NOAA Great Lakes Region

The dataset and maps for Lake Erie were completed in 2022 and represent the first update to the lake’s ESI data since the original paper maps were created in 1985.

NOAA and partners are launching a new pilot project to develop methods for integrating equity into planning decisions and to make transportation systems in southeast Michigan more resilient to flooding impacts from climate change.

The NCCOS Mussel Watch Program uses invasive zebra and quagga mussels to monitor contaminants in the Great Lakes. Bivalve shellfish, such as mussels, tend to bioaccumulate pollutants from the large amounts of water they filter and are ideal indicators of chemical pollution.

Pursuant to the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, Canada and the United States, together with their many partners, have established a suite of 9 indicators of ecosystem health to assess the state of the Great Lakes. This report provides an overview of the status and trends of the Great Lakes ecosystem.

Learn about the work of the Climate Change Impacts Annex of the 2012 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (Annex 9), including the annual climate trends and impacts summary for the Great Lakes basin.

Declining offshore productivity in Lakes Michigan and Huron has been a multi-decadal trend causing scientists to investigate and evaluate the importance of nearshore primary productivity in supporting the lakes’ fisheries. This new modeling system improves the ability to collect environmental information that can support effective management strategies,