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Research by Region: United States - Midwest

GLERL research programs emphasize studies in the Great Lakes region. Below are descriptions of GLERL research programs that take place predominantly in Illinois or within Illinois nearshore waters. Additional projects that may affect Illinois, due to the interconnected nature of the ecosystem, are listed under our Great Lakes Drainage Basin section. This section includes the many GLERL research collaborations that are large scale, multi-institution projects which span large portions of the basin, including parts of Illinois.

Illinois
Real-Time Meteorological Observation Network GLERL has deployed and is maintaining a real-time network of shore-based meteorological instrument packages at exposed coastal sites around southern Lake Michigan including one near Chicago, IL. The Chicago station measures/records wind speed, wind gust, wind direction, and air temperature at 5-minute increments that are updated every 15 minutes on the web. + Read More
Meteorological Observation Network's Chicago Station Web Cam GLERL's Chicago meteorological instrumentation package includes a web cam which provides a visual confirmation of other data collected. The web cam provides an image of nearshore Chicago waters and skyline that is updated every 30 minutes. + GLERL Web Cams
Effects of non-indigenous invertebrates on the pelagic food web of Lake Michigan Our goal is to evaluate the status of the pelagic food web in Lake Michigan at sites where we also have access to historical data. This project encompasses four separate projects to help elicit the status and changes in the pelagic food web of Lake Michigan. + Read more
Great Lakes Coastal Forecasting System The meteorological observations obtained from the Real-Time Meteorological Observation Network are being used to improve nowcasts and forecasts of wind, waves, water levels, and circulation. In addition, the National Weather Service has committed resources to support the network and NWS forecast offices in Chicago, Milwaukee, and Grand Rapids are using the observations to improve marine forecasts and warnings. + Read More
Lakes Michigan-Huron Daily Water Level Plot Michigan-Huron--Daily levels compared with monthly Min, Max, and Mean levels + Read More
Illinois Precipitation Data Two types of downloadable files are available: P__DAT files contain the monthly precipitation data for Illinois station. -HST files contain the station history information extracted from the WB 530-1 forms by the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC). These data show the station number, latitude, longitude, elevation, station name, and period of record for each station location. These are ZIPPED files, with one file for each state. + Access Data

Last updated: 2008-06-05 mbl