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
Response to an oil spill on the Kalamazoo River
Enbridge Energy Partners LLP (Enbridge) reported a 30-inch pipeline ruptured on Monday, July 26, 2010, near Marshall, Michigan. The release, estimated at 819,000 gallons, entered Talmadge Creek and flowed into the Kalamazoo River, a Lake Michigan tributary. Heavy rains caused the river to overtop existing dams and carried oil 30 miles downstream on the Kalamazoo River. As the federal agency in...
Kalamazoo River pre-dam removal geomorphology study
The Kalamazoo River, a federal Superfund site, contains sediments contaminated with PCBs from historical paper mills. Dam control and erosion has exposed and mobilized the contaminated sediment, transporting and depositing it downstream. This study determined the historical geomorphic changes, measured bank stability, and evaluated the potential effects of future dam failure and removal...
Wisconsin hydraulic geometry regional curves
The USGS is helping develop regional regression curves that relate channel geometry characteristics with streamflow and basin characteristics to improve the design of channel restoration projects for small, ungaged streams with limited data and streamflow relations.
Silver Lake Nutrient Study
Recently, elevated chlorophyll-a concentrations were found related to persistent algal blooms on Silver Lake in Oceana County, MI. Elevated chlorophyll-a concentrations, high phosphorus concentrations during summer months, as well as a decrease in water clarity indicated potential accelerated eutrophication processes during the last two years, and underscore a need to characterize water and...
Winnebago pool lakes: Hydrology, water quality, and response to simulated changes in phosphorus loading
The Winnebago Pool Lakes are shallow, productive drainage lakes that have accumulated nutrients from its mixed agricultural/forest watershed and from the Fox River. High phosphorus concentrations often result in severe blue-green algae blooms that can produce harmful toxins. The USGS is evaluating the water quality and phosphorus budget of each lake and modeling eutrophication responses.
Green Lake and its tributaries: Water quality and hydrology
Green Lake is the deepest natural inland lake in Wisconsin. Through time its water quality has degraded, with relatively high phosphorus concentrations and zones of hypoxia. This project is quantifying the water quality of the lake and its tributaries, and it will provide information to help guide efforts to improve the lake.
Anvil Lake: Response of lake water quality to changes in nutrient loading, with special emphasis on the effects of changes in water level
Anvil Lake is a relatively shallow, high-quality lake whose water level has dropped dramatically in recent years, adversely affecting the recreational and aesthetic values of the lake. The USGS is developing detailed water and phosphorus budgets, determining groundwater contributions, modeling likely responses to changes in phosphorus loading, and assessing the effect of climate on water...
Delavan Lake: Hydrology, water quality, and biology
Eutrophication of Delavan Lake accelerated from the 1940s to 1980s, resulting in a hypereutrophic lake with severe blue-green algae blooms. Extensive rehabilitation efforts were implemented to improve water quality. The USGS measured nutrients, suspended sediment, water quality, and plankton populations to quantify the effectiveness of rehabilitation efforts and guide future management...
Geneva Lake: Water quality, hydrology, and biology
To reduce the impact of increasing urban development and recreational use on Geneva Lake, efforts are being made to decrease point- and nonpoint-source pollution inputs. To document Geneva Lake's water quality, the USGS collected water-quality data and developed empirical eutrophication models to demonstrate that reductions in phosphorus loading were related to water-quality improvements.
Pioneer Farm bank erosion study
Riparian grazing allows cattle free access to streams, but may accelerate erosion by the removal or trampling of vegetation. This study measured stream bank erosion, channel morphology, and stream substrate through seven experimental intensive-rotational pastures. It also evaluated the use of photo-electronic erosion pins (PEEPs) for measuring bank erosion in this type of geomorphic setting....
Bayfield tributaries geomorphic assessment for restoration
Lake Superior tributaries in Bayfield County, Wis., have accelerated erosion and sedimentation influenced by changing land use, steep slopes, erodible soils, and flashy runoff. This project assessed the geomorpology of five tributaries, identified problem areas, and assessed rehabilitation alternatives and watershed management strategies specifically related to the rehabilitation of brook...
Acoustics
Upper Midwest Water Science Center uses acoustic meters for making streamflow measurements. Wading measurements are done using a modified top setting wading rod equipped with an acoustic Doppler velocimeter (ADV). Acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCP) are used when measurement depths are too deep to wade. ADCP measurements can either be made with a tether or cableway or deployed on a...
Geneva Lake monitoring locations
Map of monitoring locations (with links to data) on Geneva Lake.
Long Term Resource Monitoring
This web resource provides decision makers with the information needed to maintain the Upper Mississippi River System as a viable multiple-use large river ecosystem.
Jeremiah Lant - OKI 2019 Cooperator Meeting
Jeremiah Lant - OKI 2019 Cooperator Meeting. Jeremiah gave a presentation on AMDTreat: Science meets modern computing.
Dave Lampe - Indiana Groundwater Network
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.
Gary Martin - OKI 2019 Cooperator Meeting
Gary Martin - OKI 2019 Cooperator Meeting - Gary provided a hands-on demonstration on using the StreamStats application.
Tanja Williamson - OKI 2019 Cooperator Meeting
Tanja Williamson - OKI 2019 Cooperator Meeting. Tanja's presentation was titled "Sediment Source Tracking: Using advanced science to track sediment sources.
Jeremiah Lant - Science Meets Modern Computing
Jeremiah Lant - Science Meets Modern Computing. OKI 2019 Coopertor Meeting in Louisville, Kentucky.
Chris Kephart - OKI 2019 Cooperator Meeting
Chris Kephart - OKI 2019 Cooperator Meeting.
Jeff Woods - OKI 2019 Cooperator Meeting
Jeff Woods - OKI 2019 Cooperator Meeting. Jeff's presetntation was titled "Kentucky Hydrologic Network Update: Overview of OKI's streamgaging network and Kentucky's century gages".
Gary Martin - USGS StreamStats: What's New in 2019?
Gary Martin - USGS StreamStats: What's New in 2019?
Dave Lampe - OKI 2019 Cooperator Meeting
Dave Lampe - OKI 2019 Cooperator Meeting. Dave gave a demonsration on how to measure groundwater levels.
Jeff Woods - Overview of Kentucky's streamgage network
Jeff Woods - Overview of Kentucky's streamgage network and century gages
Beginning in early April and continuing for approximately two weeks, the U.S. Geological Survey will conduct an aerial survey designed to scan the upper part of the earth’s crust.
A new, interactive tool can help managers make critical water-quality decisions in the Red River Basin of the United States and Canada.
Today, the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announce Visualize Your Water, a citizen science challenge for high school students who live in the Great Lakes basin and Chesapeake Bay watershed.
Ann Arbor, MI – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency registered a sea lamprey mating pheromone, 3kPZS, as the first ever vertebrate pheromone biopesticide in late December, 2015. Like an alluring perfume, the mating pheromone is a scent released by male sea lampreys to lure females onto nesting sites.
U.S. Geological Survey field crews are measuring record flooding on rivers and streams in 12 states across the country. USGS is making preparations for a prolonged field effort along the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers as major flooding will extend well into mid-to-late January, particularly along the lower Mississippi River.
U.S. Geological Survey field crews are measuring near-historic flooding on rivers and streams across Illinois.
Rapid predictions of harmful algal blooms, or large growths of toxin-producing bacteria in water, can help prevent recreationalists from getting sick at Ohio lakes, according to a new U.S. Geological Survey report.
For the first time, land and resource managers in the Great Lakes will be able to distinguish between the various sources of mercury in the environment, a toxic chemical of significant concern in the region. This is thanks to a new tool that “fingerprints” the mercury, developed by the U.S. Geological Survey and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
A newly published, three-volume “Remote Sensing Handbook” is a comprehensive coverage of all remote sensing topics written by over 300 leading global experts.
With the release of new US Topo maps for Illinois and South Dakota, the USGS has completed the second, three-year cycle of revising and updating electronic US Topo quadrangles. This means that since late 2009, the USGS has published nearly every map in the conterminous U.S., twice.
Grass carp egg survival is compromised when they settle on streambeds and are potentially covered by sediments, according to a new study by the U.S. Geological Survey. It has been long assumed that the eggs of Asian carps, including grass carp, must be carried in the water current in order to hatch successfully, but no previous scientific studies have proven that theory.
Silver carp, a species of invasive Asian carp, demonstrated a strong aversion to certain noises during a recent study on the potential use of sound for silver carp control.