Stewards Magazine

“The Great Lakes have experienced environmental challenges for many years, but climate change is unlike any other challenge they have faced,” says Gregory Dick, CIGLR’s director and a professor at SEAS and of Earth and Environmental Sciences. “Climate change affects biodiversity, and it affects water quality and coastal infrastructure. It’s really this master challenge, so we need a research university like U-M that can take the lead in tackling this massive, complex threat in a holistic manner.”

U-M is a major convener of Great Lakes research thanks to its interdisciplinary efforts to address climate change and other problems. And SEAS is a microcosm of that work because of its Great Lakes research centers and institutes; collaborations with other U-M units including engineering, public policy, the Graham Sustainability Institute and its Water Center; and its expansive partnerships with organizations within Ann Arbor, the region, and spanning the U.S., Canada and other countries.

“U-M has this amazing diversity of perspectives on the Great Lakes,” says Shriberg, “and SEAS has expertise representing almost all the disciplines you can think of. But we also have really critical collaborations with other areas in the university. These perspectives are important because we need specialists who can think about the Great Lakes across systems and boundaries in a global context. You can’t solve air pollution, for example, without thinking about water and climate policy.”

What this means, according to SEAS Dean Jonathan Overpeck, is that U-M is well-positioned to be “The Great Lakes University.”

“The importance of the Great Lakes to this region and to the world cannot be overstated,” Overpeck says. “And it’s more crucial than ever because of climate change that we double down on our efforts to protect and manage the Great Lakes for the future. Our research and engagement are focused on creating the Great Lakes of tomorrow by helping to build a future that is sustainable, equitable and prosperous. U-M, and SEAS in particular, has a significant role in this vision.”

There are more than 1,000 partners that U-M collaborates with in the Great Lakes region. This article is a snapshot of some, but not all, of the Great Lakes research that is being done by SEAS’ centers and institutes and in collaboration with other partners.

Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research

If you’ve ever visited western Lake Erie in late summer or early fall, you’ve likely seen harmful algal blooms (HABs) along its surface, which can be green or blue-green in appearance and resemble foam, scum or pea soup.

HABs, which are composed of cyanobacteria that produce toxins that are harmful to humans, pets and wildlife, are a significant threat to all five Great Lakes—and a major research focus of the Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research (CIGLR).

Funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and hosted by SEAS since 1989, CIGLR includes a research institute and a regional consortium that is a partnership between NOAA, universities, nongovernmental organizations and businesses. Their collaborative research efforts focus on managing and protecting the Great Lakes, its ecosystems, and the coastal communities who rely on them for drinking water, economic security and recreation.

CIGLR research scientists and their NOAA partners monitor HABs through regular water quality samplings of western Lake Erie and Lake Huron’s Saginaw Bay. The up-to-date data is then made available to the public days after sampling. Researchers also use water quality data in tandem with satellite data, weather forecasts and water movement forecasts to predict the occurrence of future HABs, which is useful for management decisions.

“This isn’t just research that is getting published in journals and being read by other scientists,” says Dick. “This is what we call Great Lakes science for society.

“It’s impactful research that is being used by fishermen, drinking water intake managers, beach managers and other stakeholders to inform their decision making.”

Last summer, U-M was awarded a $6.5 million, five-year federal grant to host a center to study the links between climate change, harmful algal blooms and human health, with CIGLR playing an important role. The Great Lakes Center for Fresh Waters and Human Health will look at cyanobacterial blooms and their impacts on freshwater ecosystems, drinking water supplies and coastal communities, including understanding the effects of breathing in airborne particles released by HABs. 

The research will be used to develop management strategies and public policies that will protect not only drinking water supplies but also human health in the Great Lakes region, according to Dick, who is serving as the center’s director.

In addition to HABs, CIGLR conducts research projects focused on other challenges affecting the Great Lakes, including invasive species, which threaten aquatic ecosystems; the loss of ice in the Great Lakes, which has shipping implications; the restoration of degraded ecosystems and habitats, which are home to thousands of plant and animal species; and coastal flooding, which has increased in scope over the past two decades as a result of extreme weather events caused by climate change.

“Water levels are going up and down faster than ever before,” says Dick, “and these extreme highs and lows are having devastating impacts on coastal communities.”

Accomplishing this research couldn’t be done without NOAA’s collaboration, stresses Dick. What makes CIGLR unique is that its 50 research scientists, postdoctoral fellows, technicians and staff work alongside researchers from NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab (GLERL) in Ann Arbor. “It’s a pretty unique relationship between a university and a federal agency,” notes Dick. “CIGLR and GLERL researchers are collaborating on research in the laboratory and in the field that leads to sustainable lakes, ecosystems and human communities in the Great Lakes region.”

Michigan Sea Grant

A cooperative program led by SEAS and in collaboration with U-M, Michigan State University and NOAA, Michigan Sea Grant (MISG) works with scientists, regulators, educators, policymakers and community members to develop science-based solutions to pressing environmental issues affecting Great Lakes coastal areas.

MISG works to protect the Great Lakes and its coastal resources through research, education, and outreach and communications—an approach that SEAS Professor Silvia Newell, MISG’s director, describes as a “three-legged stool” because these efforts are done in tandem with one another and each has equal importance.

MISG funds research projects in four key areas: 1) healthy coastal ecosystems, 2) sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, 3) resilient communities and economies, and 4) environmental literacy and workforce development.

Some examples of MISG research projects being funded for 2024-2027 include:

• “Assessing Blue Gentrification in Michigan’s Coastal Communities.” Blue gentrification is an emerging issue for coastal communities in Michigan and the Great Lakes region and refers to displacement of long-term residents living near water bodies because of physical and cultural changes. This project will assess the extent of blue gentrification from 2006 to 2020, identify its driving forces, and develop policies and strategies to address the issue. SEAS Professor Josh Newell is the principal investigator.
• “Michigan the Beautiful: Great Lakes.” Using input from a multi-sector advisory group and Tribal engagement, researchers will assess how Michigan’s coastal and Great Lakes waters can contribute to the United Nations’ “30x30” goal of ensuring 30% of Earth’s land, coast and open waters are under effective conservation and management by 2030. Jen Read of the U-M Water Center and Mike Shriberg of SEAS are the principal investigators.
• “Mapping Genetic Variation in Microcystis to Improve Great Lakes Harmful Algal Bloom Models.” Lake Erie, Saginaw Bay and other areas of the Great Lakes regularly experience harmful algal blooms (HABs), which are explosions of microscopic organisms that can generate toxins that threaten recreation, ecosystem health and drinking water supplies. Microcystis is a genetically diverse bacteria species commonly found in HABs. Researchers are leading a project that will link Microcystis genetic variation with its ability to defend against predators and viruses, leading to better HABs predictions and tracking. Vincent Denef of U-M’s Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department is the principal investigator.

In step with its research focus, MISG keeps businesses, residents and students informed about current coastal issues and resources, including leading a K-12 program for students and educators that teaches them about the Great Lakes through classroom activities, field trips and workshops. It also engages government agencies, organizations, educators, business owners and citizens with outreach programs such as the Michigan Clean Marina Program, annual fisheries workshops and the Sustainable Small Harbors project.

“We fund research that answers questions about the Great Lakes that are relevant for policy and decision making at the state level in Michigan,” says Newell, “and we engage with communities to get the word out about research on particular issues and provide trusted information to inform the response to those issues.”

One focus area of MISG involves developing resilient coastal communities. Its outreach and research specialists work with land use planners, citizens and local government leaders throughout Michigan to help communities revitalize their waterfronts and coastal areas to attract businesses and enhance quality of life.

Another focus area involves the restoration of the Great Lakes region. Thanks to more than $2 million in funding from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, MISG works on projects related to endangered fish, invasive species, beach contamination, water pollution, and environmentally friendly boating and marina operations.

“What makes Michigan Sea Grant special is that we’re not just doing research, outreach and education about a single project,” Newell notes. “Our people live and work in the communities they serve, so our projects are ongoing and we have long-term relationships with communities and with state agencies around science-based information, outreach and decision making.”

GLISA

How can communities in the Great Lakes region adapt to the effects of climate change? This is the key focus of GLISA–NOAA’s Great Lakes Climate Adaptation Partnerships (CAP) team which helps communities understand, plan for and respond to climate variability and change—now and in the future.

A collaboration between U-M, Michigan State University, the College of Menominee Nation, and the University of Wisconsin, GLISA is part of the national CAP network, formerly known as Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments, or RISA, that is supported by the NOAA Climate Program Office.

GLISA helps to advance equitable climate adaptation in the Great Lakes through applied research and engagement by serving as a bridge between regional scientists, decision makers and communities—bringing climate science, information and action into the real world for areas that need it most.

Whether its role is to serve as a project lead, funder or partner, GLISA’s social and physical scientists work together to understand their partners’ climate information needs, then collaborate with these partners iteratively to co-produce adaptation solutions that are designed to mitigate the effects of climate change.

Its team:

• Investigates and understands emerging climate issues and synthesizes findings;
• Facilitates collaborative activities, education and training;
• Translates existing climate information and customizes it for communities;
• Develops, implements and evaluates resources 
  and tools that support decision making.

“GLISA brings together social and physical scientists to develop long-term relationships with our community partners, helping them to integrate the best-available climate science in their decision making,” says Jenna Jorns, GLISA’s co-director. 

“In particular, we strive to serve lower-capacity communities with fewer resources to adapt to climate change.”

GLISA is helping Great Lakes cities that are grappling with climate change-induced problems, such as increased precipitation and extreme flooding and heat events.

GLISA’s projects with cities include developing and implementing assessment tools to better inform their long-term decision making related to weather and climate events, for example with scenario planning or stormwater vulnerability assessments. A newer focus area for GLISA is developing a crowdsourced decision support tool to help communities plan and prepare for potential climate change-related in-migration to the region. GLISA is understanding current residents’ priorities and needs for development using future climate and land use projections and helping 12 Great Lakes states with stormwater management and Gulf states with resilience planning.

Due to their reliance on natural resources for cultural, socioeconomic and ecological needs, Tribal communities in the Great Lakes region are especially vulnerable to climate change. Through its partnership with the College of Menominee Nation, GLISA is integrating its scenario planning approach with the Tribal Adaptation Menu in an interactive game format and working to understand the complexities of Tribal relationships with water in a changing climate.

Global Center for Climate Change and Transboundary Waters

Because climate change poses an existential threat to the sustainability of freshwater resources in communities around the world, there is a need globally to ensure that issues of water equity, justice, policy and law are being addressed in regions where large water bodies such as the Great Lakes cross state, country or Tribal boundaries, says SEAS Professor Drew Gronewold.

Gronewold serves as the director of the Global Center for Climate Change and Transboundary Waters (GCTW), an international research center designed to help manage water resources in transboundary regions. The GCTW, among other research priorities, advances hydroclimate modeling to predict the impacts of climate change on the Great Lakes, including impacts to water quality, ecological systems and lake levels. Improving both the science behind those predictions, and the pathways for communicating them, is expected to lead to better policies and management strategies, and forward-thinking solutions for at-risk communities, says Gronewold.  The GCTW’s research addresses regional needs for water resource management and supports community and ecosystem sustainability. One goal is to improve management and disaster resilience within partnering communities across the Great Lakes, which is critical in an era of increasing extreme weather events and variability of lake levels. The GCTW focuses on understanding climate change impacts on water quality that affects ecosystems and communities, which isn’t just important for the region, but also the globe. In addition to working on the Great Lakes, the GCTW is also leading related research along the U.S.-Mexico border, with a focus on understanding how historical treaties and water use affect flows and water allocations in the Rio Grande. 

This center represents a unique, important and exciting opportunity to bring together a diverse and talented group of scientists and practitioners focused on understanding and reducing the impacts of climate change on transboundary water resources and their management,” says Gronewold. “Northern North America is one of the fastest-warming regions on the planet, and Indigenous communities are extremely vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.”

To help address these challenges, the GCTW was built through partnerships with the College of Menominee Nation, Six Nations of the Grand River and Red Lake Nation, whose voices and perspectives are critical to developing and guiding implementation of climate change adaptation measures across the Great Lakes region and elsewhere.