Great Lakes Science Center
Data and Tools
Measured and Modeled Water Velocities in the Detroit River Near Belle Isle from 2014-2017
This data set contains water depths and velocities measured with an acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) used to develop a three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model. The CFD model was used to inform fish spawning habitat remediation projects in the Detroit River near Belle Isle. Prior to construction of three fish spawning reefs in 2016, ADCP measurements were made...
Bottom Hardness and Surficial Substrate Composition of Fish Spawning Reefs in the St. Clair-Detroit River System from 2012 - 2018
This data set contains bottom hardness and surficial substrate compositions measured as part of a study evaluating the maturation of fish spawning reef restoration projects in the St. Clair-Detroit River System. Five spawning reef complexes (Middle Channel, Harts Light, Pointe Aux Chenes, Grassy Island, and Belle Isle) constructed with 10-20 cm broken limestone from 2012-2016 were evaluated as...
Water Chemistry of Great Lakes Tributaries, 2017-2018
Chemical composition of fish bones can be used to trace fish migrations and other movements (e.g., use of tributaries for spawning). Chemical composition of water is required to be able to trace fish migrations or movements to particular rivers or streams. Because water chemistry can change over time due to changes in land use, tectonic movements that alter groundwater pathways, pollution,...
Using turbidity measurements to estimate phosphorus and sediment flux in a Great Lakes Coastal Marsh, in Ohio.
Great Lakes coastal marshes have the potential to filter water coming off of the landscape and remove sediments and nutrients before they reach the lakes. However, this ability has largely been neutralized as vast areas of coastal wetlands have been isolated behind dikes; while at the same time the Great Lakes continue to suffer from excess phosphorus loading. In this study we used high-...
Developmental Stages of Grass Carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) eggs in the Sandusky River
Grass Carp Ctenopharyngodon idella was imported to the United States in the 1960s for research into its usefulness as a biocontrol agent for nuisance aquatic vegetation. Escapees and intentionally stocked individuals founded wild, spawning populations in the Mississippi River and tributaries to the Laurentian Great Lakes. USGS-led research on the Sandusky River, a tributary to Lake Erie,...
Survey data of larval fish, zooplankton, and aquatic plants collected from the St. Clair River delta, MI (2010-2011)
The St. Clair River delta, part of the St. Clair-Detroit River System (SCDRS), is the most fished coastal wetland area in the Laurentian Great Lakes and provides nursery habitat for a variety of fish species; however, few large-scale surveys of early fish life stages have been performed since the 1980s. Larval fish, zooplankton, and aquatic plants were sampled at 21 sites in delta channels and...
Lake Erie Fish Community Data, 2013-2018
Assessing the distribution and abundance of both predator and prey (forage) fish species is a cornerstone of ecosystem-based based fishery management, and supports decision making that considers food-web interactions. In support of binational Great Lakes fishery management the objectives of this survey were to: provide estimates of densities of key forage and predator species in the western...
Great Lakes Research Vessel Operations 1958-2018: Mensuration. (ver. 3.0, April 2019)
All mensuration data represented here expand upon vessel operations (OP table) data, all of which are collected by the United States Geological Survey, Great Lakes Science Center and its partners. The Mensuration Tables contain data collected from the research vessel deploying various gear used for mensuration data collection. The database uses sample_type to indicate the gear deployed. The...
Great Lakes Research Vessel Operations 1958-2018: Reference. (ver. 3.0, April 2019)
The RVCAT database contains data that have been collected on various vessel operations on the Great Lakes and select connecting waterways. This section of Reference Tables specifically handles repetitive or standardized information that is called upon in the main tables of the RVCAT database. Reference tables are used in database design in order to standardize often used values and to make...
Quantification of nitrogen-fixing microorganisms (targeting nifH gene) in Cladophora algae by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR)
Data were collected to determine the abundance of nitrogen-fixing microorganisms in Cladophora algae growing on rocks, breakwall structures, or submerged dreissenid mussel beds around southern Lake Michigan. Cladophora samples (N=33) were collected between June and September 2015 from three urban areas: (a) Jeorse Park, East Chicago, Indiana, (b) Calumet Beach, Chicago, Illinois, and (c) North...
Historical Ice Breakup Dates for Chequamegon Bay, Lake Superior, 1911 to 2019 (ver. 2.0, May 2019)
Ice breakup dates of Chequamegon Bay, Lake Superior from 1911 to 2019. Ice breakup date is the day in spring when winter ice cover substantially leaves a water body. Local residents deem "ice breakup" as when the ice moves northeast of a line straight across Chequamegon Bay out from Ellis Avenue (State highway 13). Another way ice breakup was determined has been if you could drive a boat...
Fox River walleye mercury isotope data
Adult walleye were caught in Fox River (Wisconsin) during April 2014. Age-0 walleye were caught in Fox River during October 2014. Total length, weight, age, and proportion of weight represented by water were determined for each of the walleye. Whole-fish homogenates were prepared during 2014-2015 and during 2017. Total mercury (HgT) concentration, methylmercury (MeHg) concentration, and...