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Home > Research by Program > Environmental Observing Systems > Background
GLERL Environmental Observing Systems Research Program
General Background
GLERL's Environmental Observing Systems Research Program seeks to understand and assess changes in the health of Great Lakes ecosystems. The program uses remote sensing and field sampling to accomplish these goals. Field monitoring efforts in southern Lake Michigan have concentrated on the lower food web. We have found that the Lake Michigan ecosystem has undergone dramatic changes since the 1970's due to the combined impacts of phosphorus reduction, salmonid stocking, and exotic species invasion. Although the introduction of nonindigenous species into the Great Lakes is not a new phenomenon, an alarming number of nonindigenous species have recently become established in the lakes, including the zebra mussel and quagga mussel, the spiny water fleas, Bythotrephes and Cercopagis, the ruffe, and the round-nose goby. The effect on the Great Lakes ecosystem of these recent invaders must be documented. This is accomplished by regular sampling of phytoplankton, zooplankton, benthic communities and traditional water quality parameters.
GLERL's monitoring stations are located offshore of Muskegon, Michigan in water with depths of 45 m and 100 m. Water samples are collected monthly from spring to fall to assess seasonal, as well as, year-to-year differences in water quality and species composition and abundance. By documenting these changes in the pelagic and benthic food webs, we hope to assist managers and decision makers in protecting the health and vitality of the Great Lakes ecosystem.
CoastWatch is a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) program with GLERL functioning as the Great Lakes regional node, since 1990. In this capacity, GLERL obtains, produces, and delivers environmental data and products for near real-time observation of the Great Lakes to support environmental science, decision making, and research. CoastWatch data is used in a variety of ways including monitoring (e.g. algal blooms, plumes, ice cover, water intake temperatures at fish hatcheries), two and three dimensional modeling of Great Lakes physical parameters (e.g. wave height and currents), damage assessment modeling, and educational activities.
GLERL is currently receiving enhanced digital images including satellite derived surface temperature, visible and near-infrared reflectance, brightness temperatures, satellite and solar zenith angle data, and cloud masks from the NOAA-14 and NOAA-16 satellites. These products are downloaded from a central computing site at the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) via Internet on a daily basis and stored at GLERL. GLERL has received and archived over 282,210 AVHRR (Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer) image products since becoming the Great Lakes CoastWatch Node. GLERL has assisted in validating new satellite SST algorithms used for the Great Lakes, contributed data, information, and design suggestions for the prototype Great Lakes CoastWatch Users Guide, and developed software to help analyze CoastWatch products on personal computers.
Last updated: 2004-04-07 jjs