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
Flood hazards in Wisconsin
A summary of USGS resources and data related to flooding hazards in Wisconsin.
Flood frequency in Wisconsin
Flood-frequency estimates are required at many sites for bridge and culvert design, as well as for flood-plain management and flood-insurance studies. To estimate flood frequency at ungaged locations, a network of approximately 90 crest-stage gages and more than 200 past and current continuous-record gages are used to compute regional flood-frequency equations to estimate floods at ungaged...
Avian Botulism in Distressed Great Lakes Environments
Botulism outbreaks occur within the Great Lakes and often result in significant bird die offs. It is believed that Clostridium botulinum is the reason for these die offs and the trophic pathways that this organism travels are of interest to understanding its place within the food web. The GLRI Avian Botulism Project is investigating six different matrices: sediment, Cladophora, invertebrates,...
June 2008 floods in southern Wisconsin
In June 2008, heavy rain caused severe flooding across southern Wisconsin. Record gage heights and streamflows occurred at 21 U.S. Geological Survey streamgages across southern Wisconsin from June 7 to June 21.
Ground water in the Great Lakes Basin: the case of southeastern Wisconsin
This project addresses questions that affect the management of groundwater in the Great Lakes basin, such as the behavior of and control by groundwater divides, the seepage and discharge of natural groundwater flows, and the effects of groundwater pumping on discharge and recharge. A case study that examines groundwater flow in and adjacent to Lake Michigan in southeastern Wisconsin is...
Michigan Bacteriological Research Laboratory (MI-BaRL)
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Michigan Bacteriological Research Laboratory (MI-BaRL) is a newly renovated laboratory space operated by the USGS Michigan Water Science Center in Lansing, MI. The laboratory is staffed by two Ph.D. level microbiologists and five M.S. level microbiologists with a combined 70 years of experience in microbiology and water resources research. The USGS MI-BaRL...
Evaluating the risks of airborne pathogens from manure irrigation
Manure irrigation, which is the application of liquid animal manure by irrigation, is increasing. However, the risk of airborne pathogen transmission from manure to humans during spray irrigation is not well-understood. To determine how pathogens can spread using manure irrigation, LIDE measured air concentrations and risk of illness due to exposure to pathogens in the irrigation spray.
Cincinnati Arch Oil and Gas Assessments
The U.S. Geological Survey completed the following assessments of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Cincinnati Arch Province (5066) :
Iowa Shelf Oil and Gas Assessments
The U.S. Geological Survey completed the following assessments of undiscovered oil and gas potential of the Iowa Shelf Province (5052).
Superior Oil and Gas Assessments
The U.S. Geological Survey completed the following assessment of undiscovered oil and gas potential of the Superior Province 5051.
Illinois Basin Oil and Gas Assessments
The U.S. Geological Survey completed the following assessments of undiscovered continuous oil and gas resources of the Illinois Basin Province 5064.
Michigan Basin Oil and Gas Assessments
The U.S. Geological Survey completed the following assessments of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the U.S. portion of the Michigan Basin 5063.
Cuyahoga River at Independence OH - view from edge of river
Cuyahoga River at Independence OH - view from edge of river
Chippewa Dunes Multibeam Survey - downstream of Durand bridge
Chippewa Dunes Multibeam Survey downstream of Durand bridge.
Confined disposal facility, East Chicago, Indiana
Front cover for the publication titled "Geochemistry and microbiology of groundwater and solids from extraction and monitoring wells and their relation to well efficiency at a Federally operated confined disposal facility, East Chicago, Indiana"
The Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Ready to Deploy
The underwater autonomous vehicle sitting in a parking lot before being deployed.
The Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) in testing
This is the autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV). Here, it is being tested in a hotel swimming pool.
Eagle Creek at Zionsville, IN - downstream of gage
Eagle Creek at Zionsville, IN - downstream of gage
GLSC Greenhouse
GLSC’s Aaron DeVries and Mckenzie Smith, left, discuss innovative controls for invasive Phragmites australis in GLSC’s greenhouse facility.
The GLSC Aquatic Laboratory
Dr. Wendy Stott (GLSC) discusses the science carried out in the Ann Arbor aquatic research laboratory.
Phragmites australis on the Shore of Lake St. Clair
Phragmites australis on the Shore of Lake St. Clair, 2015
Moffett Award Presented to Yu-Chun Kao
GLSC Director Russ Strach presents the 2018 GLSC Moffett Award to lead author Yu-Chun Kao for his 2017 paper, Evaluating Stocking Efficacy in an Ecosystem Undergoing Oligotrophication, with GLSC coauthors Mark Rogers and David “Bo” Bunnell.
USGS Columbus, Ohio office
The USGS Ohio Water Science Center located in Colubumbus, Ohio. The OH WSC is part of the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana WSC.
10 frame 3D reconstruction
Digital 3D reconstruction of lake bottom using 10 photo frames taken by the dive camera system. This reconstruction allows us to gain more insight about the lake bottom since elevation has been added to the photographs.
MENLO PARK, Calif.— Smartphones and other personal electronic devices could, in regions where they are in widespread use, function as early warning systems for large earthquakes according to newly reported research.
MENLO PARK, California — Los teléfonos móviles y otros dispositivos electrónicos personales podrían ayudar en las regiones donde se encuentran en uso generalizado, y pueden funcionar como sistemas de alerta para terremotos mayor según la nueva investigación científica recien publicada.
New research shows that Lake Erie’s dead zones are actually quite active, greatly affecting fish distributions, catch rates and the effectiveness of fishing gear.
Appalachian coal and petroleum resources are still available in sufficient quantities to contribute significantly to fulfilling the nation’s energy needs, according to a recent study by the U.S. Geological Survey.
The U.S. Geological Survey awarded a $9.7 million contract to Crittenden Construction out of Alpena, Michigan, on March 5 for the construction and renovation of the USGS Great Lakes Science Center Hammond Bay Biological Station near Millersburg, Michigan. The renovation is a joint effort between the USGS and the Great Lakes Fishery Commission.
While the earth contains enough potash to meet the increased global demand for crop production and U.S. supplies are likely secure, some regions lack potash deposits needed for optimal food crop yields. According to a recent USGS global assessment of potash resources, the costs of importing potash long distances can limit its use and imports are subject to supply disruptions.
A year after the January 9, 2014 chemical spill on the Elk River that affected the drinking water of 300,000 Charleston area residents, scientists continue to provide new information to increase understanding of the chemicals in the spill and how they traveled through the water system.
Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell announced today that Interior’s Northeast Climate Science Center (NE CSC) is awarding nearly $700,000 to universities and other partners for research to guide managers of parks, refuges and other cultural and natural resources in planning how to help species and ecosystems adapt to climate change.
Average chloride concentrations often exceed toxic levels in many northern United States streams due to the use of salt to deice winter pavement, and the frequency of these occurrences nearly doubled in two decades.
As part of the continued US Topo maps revision and improvement cycle, the USGS will be including mountain bike trails to upcoming quadrangles on a state-aligned basis.
Climate change could lengthen the growing season, make soil drier and decrease winter snowpack in the Lake Michigan Basin by the turn of the century, among other hydrological effects.
As freezing air swept into the Upper Midwest this past week, juvenile common loons took a cue from the weather and began their migrations to the warm Gulf of Mexico.