EPA & GLRI: An overview of the use of NOAA’s hydrographic services

1. EPA & GLRI: An overview of the use of NOAA’s hydrographic services Jackie Adams U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Great Lakes National Program Office

2. Outline • Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Overview • EPA’s use of NOAA’s hydrographic services and future data needs • Other NOAA data services that support GLRI implementation

3. Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) • Funding Years • FY10: $475 million • FY11: $300 million • FY12: $300 million • FY13: $284 million • FY14: $300 million • FY15: $300 million • FY16: $300 million • FY17: $250 million*

4. GLRI Action Plan II Focus Areas • 1. Toxic Substances and Areas of Concern • 2. Invasive Species • 3. Nonpoint Source Pollution Impacts on Nearshore Health • 4. Habitats and Species • 5. Foundations for Future Restoration Actions

5. EPA’s use of NOAA Hydrographic Services • Bathymetry • All R/V Lake Guardian surveys utilize Great Lakes bathymetry maps for survey planning and navigation • Targeting specific depths to capture a range of depositional regimes.

6. EPA’s use of NOAA Hydrographic Services • Nearshore sampling on R/V Lake Guardian (~20m circumnavigation per lake) • National Coastal Condition Assessment (sample frame design ~30m maximum)

7. Hydrographic Service Needs • Up to date bathymetric information (at the very least Lake Superior) • Bottom mapping • Nearshore • Open water

8. Updated Bathymetry • Aids various agencies in terms of navigational and environmental services. • Sea Level Fluctuations • Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement - Annex 2 – Nearshore Framework

9. Bottom mapping in the Great Lakes • Widely acknowledged need for improved information about the lake bottom • International agreements highlight the need • Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (1978, 2012) • Nearshore framework, habitat and species • Bottom type, geology, bathymetry, sediment dynamics • Great Lakes Fishery Commission Convention; US and Canada (1955) • Bottom habitat, benthic invasive species

10. Bottom Mapping Workgroup Aim: Harmonize collection, processing, and sharing of continuous high-resolution maps of bathymetry, sonar reflectance, bottom type, and derived products. Objectives: • Inventory available data and data products • Identify and prioritize geographic gaps in data availability • Inventory mapping capacities and instrumentation • Inventory data user needs • Promote the use of technical guidance and standards • Provide a forum to connect data providers with end users • Promote collaboration Near-term Product: White paper for delivery in Spring 2017

11. Bottom Substrate Classification • Conventional options • Topographic • Lidar (a detection system that works on the principle of radar, but uses light from a laser) • Alternative Methods • Single-beam system sweeps • Ground-penetrating lidarover ice • Time-Domain Electromagnetic (TDEM) methods

12. NOAA Fleet • Diversity of vessels is needed to generate the necessary data • NOAA GLERL fleet can be much more adept at doing Great Lakes work; investments in regional fleet needed. • Complementary role of AUVs

13. Other • Operational forecast system for Harmful Algal Blooms. • Runoff risk advisory tools • Annex 4 - Nutrients • Estimates of HAB biomass, aerial extent and surface scum • Triggers for toxin production • Quantification of toxin levels • Circulation modeling

14. Acknowledgements • U.S. EPA • USGS • NOAA • Brandon Krumwiede

15. Jackie AdamsU.S. Environmental Protection Agency312-353-7203adams.jacqueline@epa.gov