The Muskegon Lake Observatory project operates a robust multi-sensor observing array in Muskegon Lake estuary keeping steadfast watch on this urbanized Great Lakes estuary that is undergoing restoration. The Observatory has just completed 12 years of the high-frequency time-series data acquisition – meteorological conditions over the lake surface and water quality indices in the water-column amounting to over 10 million data points. The Observatory has enabled us to closely track ongoing ecosystem changes such as thermal stratification, lake mixing, and  provided many new insights into the annually recurring phenomena of lake-wide eutrophication, harmful algal blooms and bottom water hypoxia in this Great Lakes estuary with impacts on water quality and fish habitat - advancing ecosystem science, restoration and management. The Observatory provides a key regional Great Lakes observing infrastructure that openly shares time-series weather and water quality data with students, scientists and resource managers to benefit both science and society through the project website www.gvsu.edu/buoy/

One of our main community partners is The Community Foundation for Muskegon County.