NOAA, Coast Guard to collect data from large lakes

This week, scientists from NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R) worked with the US Coast Guard during icebreaking in Lake Superior Harbor in Duluth, Minnesota aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Spar. This project is the first series of experiments funded by the newly developed Great Lakes Center of Expertise.

Coast Guard District 9 and NOAA teams deployed unmanned aerial systems (UAS) with multispectral, thermal and LIDAR sensors to collect data while the Spar broke ice in port. The team worked together to develop data and mapping products that will improve our ability to characterize ice and water, and ultimately oil, in ice environments.

This project builds on previous research using oil and diesel in controlled environments and field tests conducted in the North Slope of Alaska. These field trials will allow the team to develop techniques for collecting and delivering data from a response vessel, enhancing the Coast Guard’s ability to devote resources to characterizing spills in ice environments.

The team travels to Lake Superior State University, one of the Great Lakes Center of Expertise campuses, for additional land-based testing using oil and diesel combined with ice, freshwater and diesel alongside the banks of the St. Marys River.