science for a changing world

USGS Capabilities for Interdisciplinary Investigations in 

Coastal and Nearshore Ecosystems of the Great Lakes

INTRODUCTION

People choose to reside, work, and vacation in 

coastal areas of the Great Lakes because of the lakes' 

scenic beauty and their historic and cultural features. 

Great Lakes nearshore areas also constitute a valuable 

economic resource. Two million anglers added 

$1 billion to the region's economy in 1996. More than 

300 million tons of goods were transported out of 

major Great Lakes ports at a value of $3 billion in 

1996. A 1998 survey of Lake Erie beaches estimated 

contributions of $5 million per year to each local 

economy with a public beach. More than 70 million 

people yearly visit national, state and provincial parks 

in the Great Lakes area.

Uncontrolled land development, recreational 

development, invasive species, climate change, water 

availability, and water-level changes and fluctuations 

lead a long list of current and potential issues in coastal 

and nearshore areas. To be effectively addressed, these 

complex issues require an interdisciplinary approach.

INTERDISCIPLINARY SCIENCE

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has regional, 

national, and international experience and capabilities 

in coastal science in the fields of geology, geography, 

hydrology, and biology-experience and capabilities 

with significant potential to address critical and 

complex ecosystem issues facing the Great Lakes.

Through its programs, the USGS can provide 

interdisciplinary research and models for factors that 

affect Great Lakes coastal and nearshore ecosystems, 

along with decision support tools that can be used by 

land- and water-resources managers at all levels of 

government.

Figure 1. Geologic features are the foundation for 

ecological and social processes in the Great Lakes.

POTENTIAL CONTRIBUTIONS OF DIFFERENT 

SCIENCES TO AN INTERDISCIPLINARY 

APPROACH

GEOLOGY

USGS geologists investigate the geologic framework 

to understand the response of landscapes and coastal 

systems to changes in climate and lake levels over time. 

The geologic framework provides some of the major 

nearshore controls on modern hydrology and ecosystem 

dynamics. Geologic factors affect the quality and number 

of beaches, coastal wetlands, sand and gravel deposits, 

and areas suitable for development in the Great Lakes. 

Geologic framework studies include investigation of the 

structure and composition of the rock and sediment at the 

surface and at depth in coastal areas.

Geologic processes that produced and continue to 

modify the geologic framework include sediment 

erosion, transport, and deposition; Recent and 

Pleistocene lake-level changes; geochemical fluxes and 

transformations; and complex interactions between biota 

and water. USGS expertise offers local- to regional-scale 

synthesis, interpretation, and understanding of geologic 

processes.

U.S. Department of the Interior 

U.S. Geological Survey

USGS Fact Sheet FS 055-02 

July 2002
USGS geologists conduct studies of the following:

° Coastal and offshore morphology

n Onshore, coastal, and offshore erosion and 

deposition

° Coastal dune dynamics and slope stability

n Lake ice dynamics

n Climate history based on ancient lake levels

D Distribution of Pleistocene and Recent sediments

n Weathering and soil development and soil/substrate 

geochemistry.

USGS geologists possess a modern suite of tools 

for studying coastal areas, including:

D Acoustic and LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) 

equipment to map the coast and offshore

n Geophysical sensors

D Coring capabilities

n Spatial-data analysis

D Digital three-dimensional geologic mapping

D Analytical techniques in the fields of geochemistry, 

sediment dynamics, isotope geology, and 

geochronology.

Products include geographic information systems 

showing geologic features that can be overlain with 

biologic, hydrologic, social, and cultural features. 

Previous coastal studies in the Great Lakes have provided 

data on the relation between coastal erosion and 

bluff/dune stability in Illinois, Michigan and Ohio; and on 

lake-level history. Coastal and offshore geologic maps 

have been compiled for Ohio, Illinois, and Michigan.

GEOGRAPHY

USGS geographers and cartographers provide 

expertise in physical and cultural geography, 

cartography, and information management. Studies of 

processes in nearshore and coastal environments are 

supported and enhanced by geographic analysis and 

applications research, mapping-techniques development, 

and by production, integration, and management of 

spatial data.

Geographers at the USGS characterize the landscape 

by use of remote sensing and geographic information 

systems and they analyze geographic, social, and 

cultural trends to understand patterns of land-surface 

changes. They apply mapping capabilities to 

investigations of human health and the environment, 

geopositioning and photogrammetry, and natural 

hazards. In addition to their interpretive activities, 

USGS geographers collect, process, archive, and 

disseminate remotely sensed data.

Figure 2. Coastal dunes provide the geologic foundation 

for critical nearshore ecosystems.

Figure 3. Land-surface changes result from the interaction 

of hydrologic, geologic, biologic, and socioeconomic processes.

Spatial-data collection, production, and integration 

activities include development of the National Mapa seamless framework that includes elevation, 

hydrography, land characterization, and orthoimagery 

databases. These data provide a geographic foundation 

that can be applied to many studies of Great Lakes 

coastal and nearshore processes.

Information management capabilities include 

development and maintenance of databases of USGS 

products and the delivery of USGS Great Lakes data and 

information to the public. USGS geographers also 

develop and apply geographic analysis methods to 

identify relations among land-surface changes, 

environmental problems, and population trends to 

determine indicators of sustainable ecosystems for the 

Great Lakes coastal environment. A primary goal of 

USGS cartographic activities is to develop predictive 

models and data standards for use by other scientists.
HYDROLOGY

USGS hydrologists analyze the hydrologic setting and 

quality of water in streams, lakes, wetlands and aquifers. 

Understanding surface-water interactions with ground 

water, patterns of water circulation, water quantity, and 

water quality is necessary to address many Great Lakes 

ecosystem issues. These include questions of acceptability 

of beaches; productivity of coastal wetlands and nearshore 

areas; contamination of water and sediments of rivers, 

harbors, wetlands, and estuaries; water quality for humans, 

wildlife, and ecosystem health; water availability; floods 

and droughts; and sustainable development.

The USGS provides daily streamflow data at more than 

300 stations on tributaries to the Great Lakes. These data 

support planning for water use and treatment, facility 

design, floods and droughts, and source-water protection. 

In addition, they provide valuable information for waterquality studies, prediction of future trends in streamflow 

that may result from climatic change, and understanding the 

potential effects of water diversion and bulk export. The 

USGS uses new technology for measuring streamflow in 

estuary areas of Great Lakes tributaries to improve 

estimates of contaminant delivery. Most of the streamflow 

data collected by the USGS is available in near real-time 

format. USGS also compiles information on water use in 

cooperation with the states and reports on national and 

Great Lakes regional water use at 5-year intervals.

USGS hydrologists study the quality of ground and 

surface water and effects of water quality on aquatic

45

biology. The National Water-Quality Assessment 

Program (NAWQA) provides water-chemistry, 

aquatic-biology, and ancillary data in two major 

drainage areas of the Great Lakes Basin: the Western 

Lake Michigan Drainages and the Lake Erie-Lake St. 

Clair Drainages. These data can be used to assess the 

status, trends, and factors influencing the transport and 

loadings of contaminants to coastal areas of the Great 

Lakes from rivers and ground water.

USGS hydrologists also develop new approaches 

for evaluating the chemical quality of water. For 

example, the Toxic Substances Hydrology Program 

has conducted a national reconnaissance of "emerging 

contaminants" in three categories: human and 

veterinary pharmaceuticals, industrial- and householdwastewater products, and steroidal hormones. Selected 

tributaries to the Great Lakes in Michigan, Ohio, and 

Wisconsin were included in this survey.

Excessive ground-water withdrawals have affected 

the ground-water and surface-water flow systems in 

some areas of the Great Lakes Basin. For example, in 

the Green Bay-Fox River area of Wisconsin, the 

sandstone aquifer is used as a water-supply source. 

Water levels declined as much as 300 feet and were 

deep enough in 1957 that the city of Green Bay began 

pumping water from Lake Michigan to supplement 

ground-water sources.

45

Base composited from USGS digita 

line graphs and other digitized 

information.

EXPLANATION 

 800 Potentiometric contour 

Shows line of equal simulated 

water-level altitude. Interval is 

100 feet. Datum is sea level 

 Ground-water divide

Figure 4. Simulated potentiometric surface in the sandstone aquifer, northeastern Wisconsin, (A) in 1957; and 

(B) in 1990. The depressed water levels were deep enough in 1957 (fig. 4A) that the city of Green Bay began pumping 

water from Lake Michigan to supplement ground-water sources. Withdrawals of ground water were reduced, so that by 

1990, ground-water levels had risen by about 100 feet in Green Bay (fig 4B). ( From Conlon, 1998).
SEAMLESS BATHYMETRIC-TOPOGRAPHICAL 

MAPPING IN COASTAL AREAS

USGS scientists have begun to develop tools to 

evaluate how shoreline position and lake-level change 

affect extent of wetlands; navigation in shallow areas; 

available habitats for nearshore aquatic communities; and 

exposure of fish, birds, and other organisms to 

contaminated sediments. A digital elevation model (DEM) 

for coastal areas, for which the topographic and 

bathymetric maps are joined together to form a continuous 

topographic surface, has been identified as a critical 

element for many issues in coastal management. A 

successful demonstration project in the southeastern 

United States was recently completed by the USGS in 

cooperation with the National Ocean Service (NOS) of the 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

(NOAA). In figure 8, illustration A depicts a seamless 

data set of the Tampa Bay estuary floor and surrounding 

land, created by integrating USGS digital elevation data 

with NOAA bathymetry data and reprojecting them to 

common datum. Illustration B depicts a sea-level rise of 

10 feet. Seamless OEMs such as this can be applied in 

the Great Lakes coastal areas to define changing 

shorelines as in the case of water-level variation caused by 

lake-level management, coastal erosion, normal climatic 

variations, and climate change.

B

Figure 8. A seamless digital elevation model such 

as this one developed for the Tampa Bay estuary, 

Florida, can be used to study the effects of 

water-level changes on shorelines.

For further information, please contact:

Donna N. Myers, USGS Great Lakes Program

Coordinator 

U.S. Geological Survey 

6480 Doubletree Ave 

Columbus, OH 43229-1 111 

Phone:(614)430-7715 

Fax:(614)430-7777 

Email: dnmyers@usgs.gov

REFERENCES CITED

Conlon, T.D., 1998, Hydrogeology and simulation 

of ground-water flow in the sandstone aquifer, 

northeastern Wisconsin: U.S. Geological 

Survey Water-Resources Investigations 

Report 97-4096, p.30-31.

For more information on programs described:

USGS: http://water.usgs.gov

Real-Time Water Data: http://water.usgs.gov/realtime.html

Toxic Substances Hydrology Program: http://toxics.usgs.gov

National Streamflow Information Program: http://water.usgs.gov/nsip

National Water-Quality Assessment Program: http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa

GAP Analysis Program: http://www.gap.uidaho.edu

Great Lakes Science Center: http://www.glsc.usgs.gov

National Wildlife Health Center: http://www.nwhc.usgs.gov

Coastal Change: http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/hurricanes/mappingchange/index.html

National Ocean Service: http://www.nos.noaa.gov

Myers, D. N., and others, 2002, Strategic Vision 

for the U.S. Geological Survey in the Great 

Lakes-St. Lawrence Region, 2001-2010: 

U.S. Geological Survey Open-File 

Report 02-193, 16 p.

U.S. Department of the Interior 

U.S. Geological Survey

USGS Fact Sheet FS 055-02 

July 2002
As an additional example, the Toledo, Ohio, 

metropolitan area obtains water from wells open to a 

carbonate aquifer and from quarry dewatering near Lake 

Erie. Pumping has lowered water levels in wells as much 

as 35 feet below the average level of Lake Erie. Such 

pumping has induced infiltration from Lake Erie into the 

ground-water system and intercepted water that would 

have discharged from the ground-water system to Lake 

Erie. The effects of large-scale movements of ground 

water on the Great Lakes nearshore environment are 

largely unknown.

BIOLOGY

USGS scientists conduct a wide variety of biological 

research in the Great Lakes Basin in wetlands and 

terrestrial and aquatic environments, addressing invasive 

species and their control, fish-stock assessment, fisheries 

research, and wildlife health.

Figure 5. Zebra mussels are among the many invasive 

species that threaten the Great Lakes ecosystem.

USGS biological expertise includes fish, invertebrate, 

and plant systematics; microbial, aquatic, wetland, and 

coastal ecology; biochemistry, physiology, toxicology and 

disease; and microbial, invertebrate, fish, and largeanimal population dynamics and trophic interactions.

The USGS Great Lakes Science Center (GLSC) in 

Ann Arbor, Michigan, has studied the major adult fish 

populations in the Great Lakes for more than 30 years, 

providing resource managers with annual estimates of 

forage-fish biomass. Recent biodiversity studies of 

invertebrates, supported in part by The Nature 

Conservancy, provide interactive taxonomic keys for 

major invertebrate groups in the Great Lakes.

USGS biologists study ways to limit the spread or 

impact of invasive species. USGS has pioneered the use 

of various barriers to allow native fish access to wetland 

spawning areas while limiting invasive carp. USGS, in 

cooperation with the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, 

has decades of experience in research to decrease

populations of the sea lamprey and has helped develop a 

highly effective Integrated Pest Management Control 

Program, which includes chemical treatment of 

spawning streams, sterile male release, and use of lowhead barrier dams during spawning runs of sea lamprey. 

USGS, with support from U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, has also 

worked on barriers to halt the spread of invasive species 

through man-made connections between watersheds.

The USGS has the largest fleet of research vessels 

on the Great Lakes. The fleet consists of five large 

(45-107 foot) and several small (20-25 foot) vessels 

stationed throughout the Great Lakes. These vessels are 

equipped to sample fish, aquatic invertebrates, and 

water quality. Laboratory facilities allow for the 

identification of taxa, quantification of prey abundance 

and diets, and analysis of water quality. USGS research 

divers assess biota and deploy underwater monitoring 

equipment.

The USGS National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) 

in Madison, Wisconsin, is a biomedical laboratory 

dedicated to assessing wildlife disease. Specialized 

biological containment facilities enable USGS biologists 

to investigate highly infectious diseases affecting a 

broad spectrum of Great Lakes wildlife including 

amphibians, birds, and large mammals. USGS 

biomedical scientists monitor and assess the impact of 

disease on wildlife populations; define ecological 

relationships leading to the occurrence of disease in 

wildlife; provide rapid on-site investigation of wildlife 

disease emergencies; and provide guidance, training, 

and technical information and support for reducing 

wildlife losses when outbreaks of disease occur. USGS 

biologists evaluate the impact of disease on coastal 

wildlife population dynamics, model environmental 

factors influencing disease outbreaks, explore the 

pathogenesis of disease agents in susceptible hosts, and 

develop enhanced technology for disease detection and 

diagnosis.

Figure 6. USGS biologists examine a catch of juvenile fish.
EXAMPLES OF USGS INTERDISCIPLINARY NEARSHORE STUDIES IN 

THE GREAT LAKES AREA

INFORMATION FOR BEACH MANAGEMENT

USGS research in hydrology and biology has been 

instrumental in providing information to beach managers 

on the hydrological, chemical, and microbiological 

characteristics of recreational waters. In cooperation with 

the City of Chicago, USGS scientists undertook an 

intensive study of the nearshore waters, submerged and 

foreshore sands, gull droppings, and other possible sources 

of the bacteria Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Salmonella. 

By means of models developed in collaboration with 

Purdue University, the regulatory exceedances of E. coli 

were accurately predicted 79 percent of the time. USGS 

scientists used DNA-fingerprints of E. coli and Salmonella 

bacteria to identify their potential sources. Similar USGS 

studies are underway at Lake Erie public beaches in 

cooperation with state and local agencies.

GEOLOGIC SUBSTRATE AND FISH HABITAT

To improve modeling and prediction of fishpopulation changes, more information is needed 

concerning the earlier life stages and the lower trophic 

levels. USGS scientists have begun studying the relation 

between the distribution and abundance of larval fish and 

invertebrate species and the geologic substrate that forms 

their breeding and nursery grounds in the nearshore zone 

of west-central Lake Erie. This study is partially funded 

by the Ohio Lake Erie Protection Fund with support from 

the Ohio Geological Survey and other State partners. 

Already, USGS researchers have found a diverse 

assemblage of larval fishes throughout the growing season 

in an open, high-energy area previously considered by 

many to be devoid of nursery habitat for fishes.

In a second study, USGS geologists and biologists are 

evaluating the relation between benthic substrate and lake 

trout habitat on shallow reefs in northern Lake Michigan. 

This study fits into a Great Lakes-wide conceptual plan to 

develop maps of the geology of the substrate and maps of 

the benthic habitat for all the lakes 

(http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/greatlakes/index.html). Highresolution benthic substrate LIDAR mapping of lake-trout 

spawning reefs has been completed at five reef sites and 

two coastal sites to depths greater than 80 feet. The new 

data show spawning reefs of glacial sediment and bedrock 

outcrops. Correlation with sampling and video data and 

with biologic census and stocking information has begun.

AQUATIC BIODIVERSITY

A national-scale biodiversity conservation program 

within the USGS, the Gap Analysis Program (GAP), is 

active in all eight states of the Great Lakes Region. 

GAP is a program for identifying the degree to which 

native species and natural communities are represented 

in present-day conservation lands. Areas where diverse 

biological communities and conservation lands do not 

overlap constitute gaps in conservation efforts. 

Aquatic GAP projects conducted by biologists and 

hydrologists will evaluate the influence of stream 

geomorphology, and ground- and surface-water quality 

on the distribution of native fish and other aquatic life. 

Aquatic GAP projects are underway in Ohio, and may 

be expanded to Michigan, Wisconsin, and New York; 

the feasibility of a pilot GAP analysis of coastal and 

nearshore areas is being determined.

Figure 7. USGS scientists sample nearshore 

ground water for bacterial contamination.