Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Physical, chemical, and biological water quality monitoring data to support detection of Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) in western Lake Erie, collected by the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory and the Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research since 2012

Published by NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce | Catalog Last Checked: August 03, 2026 at 08:11 AM | Dataset Last Updated: July 03, 2025 at 12:00 AM
Blooms of nuisance and toxic cyanobacteria, referred to as cyanobacteria harmful algal blooms (cHABs), occur annually in Lake Erie and pose a threat to human health, affect the quality of life, and significantly degrade the ecosystem. NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory and the Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research (CIGLR), University of Michigan, started regular water quality monitoring of the western basin of Lake Erie in 2012. Since that time the monitoring effort has expanded to incorporate additional parameters and sample locations. Physical, chemical, and biological water quality data were collected during repeated weekly sampling trips to a set of stations before, during, and after HAB events (from May - October). Data for these discrete sampling events include: wind speed, wave height, secchi depth, sample temperature, Conductivity, Temperature and Depth (CTD) Sonde temperature, CTD specific conductivity, CTD beam attenuation, CTD transmission, CTD dissolved oxygen, CTD photosynthetically active radiation, turbidity, particulate microcystin, dissolved microcystin, extracted phycocyanin, extracted chlorophyll-a, total phosphorus, total dissolved phosphorus, soluble reactive phosphorus, ammonia, nitrate + nitrite, urea, particulate organic carbon, particulate organic nitrogen, dissolved organic carbon, colored dissolved organic material absorbance at 400 nm, total suspended solids, and volatile suspended solids. The bulk water quality parameters were analyzed via established techniques and procedures for routine water quality monitoring and analysis (APHA 1992, 1998, 2017). In 2014, CIGLR deployed moored buoys to collect real-time physical, chemical, and biological water quality data during the summer season. There are now four moored buoys deployed during the open water season in western Lake Erie that collect in situ data for the following parameters, average wind speed, maximum wind speed, air temperature, barometric pressure, depth, water temperature, specific conductivity, pH, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll-a, phycocyanin, dissolved organic matter, nitrate, and phosphate.

Resources

11 resources available

  • NCEI Dataset Landing Page

    TEXT/HTML
    Visit Page

  • Granule Search

    TEXT/HTML
    Visit Page

  • https://www.glerl.noaa.gov/res/HABs_and_Hypoxia/

    TEXT/HTML
    Visit Page

  • https://www.glerl.noaa.gov/res/HABs_and_Hypoxia/rtMonSQL.php

    TEXT/HTML
    Visit Page

  • https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/NOS-HABOFS-LakeErie

    TEXT/HTML
    Visit Page

  • https://coastalscience.noaa.gov/science-areas/habs/hab-forecasts/lake-erie/

    TEXT/HTML
    Visit Page

  • https://doi.org/10.7289/v5tt4p7r

    TEXT/HTML
    Visit Page

  • https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-3853-2023

    TEXT/HTML
    Visit Page

  • https://doi.org/10.25921/q053-h813

    TEXT/HTML
    Visit Page

  • GCMD Keyword Forum Page

    TEXT/HTML
    Visit Page

  • NCEI Contact Information

    TEXT/HTML
    Visit Page

Find Related Datasets

Search by Tags

Click any tag below to search for similar datasets

0187718 0190201 0190729 0194301 0194302 0209116 0254720 0276355

Complete Metadata
@type dcat:Dataset
accessLevel non-public
contactPoint 
{
  "fn": "NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information",
  "@type": "vcard:Contact",
  "hasEmail": "mailto:ncei.info@noaa.gov"
}
describedByType application/octet-steam
description Blooms of nuisance and toxic cyanobacteria, referred to as cyanobacteria harmful algal blooms (cHABs), occur annually in Lake Erie and pose a threat to human health, affect the quality of life, and significantly degrade the ecosystem. NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory and the Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research (CIGLR), University of Michigan, started regular water quality monitoring of the western basin of Lake Erie in 2012. Since that time the monitoring effort has expanded to incorporate additional parameters and sample locations. Physical, chemical, and biological water quality data were collected during repeated weekly sampling trips to a set of stations before, during, and after HAB events (from May - October). Data for these discrete sampling events include: wind speed, wave height, secchi depth, sample temperature, Conductivity, Temperature and Depth (CTD) Sonde temperature, CTD specific conductivity, CTD beam attenuation, CTD transmission, CTD dissolved oxygen, CTD photosynthetically active radiation, turbidity, particulate microcystin, dissolved microcystin, extracted phycocyanin, extracted chlorophyll-a, total phosphorus, total dissolved phosphorus, soluble reactive phosphorus, ammonia, nitrate + nitrite, urea, particulate organic carbon, particulate organic nitrogen, dissolved organic carbon, colored dissolved organic material absorbance at 400 nm, total suspended solids, and volatile suspended solids. The bulk water quality parameters were analyzed via established techniques and procedures for routine water quality monitoring and analysis (APHA 1992, 1998, 2017). In 2014, CIGLR deployed moored buoys to collect real-time physical, chemical, and biological water quality data during the summer season. There are now four moored buoys deployed during the open water season in western Lake Erie that collect in situ data for the following parameters, average wind speed, maximum wind speed, air temperature, barometric pressure, depth, water temperature, specific conductivity, pH, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll-a, phycocyanin, dissolved organic matter, nitrate, and phosphate.
distribution 
[
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "NCEI Dataset Landing Page",
    "accessURL": "https://doi.org/10.25921/11da-3x54",
    "mediaType": "text/html",
    "description": "Navigate directly to the URL for a descriptive web page with download links.",
    "describedByType": "application/octet-stream"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Granule Search",
    "accessURL": "https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/metadata/granule/geoportal/?from=0&size=10&esdsl=%7B%22query%22%3A%7B%22bool%22%3A%7B%22must%22%3A%5B%7B%22query_string%22%3A%7B%22analyze_wildcard%22%3Atrue%2C%22query%22%3A%22fileid%3AGLERL-CIGLR-HAB-LakeErie-water-qual.*%22%7D%7D%5D%7D%7D%7D#searchPanel",
    "mediaType": "text/html",
    "description": "Search for data granules belonging to this collection (a granule is the smallest aggregation of data that can be independently described and retrieved).",
    "describedByType": "application/octet-stream"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "https://www.glerl.noaa.gov/res/HABs_and_Hypoxia/",
    "accessURL": "https://www.glerl.noaa.gov/res/HABs_and_Hypoxia/",
    "mediaType": "text/html",
    "description": "Program website",
    "describedByType": "application/octet-stream"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "https://www.glerl.noaa.gov/res/HABs_and_Hypoxia/rtMonSQL.php",
    "accessURL": "https://www.glerl.noaa.gov/res/HABs_and_Hypoxia/rtMonSQL.php",
    "mediaType": "text/html",
    "description": "Related dataset",
    "describedByType": "application/octet-stream"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/NOS-HABOFS-LakeErie",
    "accessURL": "https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/NOS-HABOFS-LakeErie",
    "mediaType": "text/html",
    "description": "Related dataset",
    "describedByType": "application/octet-stream"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "https://coastalscience.noaa.gov/science-areas/habs/hab-forecasts/lake-erie/",
    "accessURL": "https://coastalscience.noaa.gov/science-areas/habs/hab-forecasts/lake-erie/",
    "mediaType": "text/html",
    "description": "Lake Erie Harmful Algal Bloom Forecast",
    "describedByType": "application/octet-stream"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "https://doi.org/10.7289/v5tt4p7r",
    "accessURL": "https://doi.org/10.7289/v5tt4p7r",
    "mediaType": "text/html",
    "description": "NOAA Manual: QARTOD Dissolved Nutrients",
    "describedByType": "application/octet-stream"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-3853-2023",
    "accessURL": "https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-3853-2023",
    "mediaType": "text/html",
    "description": "related journal article",
    "describedByType": "application/octet-stream"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "https://doi.org/10.25921/q053-h813",
    "accessURL": "https://doi.org/10.25921/q053-h813",
    "mediaType": "text/html",
    "description": "Technical Documents, Manuals, and other Documentation",
    "describedByType": "application/octet-stream"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "GCMD Keyword Forum Page",
    "accessURL": "https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD%2BKeywords",
    "mediaType": "text/html",
    "description": "Global Change Master Directory (GCMD). 2025. GCMD Keywords, Version 21. Greenbelt, MD: Earth Science Data and Information System, Earth Science Projects Division, Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). URL (GCMD Keyword Forum Page): https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD+Keywords",
    "describedByType": "application/octet-stream"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "NCEI Contact Information",
    "accessURL": "https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/contact",
    "mediaType": "text/html",
    "description": "Information for contacts at NCEI.",
    "describedByType": "application/octet-stream"
  }
]
identifier https://data.noaa.gov/waf/NOAA/NESDIS/ncei/accessions/iso/xml/GLERL-CIGLR-HAB-LakeErie-water-qual.xml
issued 2019-04-16T00:00:00.000+00:00
keyword 
[
  "0187718",
  "0190201",
  "0190729",
  "0194301",
  "0194302",
  "0209116",
  "0254720",
  "0276355",
  "0292222",
  "0293514",
  "0303633",
  "AIR TEMPERATURE",
  "AMMONIA (NH3)",
  "Attenuation/Transmission",
  "BAROMETRIC PRESSURE",
  "BEAM ATTENUATION COEFFICIENT",
  "biological data",
  "CHLOROPHYLL",
  "CHLOROPHYLL - EXTRACTED",
  "CHLOROPHYLL A",
  "Chromophoric Dissolved Organic Matter (CDOM)",
  "CONDUCTIVITY",
  "DEPTH - OBSERVATION",
  "DEPTH - SENSOR",
  "diatom",
  "DISSOLVED ORGANIC CARBON",
  "DISSOLVED ORGANIC MATTER",
  "DISSOLVED OXYGEN",
  "harmful algal blooms (HABs)",
  "LIGHT TRANSMISSION",
  "NITRATE",
  "nitrate + nitrite content (concentration)",
  "NITRITE",
  "PARTICULATE ORGANIC CARBON",
  "PARTICULATE ORGANIC NITROGEN (PON)",
  "pH",
  "phosphate",
  "PHOSPHATE - SOLUBLE REACTIVE",
  "PHOTOSYNTHETIC ACTIVE RADIATION (PAR)",
  "PHYTOPLANKTON",
  "Secchi depth",
  "suspended solids",
  "TOTAL PHOSPHORUS",
  "TOXIN",
  "turbidity",
  "UREA",
  "water depth",
  "WATER TEMPERATURE",
  "WAVE HEIGHT",
  "WIND DIRECTION - AVERAGE",
  "WIND SPEED",
  "WIND SPEED - AVERAGE",
  "anemometer",
  "buoy - moored buoy",
  "CHN Analyzer",
  "CTD",
  "flow injection analyzer",
  "fluorometer",
  "meteorological sensor",
  "multi-parameter water quality sensor",
  "nutrient autoanalyzer",
  "PCR machine",
  "Secchi disk",
  "spectrophotometer",
  "thermometer",
  "turbidity sensor",
  "biological",
  "in situ",
  "laboratory analyses",
  "moored buoy",
  "moored buoys",
  "NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory",
  "University of Michigan Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research",
  "NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory",
  "Great Lakes",
  "oceanography",
  "DOC/NOAA/OAR/GLERL > Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, OAR, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce",
  "Great Lakes Restoration Initative",
  "Great Lakes Restoration Initiative",
  "Great Lakes Restoration Initiative; US Environmental Protection Agency",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > ATMOSPHERE > ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > ATMOSPHERE > ATMOSPHERIC TEMPERATURE",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > ATMOSPHERE > ATMOSPHERIC WINDS > SURFACE WINDS > WIND DIRECTION",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > ATMOSPHERE > ATMOSPHERIC WINDS > SURFACE WINDS > WIND SPEED",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION > PLANTS > MICROALGAE > DIATOMS",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION > PROTISTS > PLANKTON > PHYTOPLANKTON",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > BATHYMETRY/SEAFLOOR TOPOGRAPHY > WATER DEPTH",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > OCEAN CHEMISTRY",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > OCEAN CHEMISTRY > AMMONIA",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > OCEAN CHEMISTRY > CHLOROPHYLL",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > OCEAN CHEMISTRY > NITRATE",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > OCEAN CHEMISTRY > NITRITE",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > OCEAN CHEMISTRY > NITROGEN",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > OCEAN CHEMISTRY > ORGANIC CARBON",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > OCEAN CHEMISTRY > ORGANIC MATTER",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > OCEAN CHEMISTRY > OXYGEN",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > OCEAN CHEMISTRY > PH",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > OCEAN CHEMISTRY > PHOSPHATE",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > OCEAN CHEMISTRY > SUSPENDED SOLIDS",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > OCEAN OPTICS",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > OCEAN OPTICS > ATTENUATION/TRANSMISSION",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > OCEAN OPTICS > PHOTOSYNTHETICALLY ACTIVE RADIATION",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > OCEAN OPTICS > SECCHI DEPTH",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > OCEAN OPTICS > TURBIDITY",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > OCEAN TEMPERATURE > WATER TEMPERATURE",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > OCEAN WAVES > WAVE HEIGHT",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > SALINITY/DENSITY > CONDUCTIVITY",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > WATER QUALITY > ALGAL BLOOMS > HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOM (HABs)",
  "BEAM ATTENUATION",
  "CHLOROPHYLL A - extracted",
  "Total cyanobacteria genes",
  "bluegreen",
  "colored dissolved organic material absorbance at 400 nm",
  "colored dissolved organic material absorbance at 400nm",
  "colored dissolved organic matter",
  "cryptophyta",
  "datetime",
  "depth",
  "diatoms",
  "dissolved microcystin",
  "extracted phycocyanin",
  "fluorescent dissolved organic matter",
  "green_algae",
  "mcyE genes",
  "measurement_numb",
  "nitrate + nitrite content",
  "organic dissolved oxygen",
  "organic dissolved oxygen saturation",
  "particulate microcystin",
  "particulate mycrocystin",
  "particulate mycrosystin",
  "phycocyanin",
  "phycoerythrin",
  "sample depth",
  "sample depth (category)",
  "soluble reactive phosphorus",
  "specific conductivity",
  "total dissolved phosphorus",
  "total suspended solids",
  "total_concentration",
  "transmission",
  "volatile suspended solids",
  "wind speed - maximum",
  "yellow_substances",
  "ANEMOMETERS > ANEMOMETERS",
  "AUTOANALYZER > AUTOANALYZER",
  "CHN ANALYZERS > Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen Analyzers",
  "CTD > Conductivity, Temperature, Depth",
  "FIA > FLOW INJECTION ANALYSIS",
  "FLUOROMETERS > FLUOROMETERS",
  "OPTSPEC > Optical Spectrometer",
  "SECCHI DISKS > SECCHI DISKS",
  "THERMOMETERS > THERMOMETERS",
  "TURBIDITY METERS > TURBIDITY METERS",
  "Abraxis ELISA kit",
  "Airmar WS-200WX",
  "Applied Biosystems QuantStudio 6 Flex real-time qPCR machine",
  "Carlo Erba Instruments NA 1500 NCS with PeakSimple Chromatography Data System SRI Model 202",
  "Carlo-Erba model 1110 CHN Elemental Analyzer",
  "Hach 2100AN Turbidimeter",
  "Perkin Elmer UV/VIS spectrophotometer Lambda 35",
  "SBE 19plus V2 SeaCAT Profiler CTD",
  "Seabird/Wetlabs CycleP",
  "Seal QuAAtro or Seal AA3",
  "Shimadzu TOC-5000 Total Organic Carbon Analyzer",
  "Turner C6",
  "Turner Designs 10-AU Fluorometer",
  "Turner Designs Aquafluor 8000-010",
  "YSI EXO2",
  "bbe Moldaenke FluoroProbe",
  "moored buoy",
  "small boat",
  "BUOYS",
  "SMALL BOAT",
  "CONTINENT > NORTH AMERICA > CANADA > GREAT LAKES, CANADA",
  "CONTINENT > NORTH AMERICA > UNITED STATES OF AMERICA > GREAT LAKES",
  "Lake Erie",
  "Lake Erie",
  "0LT4BP",
  "0UU83X",
  "3J2J2H",
  "AB7TCR",
  "DH8G1A",
  "KBW7RY",
  "KG1GJR",
  "M82XA2",
  "PBUN2P",
  "RG36KX",
  "RWYE6D"
]
landingPage https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/contact
language 
[]
license https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
modified 2025-07-03T00:00:00.000+00:00
publisher 
{
  "name": "NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information",
  "@type": "org:Organization"
}
references 
[
  "https://www.glerl.noaa.gov/res/HABs_and_Hypoxia/",
  "https://www.glerl.noaa.gov/res/HABs_and_Hypoxia/rtMonSQL.php",
  "https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/NOS-HABOFS-LakeErie",
  "https://coastalscience.noaa.gov/science-areas/habs/hab-forecasts/lake-erie/",
  "https://doi.org/10.7289/v5tt4p7r",
  "https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-3853-2023",
  "https://doi.org/10.25921/q053-h813"
]
rights otherRestrictions
spatial -82.8,41.8,-83.7084,43.3
temporal 2012-05-15T00:00:00+00:00/2012-05-15T00:00:00+00:00
theme 
[
  "geospatial"
]
title Physical, chemical, and biological water quality monitoring data to support detection of Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) in western Lake Erie, collected by the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory and the Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research since 2012

data.gov

An official website of the GSA's Technology Transformation Services

Looking for U.S. government information and services?
Visit USA.gov