CB-450 Data Buoy

Two solitary data buoys floating off the storm-tossed Lake Superior shore near Munising and Granite Island were sudden stars in 2017. That October, they captured the largest waves ever measured on the Great Lakes—each 28.8-foot high—during a storm that claimed the lives of two people swept off rocks. This attention-getting event shows how buoy data help managers and the public comprehend the otherwise unimaginable force of a wild Lake Superior storm that caused six figures in damage along the coast. However, these beacons provide critical wave data throughout the field season, even when the waves aren’t quite so formidable. Challenge: Eye-popping weather, punishing conditions Sensor-based wave measurements in the Great Lakes only go back to 1979 when NOAA first began them. Before then, managers aided lake freighters in the Great Lakes with wave heights based on human observations.

A complex series of locks and dams up and down the Ohio River enable interstate commerce, travel, and recreation. But maintaining a usable pathway for watercraft comes at a cost. The inevitable byproducts of disrupting the river’s natural systems are a threat to local wildlife. To combat this, the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) uses complex monitoring and response technology designed to minimize the negative impacts of dredging on the river ecosystem. Business as usual and ‘Do Not Disturb’? Steven Foster, a limnologist with the USACE Water Quality Team, focuses in part on river mussel welfare in his work at the Robert C. Byrd Lock and Dam in Gallipolis Ferry, West Virginia. River dredging can smother mussel beds, so Foster and the team of engineers monitor the beds to ensure their safety.

Sebago Lake is the second largest lake in Maine—one of the only lakes in the nation with clean enough water for use by a drinking water facility without filtration requirements. Residents of the Greater Portland area are the beneficiaries, and they are invested in maintaining their lake's health. A joint project between the Portland Water District (PWD) and Saint Joseph’s College of Maine (SJC) assisted by the NexSens team submerged around 145 pounds of new, high-tech equipment in Sebago Lake in 2018. Challenge: Committed to Keeping Crystal Clear The waters of Sebago Lake have always been very clear, but this monitoring project is a proactive attempt to prevent problems that experts predict changes in climate might cause.