Mapping & Visualizing Lake Level Changes for the U.S. Great Lakes

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Eugene Wilkinson
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1 Mapping & Visualizing Lake Level Changes for the U.S. Great Lakes Doug Marcy Brandon Krumwiede NOAA June 23, 2016

2 Overview Climate and Water Level Overview Needs and Requirements Data Access and Application Updates in Progress

3 The Great Lakes Climate Lake Effects Have Significant Impact on the Regional Climate System Superior Huron Michigan Ontario Erie

4 Many Climate Variables

5 Water In Water Out The Hydrologic Cycle Net Basin Supply (NBS) NBS = Overlake precipitation Overlake evaporation + runoff from land + groundwater from land

6 Lake Levels?

7 They All Vary

8 National Climate Assessment The Second National Climate Assessment predicted significant drops in Great Lakes lake levels by Previous studies overestimated the amount of evapotransporation, and the Third National Climate Assessment predicts a slight decrease or even a slight rise in water levels. Recent climate studies, along with the large spread in existing modeling results, indicate that projections of Great Lakes water levels represent evolving research and are still subject to considerable uncertainty.

During low level periods, lake carriers transporting iron ore, coal, grain, and other commodities are forced to carry fewer goods.

9 Low Water Impacts Impacts shipping, power generation, tourism, fishing, the ecology of the Great Lake ecosystem, shoreline property owners, and recreational boating. During low level periods, lake carriers transporting iron ore, coal, grain, and other commodities are forced to carry fewer goods. Also, as water levels recede, marinas have fewer slips to sell to boaters and often must dredge boat slips, channels, and harbor to accommodate boater needs, costing millions. But lower water can be advantageous for expansion of wetland habitats

High Water Impacts Enhanced seiche effect causing bluff, beach, and

have cascading consequences for shoreline hazards, water quality, and

Understanding the nature and distribution of impacts associated with

10 High Water Impacts Enhanced seiche effect causing bluff, beach, and lake-bed erosion, coastal flooding, and sediment transport, which have cascading consequences for shoreline hazards, water quality, and habitats. Understanding the nature and distribution of impacts associated with lake-level change is critical for targeting watersheds, habitats, and species for Great Lakes Restoration Initiative project funding.

11 What is the NOAA Lake Level Viewer? Work on the Lake Level Viewer began over 3 years ago First official release in November 2014 Funded by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Fills a critical information data gap: 40% of Coastal Storms Program survey respondents said current data on future lake level changes are inadequate Only 26% said existing tools to work with or visualize these data are adequate Source: 2013 Shoreline Change Workshop: Perspectives on the Great Lakes Survey

12 What is the NOAA Lake Level Viewer? Use this data...

13 What is the NOAA Lake Level Viewer? April 1986 to visualize the impacts

14 Lake Level Viewer Requirements Use best available, high accuracy topo/bathy Lidar data to build a seamless digital elevation model (DEM) for Great Lakes coastline Map lake levels below and above each lake s long-term average level to visualize the impacts of both flooding and low lake levels Develop photo simulations at local landmarks to see impacts Link visualizations to historical water levels (water level dashboard) for context Define elevation data gaps for future collection efforts Access map services and download elevation and lake level data

15 Use Best Available Topo/Bathy Lidar

16 Topo/Bathy Lidar Very Efficient vs. Ship-Based Methods

17 But Has Some Challenges

18 Digital Elevation Models From Topo/Bathy Lidar

19 Current Data Coverage GAPS ~3800 miles mapped gap of ~1100 miles DEM for ~7800 sq. miles GAPS GAPS GAPS

20 Gaps Within Coverage Topography with No Bathymetry (much more common) Bathymetry with No Topography (much less common)

21 Gaps in Harbors Flooding Information, but missing water depth information in some harbors

map services Web Map Services (WMS) Lots of Layers Available Lake

22 Data Access and Application Lots of Ways to Distribute Raster geodatabases via HTTP ESRI Representational State Transfer (REST) map services Web Map Services (WMS) Lots of Layers Available Lake level change layers Uncertainty layers Socioeconomic layers Conditioned DEMs

23 Updates in Progress

24 Updates in Progress Beaver Island Archipelago Topo/Bathy Lidar Data Collection (Wrapping Up)

25 Updates in Progress Current Lake Level Viewer

26 Updates in Progress Updated Lake Level Viewer USACE Dredge Survey State Topo Lidar Bathy Lidar

27 Updates in Progress Currently undergoing QA/QC

28 Lake Level Viewer Team Members Brandon Krumwiede Great Lakes Geospatial Coordinator Lindy Betzhold Physical Scientist Doug Marcy Coastal Hazards Specialist William Brooks Spatial Analyst Heather Stirratt Great Lakes Region Lead

29 Resources NOAA Digital Coast coast.noaa.gov/digitalcoast Lake Level Viewer coast.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/tools/llv AND coast.noaa.gov/llv US Interagency Elevation Inventory coast.noaa.gov/inventory/ CanVis coast.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/tools/canvis NOAA GLERL Water Level Dashboard

30 Questions?

WATER LEVELS ON THE GREAT LAKES

WATER LEVELS ON THE GREAT LAKES OHSU EP-101 2013 BACKGROUND There is something about the movement of waves against the beach, the sight of a sailboat going past, and the ability to plunge in to the water on a hot summer day that attracts