Limnotech buoy retired from Lake Erie for winter

Great Lakes from space (Credit: SeaWiFS Project, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, and ORBIMAGE.)

A buoy on Lake Erie that monitors the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ controlled disposal of dredged materials in Ohio waters has been retired for the winter, according to a Monroe News report.

Engineers from Limnotech, an environmental engineering firm, towed the buoy to Bolles Harbor in Monroe, Mich., last week.

The buoy hosts a variety of sensors including a weather station, anemometer and water quality sensors.  It also measures wave height, currents and water temperature.

Data is transmitted via cellular modem to a publically accessible webpage that also shows real time video of weather conditions.

Michigan and Ohio fisherman have used the buoy’s camera to get an idea of sea conditions before leaving the dock.

Top image: Satellite image of the Great Lakes from space (Credit: SeaWiFS Project, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, and ORBIMAGE.)