Coastal erosion, particularly bluff recession, is a hazard to communities and landowners on Great Lakes shores, significantly affecting property values of waterfront parcels. Wisconsin Sea Grant-funded researchers at UW-Madison are taking a three-pronged approach to better understand the impacts of shoreline protection structures on bluffed coastlines. Models developed from this project are being used to better understand coastal evolution adjacent to shoreline protection structures. Results are being communicated to stakeholders, engineers and managers within the Great Lakes basin.

An additional Wisconsin Sea Grant-funded project developed and tested new instrumentation that has the potential to predict within minutes the timing of bluff failure along the Great Lakes shoreline. This project adds to the model to inform future monitoring and protects people and property.

Water resources are fundamental to human life, culture and well-being. Yet the underwater world remains inaccessible and unfamiliar to many people, especially youth. Northwest Passage, a residential mental health treatment center for youth, worked with Wisconsin Sea Grant to develop the world’s first therapeutic underwater photography program.

Youth struggling with mental illness experienced deep therapeutic benefits, created stunning and widely shared photographs, and gained rich scientific understanding through this program. In 2016, more than 50 participating youth produced more than 32,000 underwater photographs throughout diverse Lake Superior watershed ecosystems. Both the participants and their therapists reported significantly improved self-image, resilience and self-efficacy.