Unified Interior Regions
Region 3: Great Lakes
Great Lakes Restoration Initiative
For more information on the Great Lakes and work being done, check out the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative website here!
GLRIUSGS Science Centers in the Great Lakes Region
For more information on what each center is doing in the Great Lakes, please follow the links below!
Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center
Upper Midwest Water Science Center
Regions L2 Landing Page Tabs
Microbiological Water Quality
Recreational water and industrial discharges are regulated by other federal and state agencies across the country. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Michigan Bacteriological Research Laboratory (MI-BaRL) conducts studies to understand the fate and transport of fecal indicator bacteria in surface and groundwater to aid state and federal partners. A variety of standardized protocols are used to...
Bad River watershed assessments
The Bad River has one of the highest sediment loads of all Lake Superior tributaries and is an important resource for lake sturgeon and the Bad River Tribe. This study monitors the effects of streamflow variability on sediment-related problems, including understanding the influence of land cover on hydrology, habitat, erosion and sedimentation rates, and water quality of the Bad River.
2017 Midwest Spring Floods
Learn more about USGS flood activities related to the 2017 Midwest Spring Floods that occurred across large portions of Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Arkansas in late April and early May, 2017.
September 2016 Northern Plains Floods
Learn more about USGS flood activities related to the September 2016 Northern Plains Floods when more than 12 inches of rain fell in northeast Iowa, southeast Minnesota, and southwest Wisconsin during a 24-hour period on September 22 and 23, 2016.
Summer 2015 Central Floods
Learn more about USGS flood activities related to the Summer 2015 Central Floods that occured when heavy rains caused flooding in four states in the central U.S.
Lansing Area Emerging Contaminants
The USGS, in cooperation with the Tri-County Regional Planning Commission, will analyze water sample results from 20 Lansing area wells. The objective of this study is to investigate well characteristics and other factors that may influence the susceptibility of drinking water-supply wells to contamination by contaminants of emerging concern. This information can be used by Lansing and other...
June 2014 floods in South Dakota, Minnesota, and Iowa
Learn more about USGS flood activities related to the June 2014 Floods in South Dakota, Minnesota, and Iowa.
May-June 2013 Midwest Floods
Learn more about USGS flood activities related to the May-June 2013 Midwest Floods.
April-May 2013 Midwest Floods
Learn more about USGS flood activities related to the April-May 2013 Midwest Floods caused by heavy rainfall and late snow-melt in six states.
Spring/Summer 2011 Mississippi River Basin Floods
Learn more about USGS flood activities related to the Spring/Summer 2011 floods throughout the Mississippi River Basin.
May 2011 New Madrid Floodway
Learn more about USGS flood activities related to the May 2011 New Madrid Floodway breaches.
Urban Waters Federal Partnership—Little Calumet River (Northwest Indiana)
The USGS works with a wide range of cooperators to investigate many aspects of water quality. The newly integrated USGS Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center is assisting in furthering urban water-quality research in Northwest Indiana.
Elevation Data
The 3DEP products and services available through The National Map consist of lidar point clouds (LPC), standard digital elevation models (DEMs) at various horizontal resolutions, elevation source and associated datasets, an elevation point query service and bulk point query service. All 3DEP products are available, free of charge and without use restrictions.
Water-quality and lake-stage data reports for Wisconsin lakes
The purpose of these reports is to provide information about the chemical and physical characteristics of Wisconsin lakes. Data that have been collected at specific lakes, and information to aid in the interpretation of those data, are included in these reports.
Orthoimagery Data
Orthoimagery data typically are high resolution aerial images that combine the visual attributes of an aerial photograph with the spatial accuracy and reliability of a planimetric map. The National Map offers public domain, 1-meter orthoimagery for the conterminous United States with many urban areas and other locations at 2-foot or finer resolution.
The National Map Small-Scale Collection
The National Map offers a collection of small-scale datasets, most of which are at 1:1,000,000. The National Map publishes two data collections at one million-scale: one for Global Map users and one for National Map users. In terms of vector geometry, the lines, points, and areas in these data collections are identical. The difference is in the attributes assigned to these features.
FishVis Mapper
The FishVis Mapper is the product of an Upper Midwest and Great Lakes LCC project, “A Regional Decision Support Tool for Identifying Vulnerabilities of Riverine Habitat and Fishes to Climate Change” that developed an approach for predicting fish species occurrence under current climate conditions and project how fish species occurrence may change under future climate conditions.
Green Lake monitoring locations
Map of monitoring locations (with links to data) on Green Lake and its tributaries.
Anvil Lake monitoring locations
Map of monitoring locations (with links to data) on Anvil Lake.
Delavan Lake monitoring locations
Map of monitoring locations (with links to data) on Delavan Lake and its tributaries.
Bad River Groundwater Model Mapper
The Bad River Groundwater Model Mapper accompanies the report "Groundwater-Surface Water Interactions in the Bad River Watershed, Wisconsin". The mapper displays model inputs such as aquifer recharge and hydraulic conductivity; outputs including water-table elevations, groundwater-flow directions, and stream baseflows; and the results of an analysis evaluating potential monitoring well...
Wisconsin Active Groundwater-Level Network
The Active Groundwater Level Network contains water levels and well information that have been measured by the USGS or its cooperators at least once within the past 365 days. This network includes all of these wells, regardless of measurement frequency, aquifer monitored, or the monitoring objective.
Wisconsin Real-Time Groundwater-Level Network
The Real-Time Groundwater Level Network contains data typically recorded at 15-60 minute intervals, stored onsite, and then transmitted to USGS offices every 1 to 4 hours, depending on the data relay technique used. Recording and transmission times may be more frequent during critical events. All real-time data are provisional and subject to revision.
Wisconsin Climate Response Groundwater-Level Network
The Climate Response Groundwater-Level Network portrays the effect of climate on groundwater levels in unconfined aquifers or near-surface confined aquifers that are minimally affected by pumping or other anthropogenic stresses.
Neal Craig - OKI 2019 Cooperator Meeting
Neal Craig - OKI 2019 Cooperator Meeting. Neal gave a demonstration on Flood measurements showing how to measure floodwaters with old and new technologies.
Chris Kephart - OKI Water Microbiology Laboratory
Chris Kephart - OKI Water Microbiology Laboratory. Chris gave a presentation at the OKI 2019 Cooperator Meeting titled "OKI Water Micorbiology Laboratory: Capabilities and current studies: Learn about the latest technology and science being employed by the OKI WSC. Chris also gave a hand-on demonstration titled "Learn about qPCR and more from the OKI WSC's microbiology lab
...Neal Craig - OKI 2019 Cooperator Meeting
Neal Craig - OKI 2019 Cooperator Meeting. Neal gave a demonstration on Flood measurements showing how to measure floodwaters with old and new technologies.
Angie Crain - OKI 2019 Cooperator Meeting
Angie Crain - OKI 2019 Cooperator Meeting. Angie gave a presentation on Super Gages/Mobile Super Gages: What's coming into Kentucky and what's leaving it - and new ways to answer that question.
Chris Kephart - OKI Water Microbiology Laboratory
Chris Kephart - OKI Water Microbiology Laboratory. Chris gave a presentation at the OKI 2019 Cooperator Meeting titled "OKI Water Micorbiology Laboratory: Capabilities and current studies: Learn about the latest technology and science being employed by the OKI WSC. Chris also gave a hand-on demonstration titled "Learn about qPCR and more from the OKI WSC's microbiology lab
...Neal Craig Technology demonstration at the OKI 2019 cooperator meeting
Neal Craig Technology demonstration at the OKI 2019 cooperator meeting
Dave Lampe - OKI 2019 Cooperator Meeting
Dave Lampe - OKI 2019 Cooperator Meeting. Dave gave a presentation on the Indiana Groundwater Network: Leveraging citizen science to monitor ctitical resources.
Gary Martin - USGS StreamStats Application
Gary Martin - USGS StreamStats Application. Gary gave a presontation and hands-on demonstartion on the USGS StreamStats application at the OKI 2019 Coopertor Meeting.
Jeremiah Lant - OKI 2019 Cooperator Meeting
Jeremiah Lant - OKI 2019 Cooperator Meeting. Jeremiah gave a presentation on AMDTreat: Science meets modern computing.
Dave Lampe - How to measure groundwater levels
Dave Lampe - How to measure groundwater levels. Dave gave a presentation titled "Indiana Groundwater Network: Leveraging citizen science to monitor critical resources and a hands-on demonstation on how to measure groundwater levels.
Jeremiah Lant - OKI 2019 Cooperator Meeting
Jeremiah Lant - OKI 2019 Cooperator Meeting. Jeremiah gave a presentation on AMDTreat: Science meets modern computing.
Paleo-ice streams, or corridors within ice sheets that move more quickly than surrounding ice, may have formed much of the egg-laying habitat for critical fish species in Lake Huron during the last glacial period.
These interactive, mobile-friendly websites use maps of beach locations to indicate whether or not estimated bacteria levels exceed state safety standards.
A new streamgage recently installed by the U.S. Geological Survey in the city of Linton, Indiana, will provide continuous, real-time streamflow and water level data in an area that has demonstrated a need for reliable flood warning and flood-related data.
When a moving barge encounters small fish in the Illinois Waterway there is a possibility that the fish will become trapped in the gap between barges, according to a new study by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Geological Survey.
Highest concentrations found in Iowa, Minnesota and Illinois.
A graduate student at The University of Toledo is the first researcher to find direct proof of grass carp, a type of invasive Asian carp, spawning in a Great Lakes tributary. This research was conducted as a follow-up to U.S. Geological Survey findings in 2013 that indicated four young grass carp taken from the Sandusky River were the result of natural reproduction.
First-of-its-kind survey shows that algal toxins are found nationwide
Laboratory experiments in flowing water using synthetic surrogate Silver Carp eggs demonstrate egg suspension at lower velocities than previously thought, according to a new U.S. Geological Survey study.
Residents and visitors should not be alarmed to witness a low-flying airplane above the broader Iron Mountain-Ralph-Escanaba-Menominee region.
A new study suggests that the degraded breakdown products of oil-spill contaminants in groundwater could be just as important to monitor as the original contamination itself.