New Weather Buoy in Western Lake Erie (Monroe/Toledo)

[LEfriend]

Can it find walleye, haven't caught many this year at all.
Why a new one? Toledo light #2 is great, especially the way it displays data in 5' increments for the last 3 hours.....

A little more info on reason for this buoy. As I understand, it is collecting data for a study of the effects of open lake disposal of the dredged sediment as part of the USACE permit to dredge Toledo Harbor. The scientists who put it out there will be studying turbidity and sediment movement among other things. Hence all the real time data collection of waves, directions, currents, turbidity, conductivity, etc. Scientists working on the lake will use this information to better understand what is going on out there, and this particular buoy collects a whole lot more data than normal.

The Limno folks will also use it to develop the computer simulation model they are working on. I have seen it and it is really cool animation. Shows detailed hour by hour maps of formation, density and movement of sediment, algal plumes and phosphorous concentrations in response to actual rainfall events and runoff in the Maumee Watershed. All this work is being done to better understand the limnology of the lake and the watershed, what drives the algae, and ways to eliminate the blooms.

Funding for buoy study is likely coming from the US Corps of Engineers and for a lot of the other modeling work probably also support from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and/or the Great Lakes Protection Fund that was established by the 8 Great Lakes.

[everhamme]

Great Resource! Ed and the LimnoTech folks do great work. I have worked with them on the algae issues.

One question Ed, is the wave height given equal to the heights on the weather wave forecasts, or does one double it like guys do for the Vermillion buoy?

Wouldn't it be great for NOAA or someone to put another one of these between West Sister and South Bass, say the B can area!!! Wonder what it costs to run one for a year.

The "significant" wave height as reported by the buoy represents the average trough to crest height of the highest 1/3 of the waves measured in the last ten minutes. This is the SAME statistic reported by all of the buoys on the Great Lakes. Folks sometimes double the wave height because there are likely waves 2x larger than the significant wave height. The NOAA weather reports are also reporting the estimated significatn wave height, so keep that in mind. NOAA has also begun reporting "...with waves up to XX feet".. this is in response to folks reporting much larger waves than forecasted.

With all that in mind the 45165 buoy IS OVER REPORTING THE WAVE HEIGHT BY 20 to 40%, specifically when the winds are out of the east. This is a mooring issue and I need to add more ballast weight to the buoy. This is the shallowest we've deployed these wave buoys and they need a little tweaking. You can get an up-to-date comparison of the modeled and measured wave height by going here http://www.glerl.noaa.gov/res/glcfs/...5165&year=2013 You can see the black line is higher than the red line. The plot isn't the best as its plotted in meters and days since the first of year.


Cost to cover capital costs, labor to deploy/retrieve, maintain the buoy, and monitor data quality for the season runs about $30k to $50k per year depending on the amount sensors attached to the buoy. We have two deployed in Lake Michigan.

[everhamme]

Is the Text service a free service or is there a surcharge assessed each time you inquire? That's a very nice resource to have on the West end.

The only cost you'll incur is the cost from your wireless carrier to send and receive a text message. There is NOT an additional fee this is a "free" service and works for ALL of the NOAA NDBC stations. You can find a complete list of ACTIVE stations in the Great Lakes here http://bit.ly/ndbcstations

[everhamme]

A little more info on reason for this buoy. As I understand, it is collecting data for a study of the effects of open lake disposal of the dredged sediment as part of the USACE permit to dredge Toledo Harbor. The scientists who put it out there will be studying turbidity and sediment movement among other things. Hence all the real time data collection of waves, directions, currents, turbidity, conductivity, etc. Scientists working on the lake will use this information to better understand what is going on out there, and this particular buoy collects a whole lot more data than normal.

The Limno folks will also use it to develop the computer simulation model they are working on. I have seen it and it is really cool animation. Shows detailed hour by hour maps of formation, density and movement of sediment, algal plumes and phosphorous concentrations in response to actual rainfall events and runoff in the Maumee Watershed. All this work is being done to better understand the limnology of the lake and the watershed, what drives the algae, and ways to eliminate the blooms.

Funding for buoy study is likely coming from the US Corps of Engineers and for a lot of the other modeling work probably also support from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and/or the Great Lakes Protection Fund that was established by the 8 Great Lakes.

Thanks for posting LEriend! A great summary of whats going on this year. Itd be GREAT to bring it back next year. In order to bring it back its going to require the cooperation of the people that use the data from the buoy. As everyday users of the great resources of Lake Erie you guys have alot more power to convince people that this is a useful thing. I'd be happy to talk to anyone or any group or organization thats interested in helping to bring this buoy back next year.

Don't hesitate to email me everhamme at limno.com

Ed

[everhamme]

A federal grant opportunity has come up to pay for the weather buoy to come back for two more years. However we need to demonstrate that it is being used by boaters and fishermen. I'd appreciate it if you guys could help spread the word and email me a quick note saying if the buoy is useful for you. Please use a specific example if possible. If anyone is in any fishing or boating groups id be glad to make this request formally to them with a letter or email. Please email me at everhamme at limno.com

Thanks

Ed

[Firetiger]

http://uglos.mtu.edu/station_page.php?station=45165



Ed I use the info everytime I head out on the LAKE !!! The wave height seems to be pretty accurate, like you said there are always a few dbls around here and there but for the most part its pretty accurate.

[jiginitis69]

Thank you for the links to share. Hope data collected is beneficial. I realize it will take a couple years to establish a pattern. Wish we would have done it sooner. Good Job & Good Luck

[Bggeary]

Everhamme, I use those links every weekend, but sometimes find the info a little off as i'm out of East Harbor and usually head north and east but it's a great tool i think. Hope you get the funding for next year.

[everhamme]

Thanks for the feedback guys! We applied for the grant and should hear within a week or so.

Ed