Michigan Tech
Research
Institute launches newly expanded GLEAMS web-based Dynamic Decision
Support
System (DDSS)
Geographic
expansion of PCB risk assessment into Wisconsin’s Lower Fox River
Basin; Kalamazoo
River DDSS receives new interface and functionality: Kalamazoo River
DDSS incorporates
newly acquired 2006 water quality data; updated portal content
Ann Arbor, MI
- December 15,
2006 – The Great Lakes Center for Environmental and Molecular Sciences
(GLEAMS)
Center, a partnership between Western Michigan University and Michigan
Technological University’s Michigan Tech Research Institute (MTRI), has
released an expanded and improved version of its Great Lakes dynamic
decision
support system (DDSS) tools. The
purpose of these DDSS tools is to make
complex environmental decisions more manageable through visual
presentation and
comparison of sediment contamination and water quality data through
user-friendly
web-based mapping interfaces. Improvements
are: 1) an expansion of the GLEAMS Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCB) risk
assessment tool to evaluate the Lower
Fox River
basin
of Wisconsin, 2) an enhanced, more
intuitive
web mapping interface, 3) new Kalamazoo River
water quality data with
water quality index (WQI) tool enhancements, and 4) updated watershed
portal
content. The DDSS tools can be accessed via the GLEAMS Portal (http://www.greatlakesdecisionsupport.org)
under both the “GIS Data & Maps” and “Modeling & DDSS”
hyperlinks.
MTRI has
demonstrated that
the GLEAMS DDSS tools can be adapted to other Great Lakes watersheds by
extending
the geographic scope of GLEAMS technology into the state of Wisconsin.
The GLEAMS PCB risk assessment tool has been extended to focus
on the Lower
Fox River
Basin because of the
local history of sediment contamination and the availability of
well-documented
PCB data from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. PCBs are a
concern
because they are found in many Great Lakes
rivers and lakes, and are listed by the U.S. EPA as having a variety of
probable human health effects, including cancer, immune, and
reproductive
system impacts. Users with an interested
in PCB contamination along the Fox River now have access to an
informative location-based
system on PCBs and their associated human health consequences from
local fish
consumption, along with ecological impacts such as bioaccumulation in
fish and
birds. The expansion serves as a working example that the GLEAMS DDSS
technology is applicable to other watersheds throughout the Great Lakes basin and can serve as a vehicle for
public outreach and
decision making regarding environmental contaminant issues. MTRI has also made significant improvements
to the DDSS interface in order to make the application more accessible
for a
wider audience. For example, the map
control buttons on the GLEAMS web mapping sites have been made more
user-friendly, and MTRI has developed a system-wide help menu covering
all
aspects of the web mapping site functionality.
A new water
quality dataset
that interfaces with the GLEAMS Water Quality Index on-line tool has
also been
added so that users can rapidly understand and visualize Kalamazoo River
water quality. MTRI collected new water quality data during the summer
of 2006 using
version 2 of its Automated Lagrangian Water-Quality Assessment System
(ALWAS)
data buoy. ALWAS, a free-floating water quality measuring and watershed
evaluation system, was employed in the collection of numerous water
quality
parameters along six segments of the Kalamazoo River.
The new ALWAS data has been incorporated into
the GLEAMS DDSS along with data-access enhancements made to the Water
Quality
Index (WQI) tool. The WQI tool incorporates the newly collected data
and allows
users to select which dataset (2004 or 2006) they wish to use to
quantitatively
summarize the quality of water along the Kalamazoo River.
Updated
research results
and other Great Lakes content have
also been
added to the GLEAMS Portal. The Lake
Michigan Watershed Fact Sheets published as part of the 2006 Lake
Michigan
Management Plan (LaMP) are available as individual documents for each
watershed. New abstracts for articles by
GLEAMS Director Dr.
Charles Ide (WMU) on the gene _expression_ of contaminant impacts are
available. Also available are conference
presentations and paper abstract by MTRI Co-Director Dr. Robert Shuchman describing a new Lake Michigan
water-quality algorithm that uses remotely-sensed satellite imagery.
For additional
information
on GLEAMS and the new additions and expansion of the Dynamic Decision
Support System,
please contact Colin Brooks or visit http://www.greatlakesdecisionsupport.org.
About
Michigan Tech
Research Institute: On
October 1, 2006, Michigan
Technological University (Michigan Tech) acquired the
Environmental and Emerging Technologies Division (EETD) from Altarum
Institute
to form the Michigan Tech Research
Institute (MTRI). MTRI is
driven in its focus on
education, research, and development of technology to sense and
understand
natural and manmade environments while providing visibility and
outreach for Michigan Tech in Southeastern
Michigan and elsewhere in the Great Lakes
region. For more information, please see
www.mtri.org.
Colin
Brooks, Research Scientist
Michigan Tech Research Institute (MTRI)
734-302-5633 and colin.brooks@mtu.edu
www.mtri.org and www.greatlakesdecisionsupport.org
--
Colin Brooks
Research Scientist
Michigan Tech Research Institute
(formerly part of Altarum / ERIM)
3520 Green Court, Suite 300
Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Phone: 734-302-5633
Fax: 734-302-4992
colin.brooks@mtu.edu
http://www.mtri.org
http://www.greatlakesdecisionsupport.org
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
glin-announce is hosted by the Great Lakes Information Network (GLIN):
http://www.great-lakes.net
To subscribe: http://www.glin.net/forms/glin-announce_form.html
To post a message: http://www.glin.net/forms/glin-announce_post.html
To search the archive: http://www.glin.net/lists/glin-announce/
All views and opinions presented above are solely those of the author or
attributed source and do not necessarily reflect those of GLIN or its
management.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *