Skip to main content
Advanced Search

Filters: Tags: Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (X)

103 results (73ms)   

Filters
Date Range
Extensions
Types
Contacts
Categories
Tag Types
Tag Schemes
View Results as: JSON ATOM CSV
thumbnail
Description of Work USGS scientists are developing science based forecasting tools that capture changes to water flows and discharges of nutrients and sediments to the Great Lakes. The work done by this project provides managers with forecasting tools for predicting the combined effects of climate and land use changes that will help them identify and prioritize the sites best suited for restoration efforts. USGS scientists will use remote-sensing data to establish a baseline understanding of current distributions of invasive wetland plants and then forecast potential invasion corridors. Alterations to the Great Lakes shoreline or water-level patterns associated with global climate change could have significant impacts...
thumbnail
Description of Work Elevated concentrations of major ions are associated with a variety of discharges to aquatic ecosystems, including urban wastewater, mountain top removal and valley fill operations, and coal bed methane production. There is considerable uncertainty regarding the toxicity of major ions to aquatic organisms, particularly given the variability of constituents that comprise these effluents. Because the relative toxicity of major ions is highly variable, predicting effects based on conductivity, total dissolved solids (TDS) or other composite measures may be simplistic. Furthermore, most of the available information on sensitivity of aquatic organisms to major ions has been derived from short-term...
thumbnail
Contaminant exposure of tree swallows, Tachycineta bicolor, nesting in the Great Lakes basin was assessed in 2010 to 2014. Tree swallow nestlings were collected from 69 sites which included multiple sites at some of the 27 Areas of Concern (AOCs) and at nine non-AOC sites. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs), and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDEs) concentrations were measured in nestling stomach contents. Concentrations of PCBs and PBDEs were measured in nestling carcasses. Perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) were measured in nestling plasma. Pooled dietary concentrations of total PAHs were highest at the Rouge River, MI AOC (1,856 ng/g wet weight) and lowest at White Lake, MI...
Description of WorkExcessive nutrient and sediment concentrations and loads have been documented in many tributaries to the Great Lakes. Many efforts have been made during the first 5 years of GLRI to reduce nutrient and sediment concentrations in streams and rivers throughout the Great Lakes Basin, and these efforts will continue during Phase II of GLRI. In order to determine the success of these efforts at improving water quality, it is important to document in a systematic manner the water quality and loading from key tributaries to the Great Lakes.Goals & ObjectivesThe objectives of this project are to: 1) Collect streamflow and samples for sediment and nutrients for major streams that are tributary to the Great...
thumbnail
Description of Work Water guns are being placed in backwater habitats where bighead carp and silver carp currently are to see if they can be used to deny fish access to these preferred off-channel habitats or trap them in areas where they can be captured and removed. The energy emitted from water guns is being measured to determine the risk associated with water gun operation near navigation structures. These research topics are being investigated under laboratory (USGS Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, La Crosse, WI) and field conditions (for example, a backwater area of the Illinois River near Morris, IL). Relevance & Impact If water guns alter the behavior of bighead carp or silver carp then they...
thumbnail
Description of Work The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is continuing to develop and evaluate existing and new dreissenid mussel control tools for use in an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program for dreissenid mussels. Information developed will help guide the management and control of dreissenid mussels in open water environments and it will determine how restoration efforts may be implemented after dreissenid mussel infestations occur. The USGS has conducted a rigorous evaluation of Zequanox for dreissenid mussel control including recent work to evaluate the non-target animal impacts to the critical Great Lakes fish species, lake trout and lake sturgeon. Additional work has been completed to evaluate the effects...
thumbnail
Description of Work The Great Lakes ecosystem has undergone major changes over the last two decades related to the invasion of Dreissenid mussels, increased water clarity, increased benthic algae and associated water quality problems. For reasons not yet entirely understood, and that have bi-national significance, water column total phosphorus has not significantly increased over the last decade but the relative percent of the more biologically available dissolved phosphorus has increased. The filtering action of Dreissenid mussels has been shown to increase concentrations of dissolved phosphorus in the water column immediately above mussel beds and this had been hypothesized as one explanation for the increase...
thumbnail
Description of Work The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) was established to accelerate ecosystem restoration in the Great Lakes by confronting the most serious threats to the region, such as nonpoint source pollution, toxic sediments, and invasive species. Three Priority Watersheds have been targeted by the Regional Working Group's Phosphorus Reduction Work Group (Fox/Green Bay, Saginaw, and Maumee) and are characterized by having a high density of agricultural land use and have ecosystem impairments that have been clearly identified. Within the Maumee River Priority Watersheds, monitoring is being conducted at the sub-watershed, edge-of-field, and subsurface-tile scale. The edge-of-field and subsurface-tile...
thumbnail
Description of Work The Great Lakes Observing System (GLOS) coordinates and integrates regional coastal observations supporting national and regional priorities including Great Lakes restoration. The Department of Interior backbone project is providing GLOS equipment for collecting water-quality sensor parameters and samples for organic and metal contaminants, and nutrient and sediment data in tributaries, embayments, and the nearshore to determine and guide restoration activities. Simulation models are also being developed that will provide quantifiable measures of restoration progress and comparisons of progress over time and space.
thumbnail
Description of Work The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) was established to accelerate ecosystem restoration in the Great Lakes by confronting the most serious threats to the region, such as nonpoint source pollution, toxic sediments, and invasive species. Three Priority Watersheds have been targeted by the Regional Working Group's Phosphorus Reduction Work Group (Fox/Green Bay, Saginaw, and Maumee) and are characterized by having a high density of agricultural land use and have ecosystem impairments that have been clearly identified. Within the Fox River Priority Watershed, monitoring is being conducted at the sub-watershed and edge-of-field scale. The edge-of-field stations are targeted to those areas...
thumbnail
Habitat suitability was estimated for invasive Phragmites in the coastal Great Lakes region (shoreline to 10 km inland). These estimates were based on current distribution patterns and environmental conditions. Phragmites presence or absence was defined based on a distribution map produced by cooperative research between the GLSC and Michigan Technical Research Institute. Environmental variables were processed in a Geographic Information System (GIS) and came from existing publicly available sources. Variables include descriptors of soils, nutrients, topography, ecoregion, anthropogenic disturbance, and climate. Environmental conditions and Phragmites presence/absence were sampled in a GIS at points established...
thumbnail
Description of Work Since the early 2000s, the LaMP has proposed adding nutrients (specifically phosphorus) to its “pollutant of concern” list, given that excessive nutrients were believed to cause impairments in the nearshore waters. Since that time, scientists have highlighted the “shunting” of nutrients to the nearshore, owing to the ability of invasive dreissenid mussels to capture some portion of allochthanous phosphorus that enters the lake through tributaries. These changes are believed to underlie a series of changes in the nearshore, including increased biomass of cladophora and hypothesized increases in benthic and pelagic biomass, including zooplankton and fish. As an extension, this model proposes the...
thumbnail
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) GLRI effort is being coordinated and managed by the USGS Midwest Area in accordance with the USGS science strategy - one that is driven by cross-disciplinary integrative science and conducted in collaboration with partners to provide resource managers with the information and decision-making tools they need to help restore the Great Lakes.
thumbnail
Description of Work The main objective of this project is to identify locations within the St. Clair and Detroit Rivers that provide the best opportunities for remediation of fish spawning and nursery habitats, with the ultimate goal of enhancing native fish populations. Information about existing river habitat, current patterns, fish nursery areas, movements, spawning, and early life habitat requirements are being used in adaptive management models to identify areas suitable for creation or restoration of fish habitats. Physical and biological information are being coupled to show where and how habitat restoration will produce the strongest benefits to native fishes at multiple locations in the St. Clair and Detroit...
thumbnail
Description of Work U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) will use remote sensing data to establish a baseline understanding of current distributions of invasive wetland plants and then forecast potential invasion corridors. Alterations to the Great Lakes shoreline or water-level patterns associated with global climate change could have significant impacts on the extent and composition of coastal habitat. Low lake levels can expose fertile wetland bottomlands to invasive species such as common reed ( Phragmites). Goals & Objectives Goals: Identify current Phragmites distribution in the Great Lakes coastal zone, detect potential areas vulnerable to invasion due to influences such as altered water levels, nutrient and...
thumbnail
Description of Work In collaboration with 23 local and state agencies, beach-specific models were developed at 43 beaches throughout the Great Lakes region, and data were collected at 6 more beaches for future predictive model development. A predictive modeling workshop was hosted by USGS with instructors from USGS, USEPA, and Wisconsin DNR and included training on the use of USGS-developed data aggregation tools and USEPA’s Virtual Beach. Relevance & Impact Over 56 beaches across the Great Lakes region, in addition to those currently being monitored, will be included in this effort to help meet goals for healthier beaches. Key Findings Analyses were completed for a suite of pathogens at 12 Great Lakes beaches....
thumbnail
Description of Work This project is designed to (1) collect more frequent total suspended sediment (TSS) and total phosphorous (TP) data for the Genesee River Watershed, especially sub-watersheds at the 12-digit HUC (Hydrologic Unit code) scale, both within and outside of the AOC; and (2) to conduct a pilot study capable of evaluating the reduction in sediments and nutrients from the current and proposed GLRI non-point source reduction projects in the watershed aggregated at the 12-digit HUC. This project is envisioned as a two-year pilot for the Genesee River Watershed, with potentially wider applications in the Lake Ontario Basin and other Great Lake areas.
thumbnail
The Lakewide Management Plans (LaMPs) within the Great Lakes region are examples of broad-scale, collaborative resource-management efforts that require a sound ecosystems approach. Yet, the LaMP process is lacking a holistic framework that allows these individual actions to be planned and understood within the broader context of the Great Lakes ecosystem. To help this issue, a conceptual framework for Lake Michigan Coastal/Nearshore Ecosystems was developed to address for major LaMP goals; Can we drink the water?, Can we eat the fish?, Can we swim in the water?, Are all habitats healthy, naturally diverse, and sufficient to sustain viable biological communities?
thumbnail
Background: The USGS propose a collaborative investigation with the NYSDEC to evaluate the current condition of benthic macroinvertebrate communities and toxicity of bed sediments in the Eighteenmile Creek Area of Concern (AOC). Sediment-toxicity data provided by the USGS and benthic-community data provided by the NYSDEC from inside the AOC will be compared to similar data from non-AOC sites in Eighteenmile Creek or nearby reference streams (of comparable drainage areas) to determine if the benthos-BUI (Beneficial-Use Impairment) designation is appropriate or if the BUI could be removed in Eighteenmile Creek. The remainder of this pre-proposal addresses only the direct USGS (sediment toxicity assessment) contribution...
map background search result map search result map Great Lakes and Watersheds Shapefiles Phragmites Habitat Suitability Saginaw River Edge of Field Monitoring Maumee River Edge of Field Monitoring Enhance Great Lakes beach recreational water quality decision making Evaluation of Phosphorus Reduction - Fox River Microcosms to Evaluate Elevated Major Ions Forecasting Potential Phragmites Coastal Invasion Corridors Forecasting Great Lakes Basin Responses to Future Change Lakewide Management Plan Capacity Support by U.S. Geological Survey - LAKE MICHIGAN Fish Habitat Enhancement Strategies for the Huron-Erie Corridor Understanding Nutrient Loading Impacts on Lake Ontario Nearshore Waters at the Niagara River Connecting Channel Genesee River BUI / Genesee River Watershed: TSS and TP loading collection and Pilot Project to Evaluate Aggregate BMP Effectiveness Exploring nearshore-offshore linkages in energy transfer within Great Lakes food webs: implications for fish production in Lake Michigan in support of CSMI 2015 Status of benthic macroinvertebrate communities and toxicity of sediments in the Eighteenmile Creek Area of Concern, New York Birds as indicators of contaminants in the Great Lakes Status of benthic macroinvertebrate communities and toxicity of sediments in the Eighteenmile Creek Area of Concern, New York Maumee River Edge of Field Monitoring Evaluation of Phosphorus Reduction - Fox River Forecasting Great Lakes Basin Responses to Future Change Saginaw River Edge of Field Monitoring Understanding Nutrient Loading Impacts on Lake Ontario Nearshore Waters at the Niagara River Connecting Channel Genesee River BUI / Genesee River Watershed: TSS and TP loading collection and Pilot Project to Evaluate Aggregate BMP Effectiveness Fish Habitat Enhancement Strategies for the Huron-Erie Corridor Lakewide Management Plan Capacity Support by U.S. Geological Survey - LAKE MICHIGAN Exploring nearshore-offshore linkages in energy transfer within Great Lakes food webs: implications for fish production in Lake Michigan in support of CSMI 2015 Enhance Great Lakes beach recreational water quality decision making Forecasting Potential Phragmites Coastal Invasion Corridors Phragmites Habitat Suitability Microcosms to Evaluate Elevated Major Ions Birds as indicators of contaminants in the Great Lakes Great Lakes and Watersheds Shapefiles