NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory

04/21/2026

Eyes in the sky! Hyperspectral imagery contains much more information than a visible image. Check out how hyperspectral flights are improving knowledge of Great Lakes winter ice:
https://www.glerl.noaa.gov/blog/2026/04/21/eyes-in-the-sky-how-hyperspectral-flights-improve-knowledge-of-great-lakes-winter-ice/

04/03/2026

A new vertical datum for the Great Lakes is coming! The IGLD is the official water level reference system for the Great Lakes, their connecting waterways, and the St. Lawrence River. The IGLD is needed for safe marine navigation, water level regulation, surveying, mapping, shoreline use planning and restoration, and more. In collaboration with its partners, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services released a training video on the new International Great Lakes Datum (IGLD):
https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/education/tech-assist/training/self-guided-training/training-page.html?id=2&transcrOn=1

The purpose of the training video is to educate users on the current IGLD and expected changes with the new IGLD (2020). In addition to the training, NOAA is conducting a brief survey to gather feedback from stakeholders who use the IGLD or related products, such as navigation charts or observational forecast systems. The survey, which takes about 3 minutes to complete, will help NOAA understand user needs and the potential impact of the IGLD update. Your input will help guide how NOAA can best support users in preparing for these changes.
https://touchpoints.app.cloud.gov/touchpoints/11c71c30/submit

Photo: Surveying equipment at the Navy Pier in Chicago, Illinois. (Credit: NOAA CO-OPS)

03/18/2026

Job announcement! NOAA GLERL is hiring a Research Physical Scientist to lead research for advanced earth system forecasting technologies! This scientist will develop earth system, Great Lake, ocean, and/or weather forecast models and data assimilation software codes for massively parallel supercomputers. Please share with candidates and apply by March 25, 2026. View the full description:

https://www.usajobs.gov/job/861651700

NOAA Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Michigan Sea Grant NOAA Education NOAA Higher Education Great Lakes Observing System Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant Minnesota Sea Grant Ohio Sea Grant University of Wisconsin Sea Grant/Water Resources Institutes Pennsylvania Sea Grant New York Sea Grant Lake Champlain Sea Grant IJC - International Joint Commission International Association for Great Lakes Research (IAGLR)

02/05/2026

Arctic cold blasts over the last two weeks have caused the ice extent on the Great Lakes to dramatically increase with Lake Erie reaching 95% ice cover and the combined Great Lakes reaching 51% ice cover!

Learn more about the current ice coverage and how it compares to previous years at: https://research.noaa.gov/arctic-cold-blast-sets-off-rapid-icing-of-great-lakes/

10/01/2025

PLEASE NOTE: The U.S. Government is now closed. This account will not be updated until appropriations are enacted and the government is reopened.

* However, NOAA websites, services, and social media channels necessary to protect lives and property will be maintained.

* For the latest forecasts and critical weather information, please visit https://www.weather.gov

To learn more, please see: https://www.commerce.gov/news/blog

07/18/2025

On the morning of June 21, 2025, a strong low pressure weather system moved across Lake Superior, causing rapid and significant water level changes due to a meteotsunami followed by a seiche. The NOAA Point Iroquois water level station recorded a remarkable 45 inch increase in water level in Whitefish Bay over less than 2.5 hours, the largest water level surge ever recorded in the station's 30-year history. Learn more about this significant event:
https://www.glerl.noaa.gov/blog/2025/07/18/june-21-2025-storm-causes-significant-meteotsunami-and-seiche-on-lake-superior/

06/23/2025

Since seeing record high water levels on each of the Great Lakes between 2017 and 2020, current Great Lakes water levels are close to normal. High water levels were sustained over a multi-year period through 2020 largely a result of very high precipitation. After 2020, precipitation was considerably less, resulting in lower lake levels. Learn more about current lake levels and how we are advancing long term forecasts:
https://www.glerl.noaa.gov/blog/2025/06/23/great-lakes-water-levels-down-from-record-highs-of-2017-2020/

06/18/2025

Check out the latest news from GLERL on forecasting toxin risk from harmful algal blooms on Lake Erie.

NOAA and partners have developed a new method to forecast the timing & location of elevated risk of toxins from harmful algal blooms on Lake Erie.
Learn more:
https://research.noaa.gov/noaa-develops-new-method-to-forecast-toxin-risk-from-harmful-algal-blooms-on-lake-erie/

06/04/2025

The NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory will not be deploying the second-generation environmental sampler processors (2G ESPs) in Lake Erie for the 2025 field season.
https://www.glerl.noaa.gov/res/HABs_and_Hypoxia/esp-data/

As a result, real-time data on HAB toxins will not be available at the sampling locations below. All other routine HAB samples will be collected during the 2025 season and can be found on the Lake Erie Weekly Field Sampling Data page.
https://www.glerl.noaa.gov/res/HABs_and_Hypoxia/wle-weekly-current/

05/08/2025

The 2024-2025 winter Great Lakes ice season stayed close to long term normals following the near historic low ice levels in the 2023-2024 winter. However, despite colder temperatures than last winter, most of the lakes stayed slightly below long term ice averages on a daily basis through the season. Ice cover peaked in the middle of February as this plot of Lake Erie ice cover shows (black line), but most of the rest of the season had below average ice cover. Learn more about the season’s ice cover:
https://noaaglerl.blog/2025/05/08/great-lakes-ice-cover-near-average-for-the-2025-season/