NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL) in collaboration
with researchers from the U.S. and Canada have initiated one of the largest,
most comprehensive Lake Erie research field programs ever conducted. The
project, the International Field Years on Lake Erie (IFYLE), began in
May 2005, with a focus on hypoxia and harmful algal blooms.
The Lake Erie ecosystem faces wide and varied threats to its health and
integrity, including harmful algal blooms (HABs) in the west basin, recurring
low oxygen episodes ("dead zones") in the central basin, and invasive
species. Each of these threats has the potential to disrupt normal food
web and ecosystem processes, and in turn, jeopardize the ability of Lake
Erie to provide valued ecosystem services (e.g., recreational and commercial
fish production, safe drinking water, and clean, bacteria-free beaches).
The three primary objectives of the IFYLE program are to:
Quantify the spatial extent of hypoxia across the lake, and gather
information that can help forecast its timing, duration, and extent;
Assess the ecological consequences of hypoxia to the Lake Erie food
web, including phytoplankton, bacteria, microzooplankton, mesozooplankton,
and fish;
Identify factors that control the timing, extent, and duration of
HAB (including toxin) formation in Lake Erie, as well as enhance our
ability to use remote sensing as a tool to rapidly map HAB distributions
in the lake.
The IFYLE program involves approximately 40 scientists from NOAA, 17
different universities, and private institutions spread across 7 states
and 4 countries. This program is integrative, given involvement by numerous
US and Canadian universities and federal, state, and provincial agencies,
and serves as an example of how NOAA and other federal agencies are fulfilling
the Presidential Executive Order (#13340) to execute the Great Lakes Regional
Collaboration among agencies.
For more information contact:
Doran Mason Program Manager
Phone: 734-741-2148
E-mail:
Anne Clites Data Manager
Phone: 734-741-2282
E-mail:
Marie Colton Acting Director, GLERL
Phone: 734-741-2244
E-mail:
What's New
Physical
data sets, CTD's, and many different types of cruise sample
data have been added to the database from 2007 IFYLE cruises.
2-km Lake Erie (and other lakes) Great Lakes
Coastal Forecasting System
+ 48-hr nowcast and 60-hr forecast
(surface temperatures, surface currents, temperature transects, temperature
profiles, water levels)
Lake Erie Operational Forecast System
(Short-term predictions of water levels, currents, and water temperatures
in Lake Erie; NOAA National Ocean Service web site) + view
predictions