News & Events
News from NOAA: NOAA Research Study To Help Predict Pollutant Movement In Great Lakes Region
June 22, 2006
Contact: Glenda Powell
(301) 713-3066
Scientists from NOAA's Center of Excellence for Great Lakes and Human Health (CEGLHH) will conduct a research study June 19 - 23, 2006, as part of their ongoing efforts to develop forecasting technology to predict when beaches pose risks to human health. In collaboration with Michigan State University and the Georgia Institute of Technology, CEGLHH's scientists will perform a water quality investigation in the Grand River, a tributary of Lake Michigan, in Grand Haven, Mich., to better understand the movement of waterborne pollution.
In 2004, CEGLHH began researching and developing ecosystem forecasting tools to predict and minimize threats to human health in coastal environments. Current water quality monitoring techniques for E.coli bacteria require a lengthy incubation time (24-48 hours), which results in closed beaches on days when bacteria levels do not pose threats to human health and conversely, open beaches on days when bacteria are at high levels.
"The ultimate benefit of doing this study is to help develop and test accurate forecasting tools for water quality at beaches and in coastal areas. As you develop better tools, you can make better decisions for monitoring and ultimately reduce human health risks associated with swimming in the Great Lakes," said Michael McCormick, NOAA lead scientist on the project.
For this study CEGLHH scientists will release an inert, non-toxic gas, called Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF6), into the Grand River at a constant rate. SF6 does not pose any ecological or human health risks and will dissolve in the water. The dissolved SF6 will serve as an effective environmental tracer, tracking how the water flows. The study will help determine the influence of wind, currents, waves, and water temperature on the transport of contaminants.
"What is great about using SF6 as an environmental tracer is that it is chemically and biologically inert and we can measure it at extremely low concentrations." said McCormick. "The study will allow us to obtain valuable data for characterizing the mixing and movement of pollutants."
NOAA, an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce, is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and providing environmental stewardship of the nation's coastal and marine resources. Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal partners, over 60 countries, and the European Commission to develop a global network that is as integrated as the planet it observes, predicts, and protects.
