money, and energy that may have otherwise been used to conduct unsuccessful trawling surveys in hypoxic zones.

NOAA GLERL’s Experimental Hypoxia Forecast Model helps to guide the planning of trawling surveys like this one conducted by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Consulting the forecast helps the Ohio DNR to minimize the potential impact of hypoxia on survey results, which are used to set catch limits that keep Lake Erie’s fisheries sustainable. Photo credit: Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

Richard Kraus, a supervisory research fish biologist with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Great Lakes Science Center Field Station in Ohio, also uses the experimental hypoxia forecast for his work with Lake Erie’s fisheries. Kraus explains that in Lake Erie, several cold-water fish species rely on finding refuge in colder, deeper waters of the lake – waters that are not impacted by warmer summer air temperatures. However, the presence of hypoxic zones in these deeper waters can impact how much refuge is available for these fish. As hypoxia reduces refuge habitats for cold-water species, chronic effects on growth and reproduction may develop, and in severe circumstances fish kills sometimes occur. The NOAA GLERL Hypoxia Forecast Model is instrumental in predicting where these potential ecosystem impacts could occur, in turn helping fisheries managers determine sustainable catch limits for each fish species in question.

The experimental forecast was also found to be useful to commercial and recreational fishers, who use the forecast to gauge the distribution of yellow perch in relation to hypoxic zones. Fishers can utilize the forecast on a daily basis to determine where to launch their boats, and where to search for aggregations of fish, depending on the hypoxia forecast for that day.

Plus, it’s not just routine fisheries management and recreation that the Experimental Hypoxia Forecast helps improve. In early September, it helped solve the mystery of a strange, foul smell coming from Lake Erie near Cleveland, Ohio, and fish kills associated with it. These phenomena resulted in many public inquiries regarding suspected gas leaks or pollutant spills. Thanks to the forecast, public officials knew that an upwelling of hypoxic water had recently occurred, likely carrying sulfur and nitrogen compounds that caused the stench, and were able to quickly eliminate other possible causes.

Half a decade in the making

Since it began in 2017, this NOAA project has grown into much more than just a computer model. The Experimental Lake Erie Hypoxia Forecast model was developed as a five-year project (2017-2021) with funding from NOAA’s Coastal Hypoxia Research Program, and is an extension of the Lake Erie Operational Forecasting System at NOAA’s Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services. Co-led by NOAA GLERL research scientists Drs. Mark Rowe and Craig Stow, and CIGLR’s Dr. Casey Godwin, project scientists provide an email update to public water systems, fisheries managers, and other stakeholders ahead of likely hypoxic events that contains links to the experimental forecast website and other useful NOAA webpages.

Map from the NOAA GLERL Experimental Lake Erie Hypoxia Forecast Model showing predicted change in Lake Erie temperature (top) and dissolved oxygen (bottom) during a three-day hypoxic upwelling event from August 31 to September 2, 2021.

Partners on this project include Ohio public water systems (including the cities of Cleveland and Avon Lake), NOAA’s National Ocean Service, and the Great Lakes Observing System. Special thanks to Devin Gill from the Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research for contributing stakeholder interview findings for this article.

June 22, 2021
by Gabrielle Farina 1 Comment

New wave buoy will provide data to support wave and flood forecasting on Lake Champlain

The NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL) and partners recently deployed a buoy in Lake Champlain that will measure the lake’s wave heights to assess the accuracy of a new experimental model for the lake. This is part of a five-year NOAA GLERL project that will improve public safety on Lake Champlain by contributing to flood preparedness and response around the shores of the lake. Wave conditions are critical to public safety both for recreational and commercial activities on the lake – such as for boats, harbors, and beaches – but also for predicting coastal flood impacts at the shoreline where waves can run up and significantly impact infrastructure.

Left: Newly deployed NOAA buoy in Lake Champlain. Credit: University of Vermont FEMC staff. Top right: NOAA GLERL partners at the University of Vermont’s Forest Ecosystem Monitoring Cooperative (FEMC) deployed the buoy on Lake Champlain in May 2021. Credit: University of Vermont FEMC staff. Bottom right: Sunset on Lake Champlain. Credit: Dan Titze, CIGLR.

The project is a major collaborative effort by bi-national, federal, and university partners of NOAA GLERL. Partners at the University of Vermont’s Forest Ecosystem Monitoring Cooperative (FEMC) deployed the seasonal buoy in May, and the Coastal Data Information Program (CDIP) at the University of San Diego Scripps Institute of Oceanography receives the data, manages its quality control, and posts it to NOAA’s National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) website. Researchers at the Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research (CIGLR) are currently leading the development of a wave model for Lake Champlain, which is providing experimental forecasts on the GLERL website.

The buoy is located in the middle of the lake near Schuyler Reef, where it will remain until late fall, and is collecting wave height observations that will be used to validate NOAA’s WAVEWATCH III model for Lake Champlain. The experimental model’s output data will be compared to the buoy’s observed data, which will help scientists assess how well the model performs.

Location of the new NOAA Lake Champlain wave buoy, depicted by a yellow diamond. Map credit: NOAA National Data Buoy Center.

The buoy’s environmental data can be found on the CDIP website, and on the buoy’s page on the NOAA NDBC website. The buoy and the experimental wave model will be a helpful new tool for the region’s National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office in Burlington, Vermont, which provides lake forecasts including wave data to mariners in the region.

In addition to regional weather forecasters and local mariners, this buoy’s data will also be useful to emergency managers in the counties and cities around Lake Champlain and the Richelieu River, as well as the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Prediction which will transition the WAVEWATCH III model to operations.

This project is funded by the International Joint Commission’s Lake Champlain-Richelieu River (LCRR) Study Board. The International Joint Commission (IJC) is a bi-national organization established by the governments of the United States and Canada under the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909. It oversees activities affecting the extensive waters and waterways along the Canada–United States border. The IJC’s LCRR Study Board was created in 2016 to undertake a study of the causes, impacts, risks, and potential solutions to flooding in the LCRR basin.

April 23, 2021
by Gabrielle Farina 9 Comments

Looking back: The ups and downs of Great Lakes ice cover in 2021

*Ice formations cover a pier on the Lake Michigan shoreline in Holland, MI. February 27, 2021. Credit: Clarice Farina.*

It’s no secret that the Great Lakes had a wild ride in terms of ice cover this past winter. From a slow start that led to near-record low ice cover in January, to the sudden widespread freeze just a few weeks later, here’s a look back at how ice cover on the lakes has fluctuated during the 2020-2021 ice season.

As we highlighted in our last blog post on historic ice data, January 2021 had the second-lowest overall Great Lakes ice cover on record since 1973 (with the very lowest being January 2002). For all five individual lakes, January 2021 was in the top five lowest ice-cover Januarys since 1973.

*This graph shows average Great Lakes ice cover for the month of January every year from 1973 to 2021, organized by lowest ice cover (far left) to highest ice cover (far right). Credit: NOAA GLERL.*

Starting out at 10.65% on February 1st, ice cover rose dramatically over the next three weeks with the region’s extreme cold weather. Growing quickly and steadily, total Great Lakes ice cover finally topped out at 45.84% on February 19th. But with air temperatures warming back up shortly afterwards, this spike was short-lived. Within a week it was back down to around 20% and continued to taper off, falling below 1% on April 3rd and reaching 0.1% on April 20.

*This graph shows Great Lakes ice cover in 2021 (black line) compared to the historical average ice cover from 1973-2020 (red line). Credit: NOAA GLERL.*

This Winter vs. The Long-Term Average

While all five lakes were far below their January average, each one did something a little different during February, when compared to its 1973-2020 average. The following graphs show this winter’s ice cover (black line) vs. the 1973-2020 average (red line) for each lake.⁣

Lake Erie ice cover jumped dramatically up to 81% in the second week of February, well above its average seasonal peak of around 65%. It stayed above 75% for about two weeks until falling back down below its average at the beginning of March.

**Lake Michigan** ice cover increased steadily throughout February, with its highest percentage being 33% on February 18th — only briefly staying above its average for that time period. It dropped off quickly the following week, then decreased gradually throughout March.

**Lake Superior** spent about a week in mid-February above its average ice cover for those days, peaking at about 51% on February 19th. Similar to Lake Michigan, it only stayed above its average for a short interval before rapidly falling back down under 20%.

Lake Ontario ice cover took a while to ramp up, staying below 10% until mid-February. It reached maximum ice cover on February 18th, topping out at about 21% – slightly higher than its average for that day.

**Lake Huron** was the only lake that did not reach above-average ice cover for the entire winter. Its peak ice cover was 48% on February 20th, which was about the same as its average for that time of year.

Melting into Spring

Throughout March, ice cover on all five lakes continued to decrease steadily, with the exception of a spike in ice cover around the second week of the month likely due to fluctuations in air temperature. For Lakes Erie and Ontario, this short-lived jump was enough to get them back up near their average early March ice cover for a few days.

As for the timing of each lake’s peak 2021 ice cover compared with the average, Lakes Erie, Michigan, Huron, and Ontario all peaked later than their average, while Lake Superior is the only one that peaked earlier than its average.

*Ice covers the Lake Huron shoreline in Oscoda, MI on February 15, 2021. Credit: G. Farina, NOAA GLERL.*

This winter’s maximum seasonal ice cover of 45.8% is just 7.5% less than the long-term average of 53.3%. While it’s below the average, it’s still more than double the 2020 seasonal maximum of 19.5% ice cover, but is just over half the 2019 seasonal maximum of 80.9%. With so much year-to-year variability, forecasting ice cover each year can be incredibly difficult. NOAA GLERL’s experimental ice forecast, updated in mid-February, predicted Great Lakes ice cover in 2021 to peak at 38% – not too far off from what it really was. NOAA GLERL continues to analyze both current and historical data to refine the ice forecast model, working to actively improve our experimental Great Lakes ice forecast each year.

*This graph shows annual maximum ice cover on the Great Lakes each year from 1973 to 2021. Credit: NOAA GLERL.*

For more on NOAA GLERL’s Great Lakes ice cover research and forecasting, visit our ice homepage here: https://go.usa.gov/xsRnM⁣

⁣Plus, access these graphs plus more Great Lakes CoastWatch graphs & data here: https://go.usa.gov/xsRnt⁣

*Flat, jagged pieces of ice float in Lake Huron near Oscoda, MI on February 15, 2021. Credit: G. Farina, NOAA GLERL.*

February 4, 2021
by Gabrielle Farina 2 Comments

Five decades of Great Lakes ice cover data – and where to find it

Understanding the major effects of ice on the Great Lakes is crucial. Ice cover impacts a range of societal benefits provided by the lakes, from hydropower generation to commercial shipping to the fishing industry. The amount of ice cover varies from year to year, as well as how long it remains on the lakes. With almost five full decades of ice data to look at, GLERL scientists are observing long-term changes in ice cover as a result of climate change. Studying, monitoring, and predicting ice coverage on the Great Lakes plays an important role in determining climate patterns, lake water levels, water movement patterns, water temperature structure, and spring plankton blooms.

*Maximum ice cover on the Great Lakes every year from 1973 to 2018. Credit: NOAA GLERL.*

NOAA GLERL has been exploring the relationships between ice cover, lake thermal structure, and regional climate for over 30 years through the use of historical model simulations and observations of ice cover, surface water temperature, and other variables. Weekly ice cover imaging products produced by the Canadian Ice Service (CIS) started in 1973. Beginning in 1989, the U.S. National Ice Center (NIC) produced Great Lakes ice cover charts that combined both Canadian and U.S. satellite imagery. Today, these products are downloaded and processed at GLERL by our CoastWatch program, a nationwide NOAA program within which GLERL functions as the Great Lakes regional node. In this capacity, GLERL uses near real-time satellite data to produce and deliver products that support environmental decision-making and ongoing research. While the Great Lakes CoastWatch Program is a great resource for near real-time ice cover data, historical data is just as important – and that’s where GLERL’s Great Lakes Ice Cover Database comes in. Originally archived by GLERL through the National Snow & Ice Data Center, the Great Lakes Ice Cover Database houses data that dates back to 1973 and continues to be updated daily during the ice season every year.

*Ice caves on Lake Michigan’s Glen Haven beach in 2005. Credit: National Parks Service.*

Even though the CIS and NIC are the ones who actually collect Great Lakes ice cover data, GLERL plays the important role of re-processing this ice data into more accessible file formats, making it readily usable to anyone who needs it. Agencies and organizations that have used ice cover data from GLERL in the past include the NASA Earth Observatory, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Coast Guard, and National Geographic. Types of data requested might include historic minimum and maximum ice coverage for certain regions or lakes, or dates of the first and last ice cover in a region from year to year. This information can be helpful for managers in industries like energy production and commercial shipping.

*This graph shows annual maximum ice coverage on the Great Lakes every year from 1973 to 2020. The red dashed line marks the long-term average maximum ice cover of 53.3%.* *Credit: NOAA GLERL*.

GLERL scientists can also use this historic ice cover data to analyze how current ice cover conditions compare with previous years. For example, here’s how the ice cover during January 2021 stacks up against data for past Januarys:

Lake Michigan and the five-lake average had their second lowest January ice cover (with January 2002 being the first lowest).
The other lakes are all in the top five lowest ice cover for the month of January.
Six out of ten of the Januarys with the lowest ice cover have occurred during the last decade for the five-lake average (though 2014 was fourth highest January ice cover).

GLERL is also working to make this data more user-friendly for anyone looking to utilize it. This recent paper from GLERL and the Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research (CIGLR) describes the scientists’ efforts to standardize two existing formats of historic ice cover data. The authors explain that “technology has improved and the needs of users have evolved, so Great Lakes ice cover datasets have been upgraded several times in both spatial and temporal resolutions.” The paper documents the steps the authors took to reprocess the data in order to make it more consistent and accessible, which ultimately makes it easier for users to study long-term trends.

*Timeline of ice chart evolution and frequency, from the research paper described above (Yang et al 2020). Credit: Ting-Yi Yang, Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research.*

Whether you’re looking for decades of Great Lakes ice data or just a few days, GLERL’s got you covered! Looking for more Great Lakes ice cover information? Visit our ice cover homepage here.

*MODIS satellite image of ice cover on the Great Lakes, March 16, 2014. Credit: NOAA Great Lakes CoastWatch.*

November 20, 2020
by Margaret Lansing Leave a comment

Lake effect snow: What, why and how?

Winter is nearly here — and those who live and work in the Great Lakes region are already wondering what the winter of 2021 has in store. Early indications suggest a La Niña winter pattern, which shifts the odds towards cooler, wetter weather with more ice cover.

More snow and ice can mean more fun, and can be great for winter sports like ice fishing, snowmobiling and skiing. Unfortunately, it can also mean severe weather events involving ice and snow. In the Great Lakes region, snow comes via the usual low pressure systems, but we also can get lake effect snow.

*Average location of the jet stream and typical temperature and precipitation impacts during La Niña winter over North America. Map by Fiona Martin for NOAA Climate.gov.*

What is lake effect snow?

In the Great Lakes region, hazardous winter weather often happens when cold air descends from the Arctic region. Lake effect snow is different from a low pressure snow storm in that it is a much more localized and sometimes very rapid and intense snow event. As a cold, dry air mass moves over the unfrozen and relatively warm waters of the Great Lakes, warmth and moisture from the lakes are transferred into the atmosphere. This moisture then gets dumped downwind as snow.

Lake Effect Snow Can Be Dangerous

Lake effect snow storms can be very dangerous. For example, 13 people were killed by a storm that took place November 17-19, 2014 in Buffalo, New York. During the storm, more than five feet of snow fell over areas just east of Buffalo, with mere inches falling just a few miles away to the north. Not only were lives lost, but the storm disrupted travel and transportation, downed trees and damaged roofs, and caused widespread power outages. Improving lake effect snow forecasts is critical because of the many ways lake effect snow conditions affect commerce, recreation, and community safety.

Lake Effect Snow animation: Mid-December 2016 The lake effect snow EVENT resulted in extremely heavy snow across Michigan, Ohio, upstate New York as well as the province of Ontario east of Lake Superior and Huron.

Why is lake effect snow so hard to forecast?

There are a number of factors that make lake effect snow forecasting difficult. The widths of lake-effect snowfall bands are usually less than 3 miles — a very small width that makes them difficult to pinpoint in models. The types of field measurements scientists need to make forecasts better are also hard to come by, especially in the winter! We would like to take frequent lake temperature and lake ice measurements but that is currently not possible to do during the winter, as conditions are too rough and dangerous for research vessels and buoys. Satellite measurements can also be hard to come by. The Great Lakes region is notoriously cloudy in the winter – it’s not uncommon to go for over a week without usable imagery.

MODIS satellite image of a lake effect snow event in the Great Lakes, caused by extensive evaporation as cold air moves over the relatively warm lakes. November 20, 2014. Credit: NOAA Great Lakes CoastWatch.

GLERL and CIGLR work to improve lake effect snow forecasting

Currently, NOAA Great Lakes operational models provide guidance for lake effect snow forecasts and scientists at NOAA GLERL and CIGLR are conducting studies to improve them.

They use data from lake effect snow events in the past and compare how a new model performs relative to an existing model. One way to improve forecast model predictions is through a model coupling approach, or linking two models so that they can communicate with each other. When they are linked, the models can share their outputs with each other and produce a better prediction in the end.

Our lake effect snow research continues

Our lake effect modeling research is ongoing, and GLERL, CIGLR, NWS Detroit, the NOAA Global Systems Laboratory continue to address the complex challenges and and our studies build upon each other to improve modeling of lake-effect snow events. A new focus will be on running the models on a smaller grid scale and continuing to work to improve temperature estimates as both are key to forecasting accuracy.

A recent study, published by CIGLR and GLERL and other research partners, “Improvements to lake-effect snow forecasts using a one-way air-lake model coupling approach,” is the latest in a recent series of studies* (see list below) that help to make lake effect snow forecasts better. This study takes a closer look at how rapid changes in Great Lakes temperatures and ice impact regional atmospheric conditions and lake-effect snow. Rapidly changing Great Lake surface conditions during lake effect snow events are not accounted for in existing operational weather forecast models. The scientists identified a new practical approach for how models communicate that does a better job of capturing rapidly cooling lake temperatures and ice formation. This research can result in improved forecasts of weather and lake conditions. The models connect and work together effectively and yet add very little computational cost. The advantage to this approach in an operational setting is that computational resources can be distributed across multiple systems.

**Study model run:** This panel of images shows model runs that looks at data from a lake effect snow event from January 2018 with and without the new type of model coupling. The image on the far right labeled Dynamic – Control Jan 06 shows the differences in air temperature (red = warmer, blue = colder) and wind (black arrows) when the models are coupled. The areas in color show how the new model coupling changed the model output considerably and improved the forecast.

Sinkhole Science: Groundwater in the Great Lakes

If you followed our fieldwork last summer, you probably remember hearing about our research on the fascinating sinkholes and microbial communities that lie at the bottom of northern Lake Huron off the coast of Alpena, MI. Now you can experience this research as a short film!

NOAA GLERL has partnered with Great Lakes Outreach Media to create a short film entitled Sinkhole Science: Groundwater in the Great Lakes. It was recently featured on Detroit Public Television’s Great Lakes Now program as well as the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary’s International Film Festival.

In the film, you’ll learn how NOAA GLERL’s Observation Systems and Advanced Technology (OSAT) branch studies how these sinkholes impact the water levels and ecosystems of the Great Lakes. GLERL’s OSAT Program Leader Steve Ruberg explains the high-tech gadgets involved in this research, including a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), a tilt-based current sensor, and temperature strings to determine vertical movement of groundwater entering the lakes through the sinkholes.

Hit “play” to dive into the exciting world of GLERL’s sinkhole science!

NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory

The latest news and information about NOAA research in and around the Great Lakes

Tag Archives: Research